ASEAN Regional Coalition to #StopDigitalDictatorship Internet Disruption & Internet Shutdown Similarly, the military junta employs internet shutdowns as a method of control and repression. On June 20, 2019, under Section 77 of the Telecommunications Act, the Ministry of Transport and Communications issued a directive ordering all telecommunications operators to restrict mobile internet services in nine townships in Rakhine and Chin States. This article gives the Ministry the power to order the suspension of telecommunications services in what they believe are emergency situations. Although some of these restrictions have been lifted, others have continued to be applied irregularly since then.100 Of particular note is the Sagaing Region, which has experienced prolonged disruptions, with a service cut that commenced in March 2022 and continues indefinitely.101 On April 2, 2021, all mobile data and wireless broadband internet were cut off, leaving most of Myanmar’s population without internet access.102 Only wired connections remain, to which few people have access. At the end of 2019, the National Archives and Records Act restricts access to information by granting the government total discretion. This legislation allows the government to make certain documents inaccessible to the public for thirty years.103 At the same time, The Computer Science Development Law is used to give heavy penalties, ranging from 7-15 years, to anyone who sets up a computer network or creates a connection within the computer network without authorisation from the Ministry. Similarly, anyone who compromises the State’s security by using information technology will face similar penalties.104 Myanmar 197