Dozens of Instagram accounts used by Albanian activists, journalists and the leader of an opposition party have been blocked amid protests against the construction of a luxury hotel linked to US President Donald Trumpʼs son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Politico writes about this.
Protests in Albania against the construction of a luxury resort on the southern coast have been ongoing for almost 100 days, and have now escalated into demands for the government to resign.
Instagram has become a major platform for covering the protests. But in recent weeks, dozens of accounts belonging to activists, journalists and opposition politicians have been blocked or shut down. Users have received copyright strikes even though they claim to have posted their own content.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
Repro Uncensored has reviewed hundreds of such cases and said it found no violations of Instagramʼs policies. Meta said it was investigating the situation and had already reinstated some accounts that had been blocked in error. However, some users are still unable to broadcast or collaborate with other creators, and their posts may have limited reach.
Among those blocked is Agronom Shehai, the leader of the Albanian opposition party Mundësia and a member of parliament. He suggested that the unclear rules of social media could allow the government to use them to censor critics.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama denied the governmentʼs involvement in the blockades, saying the authorities did not have the technical capacity to carry out such operations.
SAZAN Coast, a company associated with Kushnerʼs resort project, also denied any influence on Metaʼs decision. At the same time, its representative called the protests a "coordinated opposition campaign" and said that Meta was doing the right thing by blocking "bot movements".
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