Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese.
Suppression of internet freedom and security in Myanmar is significantly worse today than it was four years ago, when the junta seized power in a coup d’etat, according to a group monitoring digital access in the country.
The Myanmar Internet Project, or MIP, a digital freedom watchdog based in Thailand, reported on Tuesday that the junta caused more than 130 internet blackouts in 82 townships in 10 regions and states in 2024 alone.
The report said that more than 100 townships in Myanmar suffered internet outages between the February 2021 coup and the end of 2024.
The internet shutdowns have severely impacted people’s livelihoods, Han, a technology expert with the Myanmar Internet Project, told RFA Burmese.
“Restricting internet freedom, which is one of the most fundamental ... human rights, effectively impacts all other rights, constituting a violation of human rights as a whole,” he said. “This has led to significant losses in areas such as education, the economy, healthcare, and social development.”
Han added that in areas where insurgents are fighting to remove the military from power, “conflict news and information that is crucial for daily life is unavailable.”
The junta has cut off internet access predominantly in cities in Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Chin, Rakhine and Shan states, as well as in central Myanmar regions such as Sagaing and Magway, where its forces have lost territory to rebel factions, the report said.
And while regular internet access remains available in junta-controlled cities such as Yangon and Mandalay, social media users who express criticism of the military risk arrest, it said. In 2024 alone, the junta detained 374 people who had posted critical content on sites such as Facebook and TikTok, according to the MIP report.
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A resident of Yangon who sells goods via a marketplace on Facebook, told RFA that his business has been devastated by the junta’s internet restrictions, including the targeting of virtual private networks, or VPNs, which allow users to bypass blocked websites by hiding their IP addresses.
“The number of online viewers and buyers has dropped significantly, causing economic challenges for online retailers,” said the resident who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.
“Recently, as restrictions have tightened, the availability of free VPNs has decreased, and paid VPN services have emerged,” he said. “But even those with subscription fees often stop working, with servers frequently disconnecting. This has caused significant disruptions and delays to our business operations.”
Cybersecurity Law in effect
On Jan. 1, the junta enacted the Cybersecurity Law, which subjects those who “misuse electronic technology, build online gambling sites, and provide virtual private network services” to stiff prison sentences and fines.
In an accompanying announcement, the junta said the law was enacted to “protect the country’s sovereignty and stability from cyberattacks and to effectively take action against cybercrimes.”
A legal expert, who also declined to be named, said that freedom of expression has been restricted in Myanmar since the coup, when the junta suspended key sections of the Law Protecting the Privacy and Security of Citizens.
“Since then, citizens have lost most of their personal freedoms,” he said.
The expert said that the suspension was the result of a “rivalry between the ruling government and opposition groups” in the aftermath of the takeover.
“As a result, the public is bearing the consequences of these intense political and military conflicts,” he said.
According to the MIP, the junta cut off internet and phone communications in 62 townships in 10 regions and states at least 72 times in 2023 and arrested at least 550 people for criticizing the junta on social media.
Attempts by RFA to contact junta spokesperson Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Htun for comment on the state of internet freedom in Myanmar went unanswered Thursday.
According to an Oct. 16 report by U.S.-based Freedom House, which surveyed 72 countries, Myanmar stands among the worst nations for internet freedom.
Facebook content moderation
A day after the MIP published its internet freedom report, Human Rights Myanmar, or HRM, issued a statement urging Facebook’s parent company, Meta Platforms, to reconsider relaxing content moderation policies that it said raise “serious concerns for Myanmar, where Facebook has both enabled anti-coup dissent and fueled real-world consequences.”
In 2016, Facebook launched a fact-checking program aimed at protecting users from conspiracy theories on its platform. This week, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook and Meta’s CEO, announced that he was ending the program over concerns about “too much censorship.”
While HRM applauded Meta’s goal of fostering free expression, it said that the company also has “heightened legal and moral responsibilities under international human rights law and its previous commitments to prevent its platforms from enabling harm in high-risk environments like Myanmar.”
“Restoring freedom of expression should first address Meta’s algorithms, which prioritize emotive content—including disinformation and divisive rhetoric—over trustworthy sources,“ the group said. ”In Myanmar, where such content fuels violence, tackling algorithmic bias is essential.“
It called Meta’s plan to phase out fact-checkers in favor of community-based systems “concerning,” particularly in Myanmar, where military propaganda and disinformation campaigns are “rampant” online.
“Zuckerberg’s use of language discrediting fact-checkers as ‘politically biased’ mirrors authoritarian regimes’ attacks on civil society,” the group said.
HRM noted that Meta has conducted human rights impact assessments on Myanmar and other high-risk countries after admitting its platforms enabled human rights violations, including crimes against the persecuted Rohingya minority.
About 740,000 Rohingya fled from Rakhine state to neighboring Bangladesh following a bloody crackdown by the military against members of the largely stateless community in August 2017.
“Meta’s Myanmar assessment emphasizes the need for context-based decisions and prior consultation,“ the group said. ”However, there is no indication that Meta has conducted adequate due diligence outside the U.S. ahead of these global changes. HRM fears this clear oversight could foreshadow a repeat of past mistakes.”
Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.