Great Firewall as a weaponised divide In Myanmar, the digital divide must be reframed not merely as a passive consequence of economic underdevelopment, but as a deliberate, State-imposed violation of the right to access information. The military has weaponised the country's telecommunications infrastructure to create a digital dictatorship, effectively severing the population from the global internet and, by extension, the benefits of the digital economy and cultural exchange. This constitutes a retrograde measure that directly contravenes the State's obligation to progressively realise the right to development. This strategy relies on a comprehensive blacklist blocking system that fails the tests of necessity and proportionality required under international law for any restriction on freedom of expression. The military has coerced Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block specific websites and platforms essential for communication and dissent, most notably Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and most independent news sites. By selectively banning these key platforms, which previously served as the primary entry point to the internet for most people, the military creates a discriminatory barrier that effectively isolates the population from information flows and resistance networks, while preserving connectivity for commercial elites. This divide was formalised and hardened by the Cybersecurity Law enacted in January 2025. This legislation criminalises the tools necessary to bridge the divide, specifically regulating Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). Under this law, the establishment of a VPN is punishable by imprisonment and heavy fines. By criminalising the bridge to the outside world, the military has ensured that the digital divide is absolute, punitive, and fundamentally incompatible with the enjoyment of cultural rights. Impact on cultural rights and development The imposition of this Great Firewall has had a catastrophic impact on the right to development, particularly in the sphere of cultural rights. Cultural development relies on the cross-pollination of ideas, access to diverse artistic expressions, and the ability to share one's own heritage and the world. The military's restrictions have rendered this participation impossible. A stark example is the severing of access to independent media and educational resources. For students and academics, the military’s VPN block acts as a barrier to the right to education, cutting them off from international research repositories, global news, and collaborative platforms essential for scientific and academic freedom. They are forced to rely on State-sanctioned curricula, which have been militarised and stripped of critical thought. This is not just a pause in development, but a regression, creating a knowledge vacuum where a generation is being raised in an information environment that violates their right to form opinions without interference. Furthermore, the divide undermines the export of Myanmar’s culture. Artists, filmmakers, and writers who previously used platforms like Facebook to exercise their right to freedom of expression and monetise their work have been silenced. Their digital distribution channels have been criminalised. The result is a forced cultural isolation where Myanmar’s diverse voices, including those of ethnic minorities, are increasingly erased from the global stage, replaced entirely by the military’s narrative.