EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Myanmar’s democratic transition (2011-2021) saw several reforms that enhanced access to fundamental rights, although Freedom of expression (FoE) remained contingent. During this period, cyberspace emerged as a new avenue for people’s civic and political engagement and political engagement and created new pathways for citizens to claim the right to FoE. Following the military coup of 1st February 2021, FoE came under attack and new restrictions completely collapsed FoE. This research report presents the findings of study into the characteristics of online FoE in post-coup Myanmar. FoE also known as freedom of speech – is a principle that supports any individual or community to express their views without fear, enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). States have a duty to uphold FoE, as duty-bearers, and must also sometimes limit FoE in order to protect other rights, such as the right to security, or the right to feely practice religion. This obligation on states to balance FoE with other rights and freedoms is challenging, and often controversial. A balance must be struck 6 between protecting FoE on the one hand and protecting people from harm that might be caused if FoE is completely unlimited – for example if that freedom is abused to incite hatred, discrimination, or violence. Clearly, a major factor affecting how FoE is protected and regulated is the nature of a state’s governance. In authoritarian regimes that rely on propaganda and the suppression of freedoms of thought to achieve their objectives, FoE is suppressed. Another factor is the pace of technological change. New forms of media – most notably the internet and social media – can develop so quickly that regulatory reforms are often slow to catch up. The internet and social media is global in nature, which creates a further challenge for regulators. In Myanmar, as with anywhere else the internet provides new forms of expression and access to information. Unlike other places, however, the roll out of internet access has happened so rapidly neither state authorities nor society at large has had the same time to adapt as in many other places. In Myanmar, as of January 2021, there were 29 million social media users (53.1% of the total population), which includes a 31.8% increase in users from 2020 (Datareportal, 2021). Facebook reports that up to 27 million people can be reached via advertising on its platform (61% of the total population of Myanmar). The online space, particularly that of social media, presents a vast world filled with opportunity, risk, benefit, and harm. Alongside civilians, those making full use of these benefits and opportunities include those with the means to leverage the vast reach of digital platforms, including governments, ethnic armed organizations, private companies, religious leaders, INGO’s, medical professionals, media, and celebrities. Society is echoed online, and often the worst in society can be amplified, boosted by algorithms that drive users to contentious or offensive content as a quick way to boost ad revenues. What happens online then reverberates offline. In Myanmar, the internet has, however brought indisputable benefits. Access to information and resources has bolstered education, active civic participation, creative expression and