Myanmar’s Internet Shutdowns: Silencing Resistance in the Battle for Connectivity | FULCRUM 1/24/25, 10:44 AM securely, and share evidence of the junta’s abuses. For citizens, the VPN ban restricts their access to social media platforms, financial services, and international news, deepening their disconnection and ironically, making them more vulnerable to cybercrimes in their effort to stay connected. …Myanmar’s internet shutdowns and restrictive laws underscore a troubling global trend: authoritarian governments continue to suppress dissent, stifle protests, and silence marginalised communities through digital repression. The shutdowns and legal restrictions can have dire humanitarian consequences. In resistance-controlled areas, civilians have relied on the internet for critical updates on military movements or warnings about airstrikes. An internet blackout and VPN ban effectively blind these communities, making them sitting targets. For displaced groups already lacking resources, the loss of communication exacerbates their isolation and insecurity. Faced with this situation, Myanmar’s resistance forces and affected communities have sought alternative solutions to connect with the world. Some resistance groups, media, and civil society organisations (CSOs) have been using Starlink, a satellite-based internet service while anti-junta forces have set up satellitebased internet access in more than 60 areas under their control in Sagaing and Magway, and the Karenni and Kachin states, allowing some communities to restore communication. However, procuring Starlink equipment in Myanmar remains fraught with challenges. The most serious is the logistical complexity of acquiring and deploying the technology. The importation of Starlink into Thailand is illegal, although Thailand is the most viable transit point into Myanmar. Any attempt to bring Starlink to Myanmar risks the importer getting raided by Thai police, as resistance affiliates’ actions can be conflated with those of online scamming operations. Furthermore, in a country where large swaths of the population live below the poverty line, satellite internet is prohibitively expensive. Resistance groups, already stretched thin, struggle to allocate resources for the technology. The Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) has reported that The Starlink Cafe in Karenni stays open for only a few hours a day due to electricity outages; customers must pay 1,000 kyat (29 US cents) per visit to help cover the café’s monthly subscription for Starlink. https://fulcrum.sg/myanmars-internet-shutdowns-silencing-resistance-in-the-battle-for-connectivity/ Page 3 of 5