BSR | Human Rights Impact Assessment: Facebook in Myanmar 24 leaders, celebrities, and local government representatives, and Facebook is being used to spread these opinions on an individual basis, as well as by organized groups for political gain. The sudden introduction of accessible mobile communication services and the rapid growth in access to Facebook has resulted in a steep learning curve for users, policymakers, and civil society. Significant shortcomings in the areas of digital literacy, privacy awareness, and critical thinking have a sizable impact on Facebook’s human rights risk profile; indeed, the Facebook platform and Community Standards rely on certain legal, political, and cultural assumptions (such as freedom of speech and rule of law) that do not hold true in the Myanmar context today. As one interviewee commented, “Maybe Myanmar isn’t ready for Facebook yet.” Another bluntly explained that “Facebook isn’t the problem; the context is the problem.” » The prevalence of hate speech, disinformation, and bad actors on Facebook has had a negative impact on freedom of expression, assembly, and association for Myanmar’s most vulnerable users. The Facebook platform in Myanmar is being used by bad actors to spread hate speech, incite violence, and coordinate harm. This is resulting in increased levels of self-censorship, especially among vulnerable groups such as political activists, human rights defenders, women, and minorities. As one interviewee explained, “Activists are being harassed, self-censorship exists, and activity on Facebook today is closing freedom of expression, rather than increasing it. One side is shutting down the other, and it is no longer a marketplace of ideas.” There is significant interest in a concerted effort to stop these trends, said the same interviewee. “We are not in the delete-Facebook camp, and we desperately want Facebook to succeed in Myanmar.” At the same time, the use of Facebook in Myanmar overall continues to grow. » Facebook has become a useful platform for those seeking to incite violence and cause offline harm. Though the actual relationship between content posted on Facebook and offline harm is not fully understood, Facebook has become a means for those seeking to spread hate and cause harm, and posts have been linked to offline violence. A minority of users is seeking to use Facebook as a platform to undermine democracy and incite offline violence, including serious crimes under international law; for example, the Report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar describes how Facebook has been used by bad actors to spread anti-Muslim, antiRohingya, and anti-activist sentiment. » In the near term, most (but not all) local stakeholders are more concerned about security risks to rightsholders than they are about overbroad restrictions on content. The need to protect the security of vulnerable users was of paramount importance to almost all stakeholders and rightsholders that BSR engaged with in Myanmar. Top priorities included efforts to remove content that violates Facebook’s Community Standards, eliminate fake accounts, and deprioritize misinformation. As one rightsholder described: “Compared to many in the international community we are less concerned about restrictions to freedom of expression because our proximity to offline harm is much greater. I’m dealing with scenarios where lives are at risk.” However, these security priorities are also key to being able to promote a culture of free expression.