Social Media Companies Must Stand Up to Myanmar Junta's Terror

VIVA – The United Nations (UN) experts on Monday stated Myanmar’s Junta terror is starting to use social media platforms to destroy pro-democracy opposition. Experts ask social media companies to fulfill their responsibility to identify, prevent and mitigate human rights abuses.

Tens of thousands of followers had been drawn to the junta’s “violent and misogynistic content”, warned the rights experts, who noted that women were often accused of having sex with Muslim men or supporting the Muslim population.

This is a “common ultranationalist, discriminatory and Islamophobic narrative in Myanmar”, said the experts, who added that women are also targeted by so-called “doxing” – the act of publishing private information, including names and addresses, about individuals without their consent.

The experts, who include Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, Tom Andrews, welcomed Telegram’s decision to block at least 13 pro-military social media accounts after being made aware of what was happening, although at least one of the worst offending channels is back online.

“Unless Telegram fundamentally changes its approach to content moderation in Myanmar, likely, pro-military actors will simply open new accounts and continue their campaign of harassment,” they said.

The UN explained that the junta feared the power of women to mobilize resistance to military rule in the online space. "Every day, women are threatened online with sexual violence because they stand up for human rights, oppose the military rule, and fight for a return to democracy," experts said.

'Doxing and other forms of online harassment add to the range of threats already faced by women activists, human rights defenders, and independent associations in Myanmar.