number of reviewers to identify this content, and the small number of reviewers relative to number of Facebook users (Kyaw Ye Lynn and Su Myat Mon, 2018). There is, however, a clear attempt by Facebook to increase its role in reviewing and removing hate speech and disinformation, and also to recognize that its ability to review content in more languages (especially ones like Myanmar that have complicated issues related to multiple fonts) is essential. Whether Facebook is willing to engage more consistently offline with relevant stakeholders, give enforcement powers to its independent review board, and bring on enough personnel to review and monitor the huge amount of content it generates daily will determine how committed it is to combating hate speech and disinformation (Lwin and Brown, 2019). At this stage, however, it looks like Facebook is more likely to be an effective check on online hate speech and disinformation than the Myanmar government, if they implement some of the recommendations coming from technology activists and social media observers. In February 2019, Facebook also took the controversial step of eliminating the Facebook pages of ethnic armed organizations linked to four ethnic minorities in Northern Myanmar. Facebook identified the reason for the ban as “There is clear evidence that the organizations we’re banning today have been responsible for attacks against civilians and have engaged in violence in Myanmar, and we want to prevent them from using our services to further inflame tensions on the ground.” (Hammond, 2019). It is unclear what the intention behind the ban was, but anecdotal evidence suggests that the pages were useful sources of news on the peace process and other related topics for some audiences. Eliminating the organizations’ Facebook pages demonstrates the risk of undue restrictions on freedom of speech and the risk of promoting partisan aims even in cases where the mechanism is a self-regulating one. A Vacuum of Information? Regulating Speech and Limiting Discussion Although the increasing efforts to limit hate speech and disinformation by Facebook present the possibility that a safer social media space may be on the horizon, in the interim the Myanmar case demonstrates that attempts by government to regulate or control speech have led to constraints on free expression without having a significant impact on reducing hate speech and 11