Facebook bans four armed rebel groups in Myanmar

Facebook is continuing to clamp down on users in Myanmar who are using the service to further ethnic violence in the country.

In a blog post on Tuesday, Facebook announced that it has banned four rebel groups in Myanmar from the service. The groups, which Facebook designates as “dangerous organizations,” are the Arakan Army (AA), the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA).

In addition to the groups being banned from the social network, Facebook says it will also remove any and all related praise, support, and representation of any of the four groups on its platform.

“In an effort to prevent and disrupt offline harm, we do not allow organizations or individuals that proclaim a violent mission or engage in violence to have a presence on Facebook,” says the company’s statement on why Facebook banned the four groups. “This includes terrorist activity, organized hate, mass or serial murder, human trafficking, organized violence or criminal activity.”

“There is clear evidence that these organizations have been responsible for attacks against civilians and have engaged in violence in Myanmar, and we want to prevent them from using our services to further inflame tensions on the ground,” the statement continued. “We don’t want anyone to use Facebook to incite or promote violence, no matter who they are.”

Facebook has been especially mindful of the use of its platform in Myanmar following a United Nations report that claimed the social network shared in the blame for the situation in the Southeast Asian country that has been marred with ethnic violence. The UN says that the spread of fake news on Facebook played at least a partial role in the genocide of Rohingya Muslims living in Myanmar.

Today’s statement from Facebook seems to reference the service’s role in Myanmar, a country where more than half its population is on Facebook.

“We recognize that the sources of ethnic violence in Myanmar are incredibly complex and cannot be resolved by a social media company, but we also want to do the best we can to limit incitement and hate that furthers an already deadly conflict.”

The social network has previously taken action against hundreds of Facebook profiles and pages connected to the violence in Myanmar. Most notably, Facebook banned the Myanmar military’s command-in-chief for inciting violence. This marked the first time the social network had banned a state official from its platform.

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However, not everyone approves of Facebook’s latest move in Myanmar. Experts point out that the four rebel groups removed from the social network are part of the Northern Alliance, a faction that defends ethnic groups in areas such as Kachin and the Northern Shan state. The banned rebel groups are among a number of Ethnic Armed Organizations in Myanmar, some even acting as the defacto government of the region their based in.

The complicated situation in Myanmar, along with the active role Facebook plays in it, should be further proof to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg that the company needs the expertise of those most familiar with what’s happening on the ground. Perhaps opening a local Facebook office, a move locals have long asked for, would help the effort.