Mizzima-Oct 1
TikTok became unreachable without a VPN across Myanmar from the afternoon of 28 September, cutting off a platform many users had relied on as one of the last easily accessible social media apps since the junta blocked Facebook in the aftermath of its 2021 coup, residents and TikTok users in Myanmar said. Users said videos and other functions on the app stopped loading that afternoon and have only been reachable with a VPN since. The Myanmar junta has not issued any explanation for the disruption, and it remains unclear whether the block is deliberate or how long it will last.
The blockage has fallen hardest on content creators and online sellers who depend on TikTok for income. Anyone selling goods through TikTok, Facebook, Instagram or other platforms in Myanmar is already required to register under Order No. 51/2023, a Ministry of Commerce rule that continues to draw scrutiny from authorities. TikTok’s accessibility without a VPN had made it a refuge for ordinary users, content creators, resistance groups and independent media pages after the junta cut off Facebook, Twitter and Instagram following the coup, driving a large migration onto the platform. That same migration now appears to have drawn the junta’s attention, echoing the pattern seen with other platforms since 2021.
The disruption adds to a long-running squeeze on internet access under military rule, with authorities maintaining mobile data and internet shutdowns for extended periods in townships across Sagaing, Magway, Chin, Kachin, Karen and Rakhine, among the areas hardest hit by the civil war. Read more at:
