Are you one of the more than 500 million users of Facebook?

Facebook is beyond doubt the most successful social network today. Millions of people all over the world are connecting with family and friends everyday through this social network. It has actually bridged the distance between nations. Facebook helps people connect with friends and family that they have lost contact with over years of separation. Moreover, it has provided a most convenient way of keeping your friends updated with your life and theirs as well.

However, despite the good uses of Facebook, there are also a number of disadvantages that cannot just be easily disregarded. In fact, although this social network has gained popularity in most countries all over the world, it is banned in some. This only proves that free speech is definitely not welcome in some parts of the world. A number of countries have actually forbidden their nationals to use Facebook for various reasons. Whatever these reasons are, these are probably serving the best interests of these countries.

According to one source, Facebook was banned in Bangladesh because of the publication of satirical images of the prophet Muhammad on their site. Fortunately though, the ban was lifted after a week of its effectiveness. Similarly, it was also banned in Pakistan for the same reason. It took two months before the ban was lifted in Pakistan though.

On the other hand, the case is more severe in Syria where Facebook was officially banned since 2007. This is not very surprising since Syria has been cited as an enemy of the internet.’ As such, anything that has something to do with the internet most particularly with regard to social networking is never welcome in this country. Ironically, according to Alexa ranking figures though, Facebook receives the 8 th highest number of visits in Syria. Well, they definitely have an effective way of banning this social network there.

Vietnam has been reportedly refusing user’s access to Facebook since 2009. The reason for this refusal was unfortunately not properly established. However, despite the ban, Vietnam surprisingly came up as the 6 the highest number of visitors in Alexa ranking figures. This only means that the ban was not taken that seriously.

On the contrary, this social network was not actually banned in Iran. There is however limited access in Iran since 2007. Its history of banning the site is very turbulent and unclear. Although a list of banned websites came out in early 2010, Facebook was not among those sites that weren’t o be used.

The reasons for banning Facebook really vary from one country to another. Moreover, the effectiveness of the ban also varies correspondingly with the reason that stands as ground for the ban. Whatever the reasons are, the fact remains that although Facebook is officially banned in some countries, their citizens are still continuously patronizing Facebook and continuously maintaining their activities in this social network.