46
Dictating the Internet:
Code, which criminalizes the dissemination of information that could incite
mutiny or otherwise cause members of the armed forces to disregard or
fail in their duties (see below).125
As of April 2019, civil society organization Athan Myanmar documented
that 185 cases had been formally filed under the Telecommunications Law,
of which 93 percent invoked section 66(d), including 23 cases against 31
journalists.126 In a 2018 analysis, Athan found that more than half of the
cases filed under the Telecommunications Law – 54 percent –related to the
exercise of free expression, including cases relating to political criticism
and news reporting.127 As of December 2017, civil society organization Free
Expression Myanmar documented that half of the complainants who had
filed cases against individuals under section 66(d) were representatives of
the State or public officials.128
In a 2019 report, Athan noted that in the first six months of 2019
alone, 11 journalists had been charged for professional reporting – with 45
percent of charges brought against them under the Telecommunications Law
and 15 percent brought under Myanmar’s Penal Code for alleged criminal
defamation.129 Chapter XXI of Myanmar’s Penal Code – sections 499 and
500 – criminalizes defamation with up to two years’ imprisonment, a fine,
or both.130
125 English translation of Myanmar Penal Code (‘Myanmar Penal Code’), Available at: http://www.
burmalibrary.org/docs6/MYANMAR_PENAL_CODE-corr.1.pdf
126 Athan Myanmar, ‘ The Number of Cases Under the Telecommunications Law’, 9 April 2019,
Available at: http://athanmyanmar.org/2019/04/09/the-number-of-cases-under-thetelecommunications-law/; Data from Say No to 66(d) campaign, Available at: https://www.
saynoto66d.info/
127 Athan Myanmar, ‘Mid-term report on Freedom of Expression’, October 2018, Available at: https://
equalitymyanmar.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Mid-term-Report-on-Freedom-of-ExpressionEng-Version.pdf
128 Free Expression Myanmar, ‘66(d): No Real Change’, December 2017, p17, Available at: http://
freeexpressionmyanmar.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/66d-no-real-change.pdf
129 Athan Myanmar, ‘2019 Mid-year Report on Status of Freedom of Expression in Myanmar’, Available
at: https://progressivevoicemyanmar.org/2019/09/02/2019-mid-year-report-on-status-offreedom-of-expression-in-myanmar/
130 The Electronic Transaction Law has also been used to control online content. See ICJ, ‘ Myanmar:
Briefing Paper on Criminal Defamation Laws’, 26 November 2015, Available at: https://www.icj.
org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Myanmar-Criminal-Defamation-Laws-Advocacy-Position-paper2015-ENG.pdf