1/3/22, 11:28 AM 30,000 Myanmar’s internet suppression Searches skyrocketed after the Facebook ban on Feb.4․‥ 15,000 and remain in the thousands, many times higher than the pre-coup levels of around 200 each day. ․‥ 0 Jan.25 Feb.8 Feb.22 Mar.8 Mar.22 Sources: Data provided by Top10VPN.com 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, groups also shared 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, told Reuters in February. “The important thing is we show the world what’s happening.” https://graphics.reuters.com/MYANMAR-POLITICS/INTERNET-RESTRICTION/rlgpdbreepo/ 28/31