4 4.4 Although the Internet penetration in the 2000’s was less than 1%, activists were quick to make use of the limited service they had. Despite pervasive surveillance, the 2007 Saffron Revolution came to global attention thanks largely to activists anonymously uploading images and video to websites such as YouTube, which were then picked up by international news agencies, as journalists were prevented from entering the country. Some managed to email images to friends outside Myanmar to upload onto sites such as the Democratic Voices of Burma (DVB), or smuggle content out of the country on USB sticks. This was the first time in the country’s history that ICTs played a significant role in disseminating information about protests and the security forces’ violent suppression of such protests. In addition, the 2009 documentary Burma VJ 376 featured some of the video footage and images, and revealed that many of the activists involved had either been arrested and punished, or fled Yangon. Surveillance of Cybercafés Public Internet access inside Myanmar was previously only possible from a few Internet cafes in Yangon and Mandalay, the two largest cities. The first cybercafé opened in Yangon in 2002 377. From around 2006, cybercafés required a license to operate from the Myanmar Information Communications Technology Development Corporation (MICTDC). They were licensed as Public Access Centres (PACs) managed by Myanmar Info-Tech, a state-owned company. Regulations 378 stated that users had to register at the cybercafé before accessing the Internet and café owners had to take screenshots of user activity every five minutes, delivering CDs containing these images to MICTDC at regular intervals. In 2008, the Open Net Initiative reported: “Anonymous Internet use is impossible; cybercafé licences require that patrons register their name, identification number, and address to gain access. Opportunities for anonymous communications are further hampered by the state’s ban on free email sites such as Hotmail and Yahoo! mail.” 379 376 Anders Østergaard, Burma VJ: Reporting From A Closed Country (2008). Among other awards, the film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2010. 377 Reporters Without Borders, “Internet Under Surveillance 2004- Burma“ (2004). 378 “Public Access Center Regulations by Myanmar Info-Tech” (2006). See an unofficial English translation by the Open Net Initiative (ONI), which includes a link to the original version in Burmese. 379 Ibid, pg. 11 172 PAGE CHAPTER 4.4: SURVEILLANCE – LAWFUL INTERCEPTION & OTHER SURVEILLANCE METHODS