An unthinkable situation, isn’t it? But to horrors of horrors, there are countries that have been exercising control (to some extent completely) on Facebook and Twitter and even Google in some places! If you’re in a country that has banned a particular social media platform, check this site or other proxy server sites out. You can often use a proxy server for FREE and no strings attached. What a proxy does is allow you to access these websites and others that have been blocked by your country or ISP. It works by disguising your physical location on the internet. You can get them for free here if you need to access your social media.
1. North Korea
Source: www.nti.org
Facebook is blocked in Kim Jong-un’s province. People living in North Korea are not allowed to access Facebook.
2. Iran
Source: www.lobelog.com
In Iran, social media websites are such as Facebook and Twitter are banned. Access to these websites can be gained through a proxy server only.
3. China
Source: rt.com
Technically, the ban on Facebook was lifted in September 2013. But only within a 17-square-mile free trade zone in Shanghai and only to make foreign investors feel more at home. For the rest of China, it is a waiting game to see if the ban lifts elsewhere.
4. Cuba
Source: www.danhallman.com
Facebook isn’t officially banned in Cuba but it sure is difficult to access. Only politicians, some journalists and some medical students can legally access web from their homes.
5. Bangladesh
Source: www.thedailystar.net
The posting of a cartoon to Facebook saw the networking site shut down across Bangladesh in 2010. Satirical images of the Prophet Muhammad, along with some of the country’s leaders, saw one man arrested and charged with “spreading malice and insulting the country’s leaders”.
6. Egypt
Source: israelmybeloved.com
Government cut off access to a range of social media sites during the attempt to overthrow the regime of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
7. Syria
Source: www.themorningsidepost.com
Facebook had been blocked in the country since 2007 as part of a crackdown on political activism, as the government feared Israeli infiltration of Syrian social networking sites. During the ban, Syrians were still able to easily access Facebook and other social networking sites using proxy servers.
8. Mauritius
Source: m2.i.pbase.com
When a Facebook page proclaiming to be that of Mauritius Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam was discovered by the government in 2007, the entire Mauritius Facebook community was plunged into darkness. But the ban didn’t last for long as full access to the site was restored the following day.
9. Pakistan
Source: cache.pakistantoday.com.pk
This time Pakistan blocked access to the website in 2010 after a Facebook page, created to promote a global online competition to submit drawings of the Prophet Muhammad, was brought to their attention. Any depiction of the Prophet is proscribed under certain interpretations of Islam.
10. Vietnam
Source: i.vimeocdn.com
During a week in November 2009, Vietnamese Facebook users reported an inability to access the website following weeks of intermittent access. Reports suggested technicians had been ordered by the government to block the social networking site, with a supposedly official decree leaked on the internet (although its authenticity was never confirmed). The government denied deliberately blocking Facebook although access to the site today is still hit-and-miss in the country.
