4 4.1     Government at various levels, from local to national, continues to apply the laws and at times draconian practices against journalists, protestors and human rights defenders exercising their right to freedom of expression. These actions risk implicating companies in contributing to these violations when companies are requested to comply with Government requests to take down content, block access, or turn over information. Publicly commit to respecting freedom of expression: Given these concerns, and the gaps in other areas of law relevant to the sector, companies operating in the sector will need to develop their own policies and procedures to ensure that they are meeting their responsibility to respect human rights. In line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, companies should make their policy commitment to respecting human rights publicly available. 274 For some parts of the ICT value chain, the policy could provide more specific commitments on issues such as Government requests for data, censorship requests, illegal surveillance, or network shutdowns, including procedures for how to narrow requests that may be disproportionate or challenge requests not supported by law. 275 Further internal procedures setting out how the company will deal with Government requests would be an appropriate precautionary measure to put in place in Myanmar. 276 Take positions on key concerns: Speaking up in public as an individual company to respond to concerns about censorship or imprisonment in violation of the freedom of expression may be sensitive in Myanmar. But companies might seek opportunities through other means, such as industry associations, embassies, in collaboration with civil society, to express their concerns and convey the impact that the lack of rule of law has on willingness to invest in the country and the risks posed to companies. 277 Collaborate with and learn from other ICT companies: Companies operating in the sector can look to multi-stakeholder initiatives such as the Global Network Initiative (GNI) and other sources of guidance 278 for principles and guidance on dealing with challenges of being asked to comply with requests that violate human rights. They can also look to the example set by telecommunications operators in Myanmar that have publicly committed to pushing back on Government requests for surveillance until regulations are put in place. These commitments set important precedents for other companies and important signals to the Government on how requests that may violate the right to freedom of expression will be dealt with. Build business partners’ capability: Many of the companies operating in the ICT value chain in Myanmar will be small companies, and many small local companies 274 Numerous companies operating in the ICT sector have already developed policy commitments on human rights and made those publicly available. See for example the ICT companies among this list: http://businesshumanrights.org/en/company-policy-statements-on-human-rights 275 See: Human Rights Watch “Reforming Telecommunications in Burma: Human Rights and Responsible Investment in Mobile and Internet” (2013). 276 See: European Commission, “ICT Sector Guide on Implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights” (2013), pg. 44-46, 59-60. 277 This is done in other markets for example, the Global Network Initiative has been particularly active in commenting on the need for reform by a range of governments to bring their laws and practices into line with international human rights standards. 278 The GNI Principles on freedom of expression state that: “Participating companies will respect and protect the freedom of expression of their users by seeking to avoid or minimise the impact of government restrictions on freedom of expression, including restrictions on the information available to users and the opportunities for users to create and communicate ideas and information, regardless of frontiers or media of communication. Participating companies will respect and protect the freedom of expression rights of their users when confronted with government demands, laws and regulations to suppress freedom of expression, remove content or otherwise limit access to information and ideas in a manner inconsistent with internationally recognised laws and standards.” See also, European Commission, “ICT Sector Guide on Implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights” (2013). 136 PAGE CHAPTER 4.1: FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION