List: Nigeria and Four Other Countries That Have Suspended Twitter

List: Nigeria and Four Other Countries That Have Suspended Twitter

Following the suspension of Twitter's operations in Nigeria, the West African country has joined the list of nations that have restricted access to the microblogging site.

The federal government explained that it took the decision because the social media site was allegedly undermining Nigeria's corporate existence.

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List: Nigeria and Four Other Countries That Have Suspended Twitter
An uproar has greeted the Twitter suspension in Nigeria. Photo: Femi Adesina
Source: Facebook

Below is the list of countries that have temporarily or permanently suspended Twitter in their territories.

1. Myanmar

In February 2021, the Junta in Myanmar ordered mobile operators and internet service providers to block access to Twitter and other social media sites until further notice.

According to Reuters, the order was given after people using social media and pro-democracy groups used hashtags to criticize the army’s takeover of power.

2. North Korea

The majority of North Koreans do not have any access to the internet. In 2016 the country officially announced that it was blocking Twitter and other social media sites in a bid to further control access to outside information.

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The UK Guardian reported that the very few North Koreans who have internet access are limited to a sealed-off, government-sanctioned intranet.

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3. Nigeria

Nigerian on Friday, June 4, joined the number of countries that have restricted access to Twitter. The government said the microblogging site was suspended indefinitely in the interest of the country.

4. China

China is another country that restricts access to Twitter and other foreign social media sites.

The microblogging site was initially available in China but then blocked in 2009. In its absence, Weibo has become the go-to source for the Chinese.

Twitter is listed among the blocked sites in China according to Wikipedia

5. Iran

Iran also has an outright ban on Twitter. The microblogging site is among social networking sites the Islamic country deems politically sensitive.

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However, BuzzFeed has reported that about two million Iranians access Twitter by using VPNs to bypass the ban.

Meanwhile, the federal government has criticised social media giant, Twitter, for deleting a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari that warned of strong actions against secessionists.

The minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed, on Wednesday, June 2, accused the microblogging site of bias on issues concerning Nigeria’s domestic affairs.

He said Twitter’s role is suspicious and Nigeria would not be fooled, The Punch reported. Mohammed argued that the president has the right to express his idea on the current security challenges in the country.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Kess Ewubare avatar

Kess Ewubare Kess Ewubare is a former senior political/current affairs editor at Legit.ng. He has a diploma in-law in addition to a BSc and a master’s degree in mass communication. Kess is a journalist with over 10 years of working experience in several fields of journalism ranging from radio presenting, television news reporting, newspaper reporter, feature and magazine writing as well as online and multi-media journalism.