2  Supervising telecommunications service, network facilities and telecommunications equipment which require license for national peace and tranquility and for public security The 2013 Telecommunications Law outlines the duties and rights of both telecommunications service providers and regulators, and sets out at high level the licensing regime for the provision of certain telecommunications services, including:  the provision or operation of infrastructure or network facilities  the provision of service for transmission and reception of information  the provision of services by way of transmitting and receiving See Table 25 in Chapter 3 for the specific types of licenses that have subsequently been issued. Risks to the Right to Freedom of Expression Risks related to the violation of freedom of opinion and expression under the 2013 Telecommunications Law can be categorised into at least three areas of concern:  criminalisation of legitimate online expression;  arbitrary blocking or filtering of content, and;  arbitrary disruption and disconnection of Internet access. These are considered in more detail below. Criminalisation of legitimate expression online The 2013 Telecommunications Law maintains some of the troubling provisions of the laws it replaces. Punishable offenses include using a telecommunications network to “to extort, threaten, obstruct, defame, disturb, inappropriately influence or intimidate”. These are vague terms that are not defined in the Law. This creates a clear risk that the Myanmar Government could use the 2013 Telecommunications Law to arbitrarily characterise legitimate expression as “threats” or an “inappropriate influence”, punishable as a criminal offense (see Table 12 below). Table 12: Provisions of the 2013 Telecommunications Law with Potential to be used to Criminalise Legitimate Expression  Content-related offenses punishable by up to 3 years’ imprisonment and/or fines include “using a telecommunications network to steal money and property, cheat and embezzle or harming the interests” [sic] (s66(c)), or “to extort, threaten, obstruct, defame, disturb, inappropriately influence or intimidate.” (s66(d))  Content-related offenses punishable by up to one years’ imprisonment and/or fines include “connecting, receiving, transmitting, distributing or handing out false information dishonestly” (s68(a)) or “unauthorised prohibition, forbidding obstruction to the transmitting, receiving, communication, handing out or distribution of information.” [sic] (s68(b)) 72 PAGE CHAPTER 2: ICT GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS, POLICIES & LEGAL FRAMEWORK