Table of Contents
Executive Summary...................................................................................................................
i
I.
Introduction .....................................................................................................................
1
II.
Rakhine: A Test Run for Repression ................................................................................
4
A. The Arakan Army: Sowing the Seeds of an Insurgency.............................................
4
B. The State Fights Back ................................................................................................
8
III. The Erosion of Data Privacy and Online Freedoms under the NLD ............................... 11
IV.
The Post-coup Technology War ....................................................................................... 14
A. Targeted Measures Fail.............................................................................................. 14
B. Falling Back on Blunt Tools ....................................................................................... 16
C. Propaganda Fail on Social Media .............................................................................. 19
D. A Strategic Dilemma .................................................................................................. 23
V.
What Role for International Actors? ................................................................................ 26
A. Restricting the Military’s “Digital Toolkit for Repression” ....................................... 26
B. Keeping Myanmar’s Internet Open and Its Users Safe ............................................. 27
C. Investing and Operating Responsibly ....................................................................... 28
D. Improving Social Media Moderation and Policies ................................................... 29
VI.
Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 31
APPENDICES
A.
Map of Rakhine State ....................................................................................................... 32
B.
About the International Crisis Group .............................................................................. 33
C.
Crisis Group Reports and Briefings on Asia since 2018 .................................................. 34
D.
Crisis Group Board of Trustees ........................................................................................ 36