6/13/22, 12:15 PM The Digital Rights Movement in Myanmar is Growing - And EngageMedia Gets to be a Part of It! - EngageMedia   In the last year alone, the MDRF collaborators have been busy playing critical roles in events in Myanmar. Phandeeyar organised a Tech Camp to Strengthen Transparency and Accountability in April, a meet up on the Violence Against Women in the Digital World in July, and a Right to Information Law event in November. Between travelling around Myanmar to raise awareness on responsible internet use and internet rights, running campaigns against hate speech, conducting research on internet usage in Myanmar, and implementing a telecentre initiative with Telenor, MIDO co-organised a camp on the Politics of Data with Tactical Technology Collective (TTC) in September. MCRB has continued to hold consultation meetings with various stakeholders to discuss the implications of the different laws and bills on human rights in Myanmar over the past year. Unfortunately, all of these initiatives were triggered by troubling trends in Myanmar in relation to digital rights and internet freedoms. Journalists, bloggers, activists and ordinary internet users have continued to be arrested under Section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law — as of the end of November 2016, 20 individuals have been arrested. Hate speech online has continued to be an issue in Myanmar, and the increasing instances of harassment of women and LGBT individuals have worsened. Beyond these on-going issues, another has emerged in the last month — the Privacy and Protection Law that the Parliament is rushing to pass. According experts, how that particular law has defined ¨privacy¨ is problematic in its vagueness and its lack of comprehensiveness. More than that, there has been no public consultation on the law. Needless to say, it´s been a busy year for digital rights in Myanmar. And the MDRF came at exactly the right time. The MDRF allowed the long-time advocates for digital rights (both those working locally and internationally) the https://engagemedia.org/2016/digital-rights-movement-in-myanmar-is-growing-and-engagemedia-gets-to-be-a-part-of-it/ 2/7