Myanmar remained one of the world’s worst environments for internet freedom. The military, which seized control of the state in a 2021 coup, continued to impose localized internet shutdowns, manipulate online information, and imprison people for their online expression of dissent amid an ongoing civil war between the military regime and its armed opponents. The military’s direct and indirect control over all major service providers enabled mass censorship and surveillance, including broad limits on social media platforms and anticensorship tools.
A March 2025 earthquake in Mandalay severely damaged telecommunications infrastructure in the region, disrupting internet services.1 The disaster exacerbated similar damage throughout the country that resulted from the civil war (A1).2
The military imposed frequent internet shutdowns at the local level, often in connection with armed attacks,3 impeding the documentation of rights abuses and the delivery of lifesaving medical aid (A3).4
In June and July 2024, authorities blocked access to the encrypted messaging application Signal and major virtual private networks (VPNs); VPNs were widely used to circumvent website blocking and enable more private online activity (B1 and B7).5
Over a dozen telecommunications providers and internet companies had installed surveillance and censorship technology on behalf of the military authorities by 2024 (B3 and C5).6
In January 2025, the military regime adopted the Cybersecurity Law, which codified overbroad censorship mandates, limited the operations of VPN providers, and imposed local data retention requirements, among other provisions (B3, B6, and C6).7
Authorities detained, forcibly disappeared, and killed people in retaliation for their online activities.8 For example, courts sentenced journalists Htet Aung and Than Htike Myint to 10 and five years’ imprisonment in June 2024 and April 2025, respectively, to punish their independent reporting for online outlets. They were among hundreds of journalists whom the authorities had unjustly detained or imprisoned since the 2021 coup (C3 and C7).9