Facebook Bans 'Dangerous Organizations' in Myanmar

Facebook has banned four Myanmar-based groups, designating them as “dangerous organizations.”

In a statement, Tuesday, Facebook announced its ban of the Arakan Army, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, the Kachin Independence Army, and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army.

“Over the past year, we have repeatedly taken action against violent actors and bad content on Facebook in Myanmar. The ethnic violence happening in Myanmar is horrific and we don’t want our services to be used to spread hate, incite violence or fuel tension on the ground,” Facebook declared. “Our approach to this problem, like the problem itself, is multifaceted, but our purpose is clear: to reduce the likelihood that Facebook will be used to facilitate offline harm.”

“Our tactics include identifying and removing fake accounts; finding and removing violent actors; building better tools and technology that allows us to proactively find bad content; evolving our policies; and continuing to build partnerships and programs on the ground,” the social network continued, adding, “Today, we are taking more action, designating four more groups in Myanmar as dangerous organizations.”

“These armed groups are now banned from Facebook and all related praise, support and representation will be removed as soon as we become aware of it,” Facebook explained. “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. This includes terrorist activity, organized hate, mass or serial murder, human trafficking, organized violence or criminal activity.”

Facebook then claimed, “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.”

“We don’t want anyone to use Facebook to incite or promote violence, no matter who they are. That’s why we are always evaluating and analyzing our policies around violence committed by state and non-state actors,” the company concluded. “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.”

Last year, Facebook banned Myanmar military officials from the social network, including the commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces.

In December, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was criticized for promoting Myanmar during a meditation trip to the country.