FREEDOM ON THE NET 2016 MYANMAR media to spread news and mobilize resources. Via the three mobile operators, people could make donation to flood victims via SMS. MPT, which has 13 million mobile subscribers, reported receiving US$200,000 of donations within four days.38 Facebook also partnered with Save the Children International to fundraise for children affected by the disaster. In August, a new button appeared atop cluttered newsfeeds across the globe offering users the chance to donate US$10 or more to the cause; Facebook pledged to match donations up to a total of US$500,000.39 Online advocacy also had a positive effect after a video clip depicting abuse in a military academy circulated widely on social media. The public response forced the military to launch a high-level investigation team and pledge action against abusive officials,40 an unprecedented gesture towards accountability from the country’s virtual power holder. A five percent tax on mobile phone top up cards was the subject of a huge online campaign, causing the previous parliament to suspend it in May 2015. The tax took effect on April 1, 2016, but media outlets and social media users who had been vocal against the levy appeared to concede, particularly since the revenue generated was now supporting the new government, which said the first month’s earnings went to support education.41 Violations of User Rights The 2013 Telecommunications Law transformed the industry, but introduced a defamation provision which was used to jail internet users for political speech during the coverage period of this report. Other harsh punishments for political dissent on electronic media remain on the books. Hackers targeted private media outlets and also high-level, newly-elected officials. Legal Environment The current constitution, drafted by the military-led government and approved in a flawed 2008 referendum, does not guarantee internet freedom. It states that every citizen may exercise the right to “express and publish their convictions and opinions,” if “not contrary to the laws enacted for Union [of Myanmar] security, prevalence of law and order, community peace and tranquility or public order and morality.”42 Parliament enacted the long-pending Telecommunications Law, drafted with the help of international experts including the World Bank, in October 2013.43 Domestic and international investors applauded the consultative drafting process, along with the guidelines for the industry which pro- 38 Internet Journal, August 11, 2015, http://internetjournal.media/news/3696 . Yen Saning, “Facebook Will Match Your Flood Relief Donations,” Irrawaddy, August 10, 2015, http://www.irrawaddy.com/ burma/facebook-will-match-your-flood-relief-donations.html . 39 40 https://www.facebook.com/XinhuaMyanmar/photos/a.423782941124025.1073741827.422671591235160/56572030693028 7/?type=3&theater. 41 Internet Journal, May 27, 2016, http://internetjournal.media/news/6484 and “Tax paid on cell phone top-ups to be spent on education,” Coconuts Yangon, May 27, 2016, http://yangon.coconuts.co/2016/05/27/tax-paid-cell-phone-top-ups-be-spenteducation . Republic of the Union of Myanmar Constitution, Ch. VII, Defense Services, art. 354 sec. b. http://www.Myanmarlibrary.org/ show.php?cat=1140. 42 43 The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw passage of The Telecommunication Law, No. 31, October 8, 2013, http://bit.ly/1g8hlU5. www.freedomonthenet.org