Closed Access to Social Networks: Do We Harm or Help?

Baku / 08.10.20 / Turan: From September 27 in Azerbaijan, by the decision of government bodies, free access of the population to all social networks has been closed. On the first day of the war, it was officially announced that this was due to the need to resist enemy propaganda.

This measure, taken with understanding, simultaneously brought significant inconveniences in obtaining and disseminating information, including official information.

The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan posts on its website videos about military operations in the YouTube format, but the population can only watch them on TV, since the entrance to YouTube is blocked.

Many users and media outlets are forced to download anonymizers to bypass the bans, but a decrease in Internet speed does not allow using these programs, because the Internet speed is reduced by 80%.

Baktelecom LLC, which provides Internet services to the population, confirmed to Turan that the speed of Internet traffic in Azerbaijan was deliberately reduced.

The deterioration in the quality of Internet communication has also hit the educational process in schools and universities that work remotely due to the coronavirus.

According to teachers, online lessons do not work due to poor communication.

The Ministry of Education knows this problem and believes that it will soon be solved as soon as the hostilities end, Turan was told in this department.

The situation creates special problems for media workers who are at the forefront of the information war.

According to experts, restrictions on access to the Internet made it possible for Armenian users to become more active in social networks and promote the position of the enemy. -0-