Tajikistan Blocks Access to Facebook and News Sites
Tajikistan blocked local access to Facebook and two Russian-language sites that published an article critical of its long-serving president on Saturday, representatives of two Internet providers said.
The shutdown was ordered by the state-run communications service, the local Internet providers told Reuters, requesting anonymity. Users who tried to access Facebook or the two websites, which published a story critical of President Imomali Rakhmon, were automatically re-directed to the home page of their provider.
Tighter Internet controls echo measures taken by other ex-Soviet, Central Asian republics, where authoritarian rulers are wary of the role social media played in revolutions in the Arab world and mass protests in Russia.
Government opponents in Tunisia and Egypt used Twitter, Facebook and other platforms to run rings around censors and organize protests that eventually toppled their leaders.