A few hours after the latest ceasefire in Gaza went into force, a number of Palestinian journalists, the occupied West Bank, and Gaza stated their WhatsApp accounts had been blocked. A vital tool for communicating with sources, editors, and the rest of the world.
Since Friday, 17 journalists in Gaza have alleged that their WhatsApp accounts have been blocked. Only four Al Jazeera journalists had reported that their accounts had been restored by Monday afternoon.
The event is the latest action by WhatsApp’s owner, Facebook Inc., that has left Palestinian users and sympathisers bewildered as to why the firm picked them out for restriction.
The Associated Press spoke with 12 of the 17 journalists who claimed to be members of a WhatsApp group for Hamas military activities.
The WhatsApp accounts were suspended for three days before being revived on Monday, following communication between the channel’s management in Qatar and the WhatsApp administration in the United States.
“The groups and chats were returned, but the content had been deleted, as if you were joining a new group or beginning a new conversation,” al-Dahdouh explained. “I have misplaced information, photographs, numbers, and messages.”
History of blocking account of journalists
According to a WhatsApp spokeswoman, the accounts have been blocked in order to comply with the company’s policy of “preventing harm as well as applicable law.”
According to the firm, it had been in communication with media outlets concerning its procedures in the preceding week. “If any journalists were impacted, we will reinstate them,” the business stated.
It’s not the first time that journalists have been blocked from using WhatsApp.A lot of journalists in Gaza had their accounts suspended for no apparent reason in 2019. Accounts of those working with international media organizations were restored after contacting the corporation.
WhatsApp claims it does not have access to people’s private messages, but it does ban accounts when it receives information that it believes indicates a user is involved in causing immediate harm. It also responds to “valid legal requests from law enforcement for the minimal information available to us,” according to the business.
