WhatsHappeningInMyanmar: To try to suppress protests, the junta has imposed increasing restrictions on internet access that has made it difficult for people to access information, upload videos of protests, or organize andreajanuta MinamiFunakoshi
In the early hours of Feb. 1, Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup that has ignited months of mass protests. The military junta’s security forces have since killed more than 550 civilians in crackdowns on the pro-democracy protesters, including children.
To try to suppress protests, the junta has imposed increasing restrictions on internet access, culminating in a near total shutdown as of April 2. That has made it extremely difficult for people to access information, upload videos of protests, or organize. These tactics have also crippled businesses and limited access to medical information during the coronavirus pandemic. A Myanmar junta spokesperson did not respond to calls seeking comment. At a March 23 press conference, spokesperson Zaw Min Tun said the junta had no immediate plans to ease internet restrictions because violence was being provoked online. Protesters in Myanmar, who asked to stay anonymous, told Reuters they were terrified about being shut off from the world, with no way to broadcast news of the protests or of the army’s killings to those outside of Myanmar. “We Myanmar people are in the dark now,” said one young protester. “News from Myanmar is going to disappear,” another added.Governments around the world are increasingly using internet restrictions during political crises as a tool to limit free expression and hide human rights abuses, according to data from the digital rights organization Access Now. The U.N. Human Rights Council has condemned such intentional disruptions as a human rights violation. “Whenever the internet is shut down during such critical moments we would hear or document or see reports of human rights abuses, and that is what is happening in Myanmar,” said Felicia Anthonio, a campaigner with Access Now. “The government is cracking down on protesters to ensure they do not let the rest of the world know what is happening.” Since the coup, the junta has ordered telecom companies to carry out dozens of shutdowns. These shutdowns targeted mobile and wireless internet, which is the only available internet for most in the country.Before the current internet blackout, Myanmar’s junta continually added severe restrictions on how people could use it. By Feb. 4, all of Myanmar’s major internet providers blocked access to the social media platform Facebook on orders from the junta. About half of Myanmar’s 54 million people use Facebook, which for many is synonymous with the internet. By the end of the following day, Twitter and Instagram were blocked as well. These platforms had been a key tool for organizing and sharing information about protests.Rally opposing the military coup | Feb. 10 | Yangon, MyanmarProtesters running away from stun grenades and bullets | March 7 | Yangon, Myanmar Over the next two months, the restrictions escalated. As of April 2, all mobile data and wireless broadband internet has been shut down, cutting off most of the Myanmar population from the internet. Only fixed-line connections remain, which few people have access to. Additionally, Myanmar’s junta has ordered internet providers in at least one city, Bago, to share the identities of fixed broadband subscribers, according to two sources and an official government order reviewed by Reuters. Residents in the city of Kalay said on April 5 that the fixed fiber internet was not working.Note: Data as of April 5. Public Wi-Fi has been largely shut off and described as “limited” since March 18. Until Feb. 14, Norwegian telecom company Telenor had published regular updates on the orders it received from the junta. The company stopped out of concern for its employees, a Telenor spokesperson told Reuters.Slow internet speedsSome digital rights groups Reuters spoke with viewed these slowdowns as evidence of “throttling,” or intentional delays ordered by the government. Others speculated it might be caused by damaged wires or stress on the infrastructure as a side effect of the government’s restrictions. Though the causes are unknown, during times of slow speed, uploading and downloading large amounts of data becomes much harder, if not impossible. Sharing videos and live streaming – two common tactics of the protesters – become especially difficult.Despite the junta’s efforts, people in Myanmar have found ways to bypass many of these restrictions. Virtual private networks, or VPNs, create a private tunnel between a device and the internet. Any information – such as what websites someone is browsing or what files are being uploaded – is encrypted by the VPN and becomes unreadable to others along the information path. That means internet service providers can’t tell if you are trying to visit a blocked website and will likely let the information through. Demand for VPNs has skyrocketed since the coup. However, some Myanmar residents have told Reuters that they found some of the VPNs they used were subsequently blocked.Note: Data as of March 29. Data reflects daily Google searches in Myanmar over a wide variety of VPN-related search terms. While VPNs can grant access to Facebook or other blocked websites, they don’t work when there is no internet access, and they exacerbate slow speeds. Others in Myanmar have been able to obtain Thai SIM cards, some of which access mobile data through telecommunication companies that are not executing shutdown orders. As the latest shutdown loomed,radio frequencies, offline apps that work without a data connection, and tips for using SMS messages to communicate without data services. “Despite the difficulties, citizen journalists and media are posting in every possible way,” journalist Thar Lon Zaung Htet, 37,Opening photo: Demonstrators hold placards and a cutout with the image of Aung San Suu Kyi during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar | Feb. 15, 2021 | REUTERS/Stringer Final photo: Demonstrators protest against the military coup and demand the release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, in Yangon, Myanmar | Feb. 6, 2021 | REUTERS/Stringer