or a fine. According to the Telecommunications Law Research Team, as of August 2017, there have been over 90 known cases under Article 66(d), where the section has been used against online speech. At the time of writing this report, an amendment of the Telecommunications Law has been discussed and passed in the parliament from the primary draft presented by the Ministry of Transport and Communication and with inputs from the lower and upper house (Hluttaws) of parliament.12 The amendment of the Telecommunications Law was approved and passed in August 2017.13 Despite campaigns and calls from civil society and the media to abolish Article 66(d) or at the very least remove the term “defamation” from the stated article, the amendment decreased the jail terms from three to two years, but without removing the term defamation. Further, Articles 68(a) and (b) of the Telecommunications Law state that: 68. Whoever commits any of the following acts shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to a fine or to both. (a) communications, reception, transmission, distribution or conveyance of incorrect information with dishonesty or participation; (b) prohibiting, obstructing or interfering the transmission, reception, communication, conveyance or distribution of information without permission. The vague definition “incorrect information with dishonesty” gives rise to the potential for misuse and arbitrary criminalisation of online speech, and leads to a chilling effect online. Sectoral laws News Media Law The News Media Law was enacted in 2014 with the main objectives of promoting independent journalism and protecting journalists. Due to the recent enactment, the News Media Law includes the digital medium as a source of media, and media workers are defined as those who are involved in the media business and are responsible for news and information. Chapter 4 of the News Media Law outlines extensive duties for media workers, titled 12 Win Ko Ko Latt, & Kan Thar. (2017, 18 August). Myanmar lower house approves minor changes to telecom law. RFA. www.rfa.org/ english/news/myanmar/myanmars-lower-house-approves-minorchanges-to-telecom-law-08182017161716.html 13 San Yamin Aung. (2017, 24 August). Amendments to telecoms law passed. The Irrawaddy. https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/ amendments-telecoms-law-passed.html “Responsibilities and code of conduct to be complied with by news media workers”.14 Therefore, the law fails to explicitly recognise media freedom in relation to freedom of expression. However, the News Media Law refers back to the existing rights and restrictions of the relevant laws within the country. Printing and Publishing Enterprise Law The Printing and Publishing Enterprise Law was enacted in 2014 together with the News Media Law in order to regulate and promote the print and publishing sector. It was meant to replace Myanmar’s 1962 “Printers and Publishers Registration Law” which required prior approval by the Press Scrutiny and Registration Board for publishing content, which enabled pre-publication censorship. In 2012, the government dissolved the censorship board and the 1962 law was lifted. Although this new law was adopted as a successor to the previous draconian law, it still lacks a clear explanation as to why the law is needed for a democratic country, since it gives the regulator (which consists of government officials) the power to “take actions” on “unethical” media content.15 This could lead to future restrictions of both offline and online content. Broadcasting Law The Broadcasting Law was enacted in 2015 with the primary objectives of deploying spectrum usage and promoting access to knowledge and information by means of supporting public and private broadcasting services. Similar to the News Media Law, the Broadcasting Law fails to acknowledge and promote freedom of expression, with respect to the international standards and definitions, as in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the ICCPR. This can be seen from the questionable independence of the authority (regulatory body) and the council to be formed according to the law. Moreover, there is still room for improvement for the regulatory body for the broadcasting service to be independent, and for the power and provisions. Curtailment of online freedom of expression Although there are numerous laws in Myanmar that have or may have restrictions to freedom of expression online, the law that has been used widely is Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law. Since its adoption, there have been 96 known cases filed 14 English translation sourced from: www.burmalibrary.org/ docs18/2014-Media_Law-en.pdf 15 English translation sourced from: www.article19.org/data/files/ medialibrary/3679/Printing-and-Publishing-Enterprise-Law-Bill. pdf MYANMAR / 99