The Penal Code is not the only piece of legislation where defamation is mentioned. In Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law of 2013, defamation is again stated, but it is unclear whether the abovementioned exceptions are applicable as well. Although the exceptions to the crime of defamation define the scope of the offence in a narrower sense, this is still not in line with international standards, as the Myanmar Penal Code continues to criminalise defamation with harsh punishments such as jail terms, affecting both online and offline speech. Law Protecting the Privacy and Security of the Citizen While the right to privacy is guaranteed in the constitution, the government has also enacted a law solely dedicated to privacy, in March 2017. Enacted without meaningful public consultation, this law was passed with haste in the parliament. The result has been the lack of robust definitions in the law, which fall below international standards, and also the lack of protections for the right to privacy online and with regard to digital data. In the Law Protecting the Privacy and Security of the Citizen, in the definition chapter, privacy is defined as follows: Privacy means the right to freedom of movement, freedom of residence and freedom of speech of a citizen in accordance with law. Security means security of private affairs of a citizen. It shall also include the security of residence or residential compound and building in the compound, possessions, correspondence and other communication of a citizen.6 information. This is followed by more detailed examples, and among these, the one related to digital spaces is: Any record generated, sent, received or stored by means of electronic, magnetic, optical or any other similar technologies in an information system or for transmission from one information system to another.7 Before the amendment of the Evidence Act, the courts had limitations on accepting digital evidence according to the respective laws that are used in cases. For example, previously, defamation online would be difficult to prosecute using the Penal Code since the evidence could not be submitted to the court due to the limitations of the Evidence Act. This lack of digital evidence provisions was also one of the arguments that lawmakers gave to justify their rejection of the repeal of Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law. A civil society coalition consisting of 21 groups called for the repeal of Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law given that defamation already exists in the Penal Code and the Evidence Act had been amended accordingly. Governance and regulation of online spaces Computer Science Development Law This law was enacted in 1996 with objectives mainly targeting the development of computer science education and professionals. The law contains outdated requirements that demand prior permission in order to possess computer devices and also to develop computer networks. This is established in the law as follows: Article 32. Whoever imports or keeps in possession or utilizes any type of computer prescribed under sub-section(a) of section 26, without the prior sanction of the Ministry of Communications, Posts and Telegraphs shall, on conviction be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend from a minimum of 7 years to a maximum of 15 years and may also be liable to a fine. While the definition does, in principle, protect certain aspects of privacy of a citizen (but not of non-citizens), it is far from comprehensive, falling below the standards set out in Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and its corresponding General Comment, which extends privacy to the digital sphere. The definition, though enacted in 2017, also falls short of the United Nations General Assembly’s recognition that privacy is a crucial right in the digital age. Article 33. Whoever sets up a computer network or connects a link inside the computer network, without the prior sanction of the Ministry of Communications, Posts and Telegraphs shall, on conviction be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend from a minimum of 7 years to a maximum of 15 years and may also be liable to a fine.8 The Evidence Act The Evidence Act in Myanmar was adopted on 1 September 1872 from the Indian Act 1 of 1872. Due to the outdated definitions of “documents”, it was amended in 2015 to include electronic records and 6 English translation sourced from: www.myanmarresponsiblebusiness.org/pdf/Law-Protecting-Privacy-andSecurity-of-Citizens_en_unofficial.pdf 7 8 English translation sourced from: www.burmalibrary.org/docs21/201512-24-Law_Amending_the_Myanmar_Evidence_Act-73-bu.pdf English translation sourced from: www.burmalibrary.org/ MYANMAR / 97