The chart above presents relevant measurement results for the domain of each blocked media
website across eight local networks Most of the measurements however were collected from the
three networks: AS9988 AS132167 and AS133385
The AS numbers included in the above chart correspond to the following Internet Service Providers
ISPs :
AS9988 Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications
AS58952 Frontiir Co Ltd
AS 131322 Yatanarpon Teleport Company Limited
AS132167 Ooredoo Myanmar
AS133384 RedLink Communications Co Ltd
AS133385 Telenor Myanmar
AS135307 Golden TMH Telecom Co Ltd
AS136255 Telecom International Myanmar Company Limited
The red fields illustrate whether the tested domains were found to be blocked on the tested
networks while the green fields show whether the tested domains were accessible on those
networks The white gray fields are used when there is absence of relevant data The number 0 is
used to signal cases where the tested domain was al a bl cked while the number 1 is used for
cases where the domain was e e bl cked
A cursory review of the above chart demonstrates that most of the media websites were blocked on
at least three local networks although there is some variance in their specific blocking across
networks From a transparency standpoint there is little clarity as to how many directives have been
issued by the government or how many specific sites are included in the directives No list of blocked
URLs has been officially published As of August 2020 no report has been issued by the government
or any ISP other than Telenor Myanmar regarding the blocked websites or related internet
restrictions
The complete list of the blocked news websites can be accessed here
Notably instant messaging and circumvention tools such as Tor Psiphon WhatsApp Facebook
Messenger and Telegram were all found to be accessible in Myanmar throughout the testing period
The relevant measurements can be accessed by filtering the results here based by name
S
ei a ce Ca aci
a d Ca abi i ie
The Telecommunications Law of 2013 allowed foreign telecommunication companies to enter the
Myanmar market for the first time resulting in a connectivity revolution Unfortunately however no
legal framework was in place at the time to protect individual privacy rights on the internet The
absence of such legal protections in the country enabled the government and military to decide
whether or not to surveil or censor without true legal limitations or impediments on their behavior
In turn as discussed above the NLD government formed the SMMT and the military employed tools
such as Cellebrite It also appears as though the Myanmar government has involved
telecommunications companies in its surveillance activities Telenor which entered the Myanmar
market pursuant to the passage of the Telecommunications Law of 2013 has published Annual
Sustainability Briefings since 2014 These briefings cover issues related to anti corruption human
rights customer privacy cybersecurity climate impact and environmental management and digital