Facebook has removed more than 1,000 pages, groups, and accounts linked to the military-owned telecom operator Mytel, according to an announcement by Justice For Myanmar.
The move is described as a major blow to the online presence of the Myanmar military’s telecommunications network.
Although Meta, Facebook’s parent company, removed Mytel from Facebook in 2021, Mytel reportedly attempted to evade the ban by creating new pages. At the same time, accounts belonging to Mytel agents and sales outlets had continued operating until recently.
Justice For Myanmar said that after it re-reported those pages to Facebook this week—along with the already removed MRTV Friday Night Live Show page—the accounts were taken down again.
Mytel, operating under the name Telecom International Myanmar, is jointly owned by the Myanmar military conglomerate Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), Viettel Global (owned by Vietnam’s Ministry of Defence).
According to Justice For Myanmar, the company provides tax revenues and technology to the Myanmar military and also supports surveillance, monitoring, and information control.
Based on estimated profits from Mytel, Justice For Myanmar found that the Myanmar military could earn up to USD 270 million from its shareholding within five to nine years of Mytel’s operations, with a further USD 450 million potentially earned over the following five years.
Justice For Myanmar has also called on other technology companies—including Alphabet and Apple, which host Mytel applications on Google Play Store and Apple App Store—to take action and impose restrictions on Mytel.
