Syrian regime to launch Facebook rival to 'protect citizens privacy'

Deputy Communications and Technology Minister Ghassan Saba told little-known Masarat magazine that a social media application was being designed to "protect the privacy of Syrians".

The announcement comes days after Syrian authorities complained that its Instagram account had been shut down.

"The ministry is working to create an application similar to Facebook but a Syrian version," Saba was quoted as saying.

"It is designed for Syrians to protect their personal information and to prevent it being published and manipulated outside Syria," he added.

The news has been widely mocked by social media users.

"Poor guys, it seems they don't know how to monitor Facebook," said one user.

Syrian authorities said on Wednesday it had regained access to its official Instagram account a day after it was blocked.

They blamed the incident on a "growing siege" imposed on Syria since the start of the country's war in 2011, adding that they believed further measures would follow as part of a so-called "soft war" being waged on the country.

Social media played a pivotal role in Syria during the 2011 uprising against the regime of Bashar al-Assad and the ensuing brutal repression of the anti-government protests that sparked the ongoing war.

Last March, Egypt launched its own Facebook rival dubbed "EgFace" in a bid to "combat terrorism".

The website was widely panned as an attempt to spy on Egyptians by the government and failed to garner users. It is currently offline.