Internet Access Amid Darkness and Lives Amid Threats You’re not connected Chapter 1. Introduction Internet access is a crucial medium of communication in promoting democratic rights, human rights, and the right to freedom of expression. It has become essential not only in our daily routine but in a range of other activities such as verbal expression, writing, and information dissemination for communication, information sharing, education, health, and a citizen's right to participation in political affairs. While internet access has become a fundamental human right in the global community, it is weaponised to obstruct and oppress people's right to freedom of expression in authoritarian states or states ruled by strongmen. In Myanmar, a country ruled by successive authoritarian governments, internet access is often cut to stash human rights violations of authoritarian rulers. Mainly, Myanmar encountered three significant internet shutdowns at three different times in history. The earliest incident was on 28 September 2007 during the Saffron Revolution. The number of social media users in Myanmar was over 20 million in January 2022, which dropped by nearly 9 million from 29 million in January 2021 when Myanmar saw 29 million social media users.1 (1.1) Internet Blackout in 2007 When Saffron Revolution emerged on 20 September 2007, only one percent of Myanmar's population had internet access2. The very low internet access, however, failed to prevent the people from spreading footage of regime troops dispersing the peaceful protests in the revolution to global media moguls, mostly using internet cafes. Then-military junta raided Myanmar Info-Tech, situated within the compound of Yangon University, in Yangon's Hlaing township, on 28 September to curb the dissemination. Saffron Revolution mainly demanded lower consumer prices, political dialogues, and the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and political prisoners.3 (1.2) Internet Shutdown in Rakhine State and Chin State in 2019 About a population of 1.4 million was subject to human rights violations in internet disruption under the NLD-led so-called democratic government.4 Internet connectivity was cut off in eight townships of Rakhine State and Chin State's Paletwa township for more than a year, from June 2019 until August 2020 when only 2G internet was restored5, ending up with a severe impact on information access and circulation as well as a failure to receive real-time information relating to coronavirus. As a result of the delayed process of providing health aid and lack of 1 2 https://datareportal.com/digital-in-myanmar Internet Access Cut Off in Burma. (2007, September 28). The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/sep/28/burma.marktran 3 Falise, Thierry. Saffron Revolution: A Rangoon Diary. (2007, September 20). The Irrawaddy. https://www.irrawaddy.com/from-the-archive/saffron-revolution-rangoon-diary.html 4 Newman, Lily Hay. Myanmar Internet Shutdown Is an Act of ‘Vast Self-Harm. (2021, April 2). Weird. https://www.wired.com/story/myanmar-internet-shutdown/ 5 Freedom on the Net 2020. Freedom House. https://freedomhouse.org/country/myanmar/freedomnet/2020 1