Myanmar

Shutdowns in Myanmar

MYANMAR’S DIGITAL DICTATORSHIP

On February 1, 2021, the military besieged Myanmar and took control of the nation through a violent coup, initiating a series of brutal crackdowns, serious human rights violations, and escalating digital control over the nation.

The junta is continuing to pillage online spaces, crushing the last remnants of the long-razed rights to privacy, freedom of expression and association, access to information, and security.

Access Now and civil society from across the globe are working to stop the Myanmar military from consolidating absolute control of digital spaces, and helping ensure the future of Myanmar’s internet is free, open, and accessible for all.

CIVIL SOCIETY ACTIONS

photo by: Jeremy Bezanger

Content Governance

Meta and Google must use their powers to stop Myanmar’s alternative propaganda machine

The Myanmar junta is building an alternative propaganda machine and banning Youtube and Facebook across the country. MTube and OKPar apps are being offered as alternatives.

Myanmar coup

Data Protection

Ooredoo’s plans to leave Myanmar hands military full control of nation’s telco sector — it must mitigate the human rights risks

Access Now calls on Ooredoo to mitigate the human rights risks that will arise from the sale to junta-linked entities.

header image: pushing back against IMEI registration in Myanmar

Digital Identity Systems

Myanmar IMEI FAQ: how the junta could disconnect the resistance

Myanmar’s proposed IMEI rules raise surveillance and connectivity risks. Telco operators must prepare to push back.

Myanmar CCTV camera

Digital Security

Track and target: FAQ on Myanmar CCTV cameras and facial recognition

The military junta in Myanmar is rolling out China-made CCTV cameras with facial recognition capabilities to intensify surveillance against the people.

Myanmar coup

Data Protection

Resist Myanmar’s digital coup: stop the military consolidating digital control

Access Now and a coalition of human rights organizations call on the international and business community to resist the digital coup in Myanmar.

Corporate transparency Social card

Data Protection

As Myanmar junta extends control over telcos, surveillance and privacy risks increase

Telenor must mitigate the human rights risks of its sale before passing on the private information of people in Myanmar to a military-linked operator.

INDUSTRY RESOURCES

FAQS

WHAT DOES MYANMAR’S ONLINE SPACE LOOK LIKE?

Myanmar’s online space has been shrinking since the coup. The military junta has systematically been attacking online spaces through: 

HOW IS THE JUNTA USING INTERNET SHUTDOWNS TO CENSOR PEOPLE IN MYANMAR?

In 2021, people in Myanmar faced constant internet shutdowns. When the coup began, the shutdowns affected internet and voice connectivity, as well as non-military television and radio channels, across the country, and systematically evolved over time. Now, shutdowns take many forms, including curfew-style blackouts that disrupt connectivity through the nights, and the targeted shutting down of mobile internet services. Notably, there are reports of shutdowns constantly implemented in regions where armed conflict and military violence are most severe. 

To find out more about internet shutdowns, visit Access Now’s #KeepItOn page.

HOW IS THE JUNTA USING LEGAL TOOLS TO CENSOR PEOPLE IN MYANMAR?

Other tools to censor expression and dissent include the draft Cybersecurity Law that threatens to criminalize legitimate online expression and provides “legal” scope for  surveillance of activists, take downs of online content on vague and overbroad grounds, suppression of free media, and criminalisation of Virtual Private Network (VPN) usage — which is vital for most people to navigate the throttled internet.

HOW IS THE JUNTA INFILTRATING AND MANIPULATING THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SECTOR TO CENSOR PEOPLE IN MYANMAR?

Price hikes and onerous SIM card registration requirements have made it even more difficult for people to access the internet — returning Myanmar to the closed-off communications of previous decades — and phone seizures and hacking have been abused by the military to monitor and target not just individuals deemed to oppose the regime, but anyone in their family and friend networks. 

The military junta also plans to implement a mandatory registration scheme of all International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI)numbers for mobile devices in Myanmar. With IMEI registration in place, the military can gather information on the devices people use, including its location. In Saudi Arabia, the government reportedly used spy-grade tracking equipment and IMEI data to track women fleeing from the country, gaining access to their precise location within a few feet.

WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SECTOR IN MYANMAR?

It was recently reported that Ooredoo, the last remaining telco operating in Myanmar that is not owned or connected to the military junta, has announced its decision to exit Myanmar and sell its local operations to Nine Communications, a Singapore-based subsidiary of LInk Family Office and military-linked Nyan Win. In the past,  Ooredoo, has likely complied with orders from the Myanmar military to activate intercept technology — though not verified.

Norway’s Telenor sold off it local operations to the M1 group, which bought Telenor Myanmar through its Singapore-registered entity, Investcom Pte Ltd – the majority of which is owned  by military-linked Shwe Byain Phyu Group.

