Myanmar: Digital Content Regulation Ø The terms “security of the State” and “prevalence of law and order” in sections 33(a) and (b) should be carefully and narrowly defined to limit the scope of these provisions and the term “detrimental” should be replaced with a more exigent term, such as “intentionally cause harm to”. Ø The other grounds for restriction in sections 33(a) and (b) – including “national solidarity”, “national economy”, “national culture”, and “community peace and tranquillity” – should be removed. Ø Section 33(b) should be limited in scope to cases where an official intentionally leaks legitimately secret information. In addition, a public interest override should apply even in this cases, so that no liability would ensue where disclosure of the information served an overriding public interest. Ø Section 34(a) should be amended to: a) define a “computer programme”; b) define the “dishonesty” intent requirement to make it clear that an intent to cause harm to a third party is required; c) define the terms hacking, modifying, and altering; and d) repeal the duplicate offence of stealing. In addition, defences should be added to these provisions to prevent their application to ordinary or regular online behaviour. Ø Section 34(b) should be amended to remove the term “using or giving access to any person of any fact in any communication without permission of the originator and the addressee”. Ø Section 34(c) should be amended to avoid criminalising the forwarding of signatures and the other content covered unless this is done with the specific intent of causing harm to the owner of that content. Ø Section 34(d) should be repealed in its entirety. Ø Section 38 should be amended to apply only where a person specifically intends to cause the prohibited result. 4. The Official Secrets Act The Official Secrets Act, 1923,20 is now nearly 95 years old and is sorely in need of substantial revision or potentially even complete revocation. Section 3(1)(c) provides for imprisonment of up to three years for any person who, for a purpose which is prejudicial to either the safety or interest of the State, “obtains, collects, records or publishes or communicates to any other person any secret official code or password, or any sketch, plan, model, article or note, or other document or information which is calculated to be or might be or is intended to be, directly or indirectly, useful to an enemy”. This increases to up to fourteen years if the offence is related to the “work of defense, arsenal, naval, military, or air force establishment, station, mine, minefield, factory, dockyard, camp, ship or aircraft or otherwise in relation to the naval, military or air force affairs of the State or in relation to any secret official code”. 2 April 1923. Available at: http://www.myanmarconstitutionaltribunal.org.mm/lawdatabase/sites/default/files/myanmar _code/2015/06/19-1923%20THE%20BURMA%20OFFICIAL%20SECRETS%20ACT.pdf. 20 - 10 -