(Myanmar Telecommunications Master Plan) or they have not been renewed (2011-2015 ICT Master Plan). Myanmar is also part of the ASEAN ICT Master Plan 2020.8 RELEVANT MYANMAR LAWS GOVERNING ICT The most relevant ICT-related laws are:  Telecommunications Law (2013) (Amended in 2017)9  Electronic Transactions Law (2004) (Amended in 2014)10  Computer Science Development Law (1996)11  Citizens Privacy and Security Protection Law (2017)12 These are analysed further below. MAIN GAPS IN MYANMAR’S CURRRENT ICT LEGAL FRAMEWORK Developing an ICT legal framework involves navigating competing demands concerning protection of the rights of people, ICT users, ICT companies and the security of the country’s network. For example:  Intelligence gathering for crime prevention can come into conflict with the right to privacy  Protecting children online may require certain restrictions on online content These are not new challenges or unique to Myanmar. Other governments face the same challenges and many are developing legal frameworks that aim to address these issues in a manner that protects human rights and builds trusts among users. That is not yet the case in Myanmar, where there are particular gaps in the legal framework concerning:  Data Privacy and Data Protection  Cyber Security  Cyber crime  Lawful Interception  Access to Information  Intellectual Property Furthermore, Myanmar’s ICT laws have vague or broadly worded provisions that allow the Government and others to use those provisions to threaten and imprison people exercising their rights, particularly to freedom of expression and privacy. HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNS ABOUT MYANMAR’S ICT LAWS 1. The 2008 Constitution of the Republic of Myanmar Summary of concerns with the Constitution  Article 357 of the Constitution provides for a wide scope of protection for communication as it states “the union shall protect …. correspondence and other communications”. It also provides for the protection of the right to privacy: “the union shall protect the privacy and security of home, property, correspondence and other communications of citizens.” However, these protections are subject to vague restrictions: “subject to the provisions of this Constitution.” In addition, the protections are available only to citizens.  The constitutional protections of the right of every citizen to “express and publish freely their convictions and opinions” and to freedom of association and assembly (Art. 354) are also restricted 8 https://www.asean.org/wp-content/uploads/images/2015/November/ICT/15b%20--%20AIM%202020_Publication_Final.pdf http://freeexpressionmyanmar.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/telecommunications-law-en.pdf and http://freeexpressionmyanmar.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Telecommunications-Law-Amendment-EN.pdf 10 http://freeexpressionmyanmar.org/electronic-transactions-law/ 11 http://www.myanmarconstitutionaltribunal.org.mm/lawdatabase/en/law/1492 12 http://www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/pdf/Law-Protecting-Privacy-and-Security-of-Citizens_en_unofficial.pdf 9 2