Internet in Myanmar
Prior to September 2011, the military government worked aggressively to limit and control Internet access through software-based censorship, infrastructure and technical constraints, and laws and regulations with large fines and lengthy prison sentences for violators.
Following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, internet access was shut off daily between the hours of 1:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, Wikipedia and its related sister projects, international and local media, and the websites of anti-coup organizations (including the CRPH), were also banned by the ruling junta.
Myanmar has a very low Internet penetration rate due to government restrictions on pricing and deliberate lack of facilities and infrastructure.
"[25] Zawgyi, considered the most widely-used font throughout Myanmar, is incompatible with Unicode, meaning that it does not use "an intelligent rendering engine to make sure each script element has one and only one code point.
[24] Lorian Leong of Mobile Media & Communication found that the lack of Unicode "influences users’ access and dependency on others to help install such services, and creates constraints and limitations to content.
"[24] An October 2010 survey found that blogging is the fastest growing type of Internet activity in Myanmar, with a 25 percent increase from 2009.
[26] A non-scientific survey taken in 2009 found that:[27] According to the Development Institute of the Russian Federation, Myanmar "still [has] social media penetration levels below 10%.
According to Reuters, "U.N. human rights experts investigating a possible genocide in Myanmar said [...] that Facebook had played a role in spreading hate speech there.
[31] According to UNESCO, the workshop "gave participants a chance to learn about social media and data trends, the platforms available, their characteristics, and how to effectively leverage these for crisis information management"[31] in addition to advising the managers about the use of social media in issues such as hate speech or election violence.
"[10] Since the introduction of Internet to the country, Myanmar has faced criticism from several organizations for its actions regarding censorship, some of which are listed below: Prior to September 2011, the government used a wide range of methods to restrict Internet freedom, including legal and regulatory barriers, infrastructural and technical constraints, and coercive measures such as intimidation and lengthy prison sentences.
[37] Previously, Myanmar utilised a national intranet, a network protocol serving as a closed alternative to the global Internet, in order to limit the flow of unwanted information in and out of the country.
[38][39] State-controlled ISPs occasionally applied bandwidth caps to prevent the sharing of video and image files, particularly during politically-sensitive events, such as the November 2010 elections.
[35][40] Prior to September 2011, Myanmar banned the websites and blogs of political opposition groups, sites relating to human rights, and pro-democracy organisations.
[47] Despite restrictions, the number of Internet users in Myanmar continues to grow, albeit with the majority relying upon low bandwidth.
[35] However, in the second half of 2011, as part of a larger series of amnesties, the military regime released a number of journalists and bloggers.
[34] Following decades of military rule, Burma has undergone a series of significant political and economic reforms since elections in November 2010.
International news sites, including Voice of America, BBC, and Radio Free Asia, long blocked by Burmese censors, became accessible.
A number of previously censored independent Burma-focused news sites which had been highly critical of the ruling regime, such as the Democratic Voice of Burma and Irrawaddy, were also made accessible.
[67] While harsh prison terms and selective enforcement encourages self-censorship, expression in online environments, such as comment features, remains both relatively free and anonymous.
[10] While the government of Myanmar amended the 2013 law slightly in August 2017, including an amendment that "permits judges to release people on bail, allows only those directly affected, or with permission from those directly affected, by the offense to press charges, and reduces the maximum prison sentence to two years”[69] for crimes under article 66 of the law, the government did not change anything about article 66(d), which is considered a "highly controversial clause that restricts freedom of speech.
In response, the government increased surprise inspections of cybercafes, and cafes posted signs warning users not to visit certain websites.
Licensing law instructed cybercafes to install CCTV cameras and assign at least four security staff to monitor users.
After a few days, social media, including Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia, Spotify, Instagram, and WhatsApp, were banned following their usage by anti-coup protestors.
