Internet access, credibility plummet in Myanmar, report finds

FORUM Staff

Myanmar, mired in a civil war triggered by a military coup in February 2021, has joined the People’s Republic of China (PRC) at the bottom of an annual assessment of internet freedom in 72 nations worldwide.

The Freedom House rankings evaluate internet access, content limits and user rights violations in the countries, which comprise about 87% of global internet users. The nongovernmental Washington, D.C.-based organization promotes democracy and monitors political and economic freedoms.

Since seizing power from the democratically elected government, “Myanmar’s military has conducted a brutally violent crackdown on dissent and imprisoned thousands of people in retaliation for their online speech, all while building a mass censorship and surveillance regime to suppress the activities of civilian prodemocracy activists and armed resistance groups,” states Freedom on the Net, released in mid-October 2024. The military regime intensified its digital suppression in May 2024 by blocking most virtual private networks (VPN), eliminating a way for users to bypass internet controls.

Myanmar’s military junta has perpetrated a deadly, land-scorching assault against its domestic civilian opponents. Following months of carnage, resistance groups comprised of pro-democracy civilians and ethnic minorities have been defeating junta forces and gaining territory in border areas, including Shan State along the Myanmar-PRC border. The military, with its image of invincibility dented, now relies increasingly on aerial attacks.

The conflict has decimated the PRC’s previously robust border trade with Myanmar and threatened infrastructure projects intended to increase Beijing’s influence and provide it with access to the Indian Ocean. The PRC’s attempts to broker a ceasefire have failed.

The resistance groups in September 2024 rejected a purported peace plan from Myanmar’s junta, the military dictatorship’s first such offer since seizing power, the BBC reported. The exiled National Unity Government (NUG) said the proposal was not worth considering.

The Freedom House assessment is the first time in more than a decade that the PRC did not stand alone as the world’s worst debaser of internet freedoms. Beijing continued to isolate its domestic internet, blocking international traffic to some government websites and fining people who use VPNs. It also repressed dissent, censoring online discussion about people and opinions that counter government positions.

While Chinese citizens have faced systematic online censorship for decades, Myanmar’s population had been unaccustomed to draconian internet restrictions, said Kian Vesteinsson, the report’s co-author. Coup leaders’ tactics include blocking independent news sites and enforcing internet shutdowns, the Voice of America news organization reported.

Myanmar’s 2024 ranking contrasts with its high mark in 2014, when Freedom House rated the nation’s internet as “partly free” after the elimination of pre-publication press censorship and increased availability of mobile phone SIM cards that allow users to connect to a network, The Diplomat magazine reported. Since the coup, internet availability and reliability have deteriorated.

“I feel like I am dying from anxiety,” Li Mianzhen, a Myanmar refugee in the Chinese city of Ruili, told the BBC. “This war has brought us so much misfortune. At what point will all of this end?”

The NUG, which was established by lawmakers who evaded capture during the coup, issued a statement condemning the junta’s actions “that limit and block the basic human rights of the people,” The Associated Press reported in June 2024. The NUG vowed “to build an independent internet network in places free from the control of the terrorist military.”

Worldwide, internet freedom declined for the 14th consecutive year, Freedom House reported. Dozens of countries have held or plan to hold elections in 2024, which has prompted repressive measures such as blocking websites, restricting access to social media platforms and cutting off internet connectivity.