North Korea, Iran… Nigeria joins list of countries where Twitter has been suspended

On Friday, the federal government announced an indefinite suspension of the operations of Twitter, the microblogging and social networking service, in Nigeria.

Lai Mohammed, minister of information, said the suspension was hinged on “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence”.

The development came days after Twitter deleted a post by President Muhammadu Buhari on the 1967 civil war where he threatened to treat those “bent on destroying” Nigeria “through insurrection” in “a language they understand”.

Nigeria is the latest country to have placed a suspension on the microblogging site’s activities.

In the past, countries including China, Iran, North Korea have also banned or temporarily suspended Twitter.

Here’s a rundown of countries where Twitter has faced restrictions in its operations.

China

In 2009, China banned Twitter operations following riots between Uyghur Muslims and Chinese authorities in Xinjiang, an autonomous region in western China

The restriction on the social media platform was part of efforts to regulate information shared by activists. Facebook and Google services were also suspended.

The ban is still in effect till date even though some Chinese citizens and even government officials still continue to use Twitter through virtual private networks (VPNs).

Iran

Iran also blocked its citizens from accessing Twitter and Facebook in 2009 after the controversial Iranian presidential election where activists were said to have used the social media platform to organise mass protests.

North Korea

North Korea permanently blocked Twitter, alongside YouTube and Facebook, in 2016 in a bid to control the spread of information online.

Egypt

Twitter was temporarily suspended in Egypt in 2011 amidst rising protests against ex-President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule.

Turkey

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan banned Twitter temporarily in 2014 after incriminating audio recordings of alleged corruption inside his government popped up on the microblogging site. Erdogan claimed his enemies were using the platform to witchhunt him and subsequently got a court order to suspend Twitter.