Open World Wide

Censorship of Facebook: What? When? Where?

Robyn Clarke -

General:
Facebook is one of the five best and most visited social networks globally, owned by the eponymous company Facebook Inc.

Facebook allows to find an old friend, share useful information with subscribers, discuss pressing issues, post photos, read the latest news, view friends' publications, and find out what is happening in their lives.
Facebook is not only a platform for communication but also a platform for business. All the largest and most successful companies have their own Facebook pages, promoting their business and selling services and goods.

Established:
Facebook was founded on February 4, 2004, by Mark Zuckerberg.
Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook with his friends when he was studying at Harvard. The website's original name was Thefacebook. At that time, the site was only available to students of Harvard University.

In September 2006, the site became available to all Internet users over the age of 13 with an email address. Currently, Facebook has an audience of over 1,84 billion daily active users. It makes Facebook one of the most popular social networks.

The company owns Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus VR. The primary source of the company's income is advertising.

Features:

  • Find friends and family members and chat with them;
  • Set status and express emotions with Facebook emoji;
  • Share photos, videos, news, and own opinions with friends;
  • Find places for meeting with friends;
  • Play games on Facebook;
  • Ability to save pictures in albums;
  • Subscribe to famous people, favorite websites, and companies to know all the latest news;
  • Find businesses reviews, schedule, and photos;
  • Use Facebook Marketplace for buying and selling goods;
  • Watch live videos on the go;
  • Countries where it is blocked:
  • Due to troubles with Facebook Privacy Terms in some countries, access to Facebook is restricted there.

Iran
Facebook was banned after the 2009 elections due to concerns about opposition movements being organized through the social platform.

China
The Great Firewall of China is blocking Facebook. The site was first blocked after the riots in Urumqi in July 2009. The Facebook ban was technically lifted in September 2013, but only in Shanghai.