Internet providers in Myanmar blocked access to Facebook Inc-owned services in the country on Thursday, resulting in increased VPN software downloads. In a swift surge of interest, Surfshark VPN saw a 40-fold increase in daily traffic to its website from Myanmar.
The study conducted by the privacy protection company Surfshark shows that cutting off social media access is a common practice in Asian countries, especially during protests, demonstrations, and armed-conflicts. From 2015 to 2020, a total of 27 (out of 48) Asian countries have employed some form of a social media ban or a heavy disruption.
“These governments usually go after communication apps like WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook Messenger, Viber, and social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Most internet censorship and social media restriction cases in Asia have to do with riots, protests, and other events of political nature,” says Gabrielle Racai, Communications manager at Surfshark.
Social media restrictions are on the rise across the globe
Social media restrictions have been a rising trend over the past five years, with a total of 62 countries worldwide recording cases after the first time the Egyptian government enforced an internet blackout back in 2011.
Since then, internet censorship has seen prominent growth around the world, especially in Asian and African regions, and even more so recently during elections and other political events.
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