Myanmar: Note on New Draft Cyber Security Law there is no need to expand this protection. In any case, Article 35(f) not only signally lacks the protections that are required to make defamation laws legitimate under international law, but it also provides for criminal penalties for breach, again contrary to international law.9 Financial Measures As noted above, the Central Committee is now empowered, in coordination with the Central Bank of Myanmar, to set out policy, rules, regulations and directives for online financial services. Current Article 94 (formerly Article 66) makes it an offence to provide online financial services without being legally registered in Myanmar and absent permission from the Central Bank of Myanmar, subject to imprisonment of between one and three years (formerly just up to three years) and/or a fine of up to ten million MMK (approximately USD 5,300). A new Article 95 specifically creates the offence of buying or selling “illegal currency such as digital currency, cryptocurrency” online, subject to imprisonment of between six months and one year and/or a fine of up to 25 million MMK (approximately USD 13,300). It is not illegitimate for countries to impose reasonable regulations on the provision of financial services and the use of cryptocurrencies. We are not aware of what sorts of specific regulations in this area may already have been put in place, although there seems to have been some debate about whether cryptocurrencies were illegal even before the coup. 10 However, the adoption of the Cyber Security Law in its current form would presumably clarify that these currencies are illegal. Furthermore, with the increasingly strict rules being put in place by the military regime governing financial transactions in general, including in relation to foreign currency,11 the aim of these measures is clearly to extend control by the regime over all aspects of civic life in a manner which represents a clear breach of the right to freedom of association. Youth Assembly, Karen Human Rights Group, Karenni National Youth Organization, Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business, Myanmar ICT for Development Organization, Myanmar Journalist Network, Myanmar Media Lawyers’ Network and Progressive Voice, 9 July 2020, paras. 4-7, https://www.lawdemocracy.org/live/joint-submission-to-the-universal-periodic-review-of-myanmar-raises-freedom-ofexpression-concerns/. 9 Formally, there is no specific criminal penalty in the current draft of the Law for breach of Article 35, which contains all of the content restrictions, including this one, but see the note on this under Offences, below. 10 See, for example, Turner Wright, “Myanmar Central Bank Claims Crypto is Banned, Users Disagree”, 22 May 2020, suggesting that while the Central Bank of Myanmar claimed that cryptocurrencies were illegal, others disputed this. See https://cointelegraph.com/news/myanmar-central-bank-claims-crypto-is-banned-usersdisagree. 11 See Elaine Kurtenback, “Military-led Myanmar seeks to reassure foreign investors”, 21 April 2022, https://apnews.com/article/business-myanmar-united-nations-embassies-b6166f8a17ddb59dd3967b3ed67cbeb1. The Centre for Law and Democracy is a non-profit human rights organisation working internationally to provide legal expertise on foundational rights for democracy. 5