With the remaining two players already linked to the military and these recent developments, the telecommunications sector in Myanmar is now fully controlled by the junta.

WHAT CAN TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANIES IN MYANMAR DO?

  • Engage in continuous and transparent dialogue with civil society based on international human rights standards, so that companies can effectively identify and address the human rights challenges and risks to the people that may arise from their decisions about their operations in Myanmar. 
  • Conduct heightened due diligence when exiting Myanmar and selling operations to determine and mitigate the effect that leaving would have on individuals in the country and to ensure that buyers are in no way linked to the military junta.
  • Immediately implement safeguards to protect users at risk, including immediately implementing data protection and privacy safeguards to resist increasing attempts to extend surveillance, censorship, and abuse of rights.
  • Cooperate amongst online platforms to establish and invest in collective mechanisms to meet rights obligations and combat hate speech and incitement to violence online.

For more information, see Access Now’s Telco Action Plan: Respecting Human Rights: Ten Steps and Implementation Objectives for Telecommunications Companies.

WHAT DID MYANMAR’S ONLINE SPACE LOOK LIKE BEFORE THE COUP?

In the decade preceding the coup, while online civic space was open for many, the internet — and the rights exercised through its use — was not accessible for all. With a predominantly Rohingya population, Rakhine and Chin states suffered through lengthy internet shutdowns and slowdowns since June 2019, and saw millions of SIM cards deactivated in 2020 in a manner that disproportionately impacted minority communities. 

People in these states lived through one of the longest internet shutdowns in history, and those who fought against them, such as activist Maung Saungkha, faced persecution.

During this time, over 1,000 human rights activists and journalists were arrested for exercizing their human right to freedom of opinion and expression online. 

Other issues

Passport and Visa Systems must not exclude members of human rights community around the world
Protest and Online Organizing
Protest and Online Organizing

Joint Statement: Passport and visa systems must not exclude members of the human rights community from cross-border convenings

7 Jun 2023

These discriminatory systems prevent human rights defenders from coming together to advance their work, bring severe hardship and harm to those impacted, and unjustly place the heaviest burden on people from the Global Majority. Join us in taking a stand.

Campaign
Joint Statement: Passport and visa systems must not exclude members of the human rights community from cross-border convenings
7 Jun 2023
Joint Statement: Passport and visa systems must not exclude members of the human rights community from cross-border convenings
Ethiopian government internet
Internet Shutdowns
Internet Shutdowns

Who is shutting down the internet in 2023? A mid-year update

6 Jun 2023

Since the beginning of 2023, governments around the world are discovering new reasons to disrupt internet access during key national moments.

Publication
Who is shutting down the internet in 2023? A mid-year update
6 Jun 2023
Who is shutting down the internet in 2023? A mid-year update
Tech and conflict
Transparency
Transparency

Tech and conflict: a guide for responsible business conduct

18 May 2023

This guide is meant to help tech companies think through the impacts of their decisions in the context of conflict.

Guide
Tech and conflict: a guide for responsible business conduct
18 May 2023
Tech and conflict: a guide for responsible business conduct
header image: pushing back against IMEI registration in Myanmar
Freedom of Expression
Freedom of Expression

Myanmar Junta Cracks Down on Social Media Posts Deemed Anti-Regime

28 Apr 2023
News
Myanmar Junta Cracks Down on Social Media Posts Deemed Anti-Regime
28 Apr 2023
Myanmar Junta Cracks Down on Social Media Posts Deemed Anti-Regime
Myanmar coup
Surveillance
Surveillance

KBZ users struggle under junta surveillance

28 Apr 2023
News
KBZ users struggle under junta surveillance
28 Apr 2023
KBZ users struggle under junta surveillance
header image: pushing back against IMEI registration in Myanmar
Freedom of Expression
Freedom of Expression

The Myanmar junta’s war against Facebook

5 Apr 2023
News
The Myanmar junta’s war against Facebook
5 Apr 2023
The Myanmar junta’s war against Facebook
Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition's report unpacks internet shutdowns in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and globally.
Internet Shutdowns
Internet Shutdowns

حجب الإنترنت في منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا في سنة 2022: تواصل للانتهاكات والإفلات من العقاب

29 Mar 2023

قامت 11 دولة في منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا بفرض عمليات حجب للإنترنت في 37 مناسبة، حيث تصدّرت إيران هذه القائمة من خلال قطعها للإنترنت 18 مرة.

Press Release
حجب الإنترنت في منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا في سنة 2022: تواصل للانتهاكات والإفلات من العقاب
29 Mar 2023
حجب الإنترنت في منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا في سنة 2022: تواصل للانتهاكات والإفلات من العقاب
Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition's report unpacks internet shutdowns in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and globally.
Internet Shutdowns
Internet Shutdowns

Internet shutdowns in MENA in 2022: continued abuses and impunity

29 Mar 2023

In 2022, authorities across the Middle East and North Africa shutdown the internet 37 times — with Iran hitting the kill switch a staggering 18 times.

