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14 points by kyawzazaw 6y ago

kyawzazaw 6y ago
Unconfirmed order (which is the best we can provide here) Note, in Myanmar, Facebook is THE internet. Users report MPT(partial state-owned telco) already done this. Edit: Telenor telco as well.
- mikece 6y ago
  > Note, in Myanmar, Facebook is THE internet. I've seen comments like this in the past: how does that situation come to be? Is access to everything cut off such that it's the only available internet? Comments about "Facebook being THE internet" always leave me wanting to know WHY this is the case.
  - bagpuss 6y ago
    Cheap phones (symbian, garbage android) pre-loaded with FB app, combined with SIM data plans that allot more data allowance to FB. Some countries in this geography have 2.5/3G in the last decade, so there's a whole generation of users who don't know what's outside the walled garden.
  - kyawzazaw 6y ago
    Extremely expensive sim prices($3000) during the complete dictator years -prior to 2010 -, meanwhile minimum wage *per day* is less than $4 in 2020. Mobile penetration is 90% in a few years. Facebook worked with local telcos to bring about things like Facebook Zero, Facebook Basics.
kyawzazaw 6y ago
@netblocks Confirmed: Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp servers are now restricted in #Myanmar on state-owned internet provider MPT; real-time metrics show selective filtering in place even as basic connectivity is restored following military coup Chart with downwards trend https://twitter.com/netblocks/status/1357078197989474305?s=20 https://twitter.com/netblocks/status/1357078197989474305?s=2...
csense 6y ago
I'm curious about the practical mechanics of this kind of thing. Are there armed squads with AK-47's breaking in datacenter doors and forcing network engineers to update firewalls at gunpoint? Or do they have a bunch of the local equivalent of FBI agents making phone calls to various executives saying "Block Facebook or we'll send you to jail"? And what about VPN's?
- kyawzazaw 6y ago
  Yes and yes. The military also operate two telcos. People are using VPNs but you have to understand that a significant number of people are extremely tech illiterate.
HerbsMan 6y ago
Well, Zuckerberg crap has massive, negative impact on society around the world and users privacy. The only thing I don't like tho is controlling access, ISPs should ban these, provide information why it happened and a formal way to unlock it at own risk.

14 points by kyawzazaw 6y ago

Unconfirmed order (which is the best we can provide here) Note, in Myanmar, Facebook is THE internet. Users report MPT(partial state-owned telco) already done this. Edit: Telenor telco as well.

mikece 6y ago
> Note, in Myanmar, Facebook is THE internet. I've seen comments like this in the past: how does that situation come to be? Is access to everything cut off such that it's the only available internet? Comments about "Facebook being THE internet" always leave me wanting to know WHY this is the case.
- bagpuss 6y ago
  Cheap phones (symbian, garbage android) pre-loaded with FB app, combined with SIM data plans that allot more data allowance to FB. Some countries in this geography have 2.5/3G in the last decade, so there's a whole generation of users who don't know what's outside the walled garden.
- kyawzazaw 6y ago
  Extremely expensive sim prices($3000) during the complete dictator years -prior to 2010 -, meanwhile minimum wage *per day* is less than $4 in 2020. Mobile penetration is 90% in a few years. Facebook worked with local telcos to bring about things like Facebook Zero, Facebook Basics.

kyawzazaw 6y ago

@netblocks Confirmed: Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp servers are now restricted in #Myanmar on state-owned internet provider MPT; real-time metrics show selective filtering in place even as basic connectivity is restored following military coup Chart with downwards trend https://twitter.com/netblocks/status/1357078197989474305?s=20 https://twitter.com/netblocks/status/1357078197989474305?s=2...

csense 6y ago

I'm curious about the practical mechanics of this kind of thing. Are there armed squads with AK-47's breaking in datacenter doors and forcing network engineers to update firewalls at gunpoint? Or do they have a bunch of the local equivalent of FBI agents making phone calls to various executives saying "Block Facebook or we'll send you to jail"? And what about VPN's?

kyawzazaw 6y ago
Yes and yes. The military also operate two telcos. People are using VPNs but you have to understand that a significant number of people are extremely tech illiterate.

HerbsMan 6y ago

Well, Zuckerberg crap has massive, negative impact on society around the world and users privacy. The only thing I don't like tho is controlling access, ISPs should ban these, provide information why it happened and a formal way to unlock it at own risk.