Laws and Policies The draft Cybersecurity Law violates international standards on internet freedoms, enumerated in Human Rights Council Resolution of 2018, that called for the elimination of all undue restrictions on freedom of 10 opinion and expression online (Human Rights Council, 2018). In 2011, international mechanisms on freedom of expression made similar calls to respect online expression in their Joint Declaration to the Human Rights Council. They note, inter alia, that “access to the Internet is also necessary to promote respect for other rights, such as the rights to education, health care and work, the right to assembly and association, and the right to free elections,'' that intermediaries should not be targeted and that standards of liability “should take into account the overall public interest in protecting both the expression and the forum in which it is made” (OAS, 2002). In sum, even before the 2021 military takeover, it was observable that suspension of public access to information (a State of Emergency Provision under the Constitution) and criminalisation of internet freedoms (criminal defamation provisions) were facilitated by a number of domestic laws, which are vaguely-worded and not aligned with international human rights standards. These ‘permissions’ to infringe on rights have expanded since the coup, resulting in more frequent and egregious violations. The military junta introduced amendments to existing laws that have allowed authorities unfettered power to control domestic public opinion, disrupt the local population’s ability to mobilise using social media platforms and directly access individuals’ personal data. 10 The United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, the Organization for Security and Co- operation in Europe (OSCE) Representative on Freedom of the Media, the Organization of American States (OAS) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information American States (OAS) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information 0 1 26