Press Release
Internet shutdowns in MENA in 2022: continued abuses and impunity
29 Mar 2023
Internet shutdowns in MENA in 2022: continued abuses and impunity
Digital rights

Access Now and ARTICLE 19: Statement on Myanmar at the 52nd UN Human Rights Council session

23 Mar 2023

Access Now and ARTICLE 19 highlight shutdowns and surveillance in Myanmar at the 52nd session of the UN Human Rights Council.

Post
Access Now and ARTICLE 19: Statement on Myanmar at the 52nd UN Human Rights Council session
23 Mar 2023
Access Now and ARTICLE 19: Statement on Myanmar at the 52nd UN Human Rights Council session
header image: pushing back against IMEI registration in Myanmar
Freedom of Expression
Freedom of Expression

Myanmar Regime Extends Counterterrorism Law to Block Resistance Funding

17 Mar 2023
News
Myanmar Regime Extends Counterterrorism Law to Block Resistance Funding
17 Mar 2023
Myanmar Regime Extends Counterterrorism Law to Block Resistance Funding
#KeepItOn 2022 Report: Weapons of control, shields of impunity - internet shutdowns in 2022
Internet Shutdowns
Internet Shutdowns

Five years in a row: India is 2022’s biggest internet shutdowns offender

28 Feb 2023

In 2022, India shut down the internet at least 84 times — more than any country, for the fifth consecutive year. Read “Weapons of control, shields of impunity: Internet shutdowns in 2022.”

Press Release
Five years in a row: India is 2022’s biggest internet shutdowns offender
28 Feb 2023
Five years in a row: India is 2022’s biggest internet shutdowns offender
Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition's report unpacks internet shutdowns in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and globally.
Internet Shutdowns
Internet Shutdowns

မြန်မာနိုင်ငံရှိ အင်တာနက်ပိတ်ဆို့မှုများက – ၂၀၂၂ ခုနှစ်မှာ စစ်တပ်ရဲ့ ဆိုးရွားသည့် လူ့အခွင့်အရေး ချိုးဖောက်မှုများကို ထောက်ကူပေးခဲ့

28 Feb 2023

Access Now’s new report, “Weapons of control, shields of impunity: Internet shutdowns in 2022,” unpacks internet shutdowns in Myanmar and globally.

Press Release
မြန်မာနိုင်ငံရှိ အင်တာနက်ပိတ်ဆို့မှုများက – ၂၀၂၂ ခုနှစ်မှာ စစ်တပ်ရဲ့ ဆိုးရွားသည့် လူ့အခွင့်အရေး ချိုးဖောက်မှုများကို ထောက်ကူပေးခဲ့
28 Feb 2023
မြန်မာနိုင်ငံရှိ အင်တာနက်ပိတ်ဆို့မှုများက – ၂၀၂၂ ခုနှစ်မှာ စစ်တပ်ရဲ့ ဆိုးရွားသည့် လူ့အခွင့်အရေး ချိုးဖောက်မှုများကို ထောက်ကူပေးခဲ့
Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition's report unpacks internet shutdowns in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and globally.
Internet Shutdowns
Internet Shutdowns

Weapons of control, shields of impunity: Internet shutdowns in 2022

28 Feb 2023
Publication
Weapons of control, shields of impunity: Internet shutdowns in 2022
28 Feb 2023
Weapons of control, shields of impunity: Internet shutdowns in 2022
Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition's report unpacks internet shutdowns in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and globally.
Internet Shutdowns
Internet Shutdowns

Resurging internet shutdowns in 2022: weapons of control, shields of impunity

28 Feb 2023
Press Release
Resurging internet shutdowns in 2022: weapons of control, shields of impunity
28 Feb 2023
Resurging internet shutdowns in 2022: weapons of control, shields of impunity
Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition's report unpacks internet shutdowns in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and globally.
Internet Shutdowns
Internet Shutdowns

Internet shutdowns in Myanmar: facilitating brutal human rights violations in 2022

28 Feb 2023

Access Now’s new report, “Weapons of control, shields of impunity: Internet shutdowns in 2022,” unpacks internet shutdowns in Myanmar and globally.

Press Release
Internet shutdowns in Myanmar: facilitating brutal human rights violations in 2022
28 Feb 2023
Internet shutdowns in Myanmar: facilitating brutal human rights violations in 2022
#KeepItOn in Senegal
Freedom of Expression
Freedom of Expression

Weapons of control, shields of impunity: Internet shutdowns in 2022

28 Feb 2023

Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition documented 187 internet shutdowns in 2022, across a record-setting 35 countries.

Post
Weapons of control, shields of impunity: Internet shutdowns in 2022
28 Feb 2023
Weapons of control, shields of impunity: Internet shutdowns in 2022