Censorship in Myanmar (also called Burma) results from government policies in controlling and regulating certain information, particularly on religious, ethnic, political, and moral grounds.
Until August 2012, every publication (including newspaper articles, cartoons, advertisements, and illustrations) required pre-approval by the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division (PSRB) of the Ministry of Information.
[1][2] However, the 2011–2012 Burmese political reforms signalled significant relaxations of the country's censorship policies and in August 2012 the Ministry of Information lifted the requirement that print media organisations submit materials to the government prior to publication.
In 1878, after Lower Burma was annexed by the United Kingdom, the Vernacular Press Act was passed, which attempted to repress propaganda against the British government in local language newspapers.
In 1898, the Criminal Procedure Code allowed the government to convict people for treason and sedition on grounds of disseminating false information against the state.
[7] Two years later, the Emergency Provisions Act, which criminalised the spreading of false news knowingly and the slandering of civil servants and military officials was enacted.
That same year, the State Protection Law was issued, allowing authorities to imprison any persons who have been suspected of being a threat to national peace.
In addition, the distribution, transfer, or acquisition of information that undermines state security, national solidarity and culture, is a criminal offence.
[9] The period saw a number of high-profile journalist arrests, such as Aung Pwint, who was jailed in 1999 for fax-machine ownership and "sending news" to banned papers.
[12] In July 2014, five journalists were jailed for ten years after publishing a report accusing the government of planning to build a new chemical weapons plant.
[16] According to a study conducted by OpenNet Initiative (ONI) in 2005, Internet censorship was mostly confined to websites related to pro-democracy groups and those on pornography.
[22] Tint Swe, director of the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division, has publicly called for the abolition of media censorship in the country, stating that it is not in line with democratic practices.
[27] In January 2012, the Ministry of Information announced that it had forwarded a draft of a new media and press law to the Attorney General's Office for review.
[28] In August 2012, the Ministry of Information lifted the requirement that print media organisations submit materials to the government before publication; films remained subject to prior censorship.
The head of the PSRB, Tint Swe, told the Agence France-Presse that "censorship began on 6 August 1964 and ended 48 years and two weeks later".
[29] However, the ban on private ownership of daily newspapers remained, as did a law forbidding the publication of "information relating to secrets of the security of the state".
Journalism organisations expressed cautious optimism at the change, but predicted that "a pervasive culture of self-censorship" would remain, as journalists feared long prison sentences associated with libel and state security charges.
The PSRB remains a threat to the nation's freedom of press, wielding the same power to audit and sanction publications deemed inflammatory to the Burmese government as it has for the previous five decades.
[31][32] Journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo of Reuters, were charged and jailed on 12 December 2017 by authorities near Rangoon for concealing 'secret papers' which violated a colonial era law.
Using article 505 (a) of the Myanmar Penal Code, the military targeted entire news organizations and told the media to not use the term "junta" and "coup d'état" as they would face sanctions as a consequence.