Electronic oppression: The junta sharpens its instruments of control | Frontier Myanmar 6/26/25, 5:46 PM The junta has not officially commented on the technology being used, which is widely dubbed the Person Security and Monitoring System in media reports. Frontier could not confirm how it was sourced, and there have been contradictory claims about its development. Some news outlets such as Khit Thit Media say it was built with Russian help, while others point to Chinese tech firm Huawei. Campaign groups Human Rights Myanmar and the Myanmar Internet Project say the system uses artificial intelligence and facial recognition software. However, sources told Frontier that, in practice, officials were just manually checking personal details against the digitised national database. A police officer in Ayeyarwady Region’s Maubin Township said the same screening of travellers is also happening at hotels and guest houses. Speaking to Frontier on condition of anonymity for his safety, he said that although he has yet to use the new tool, police have nicknamed it the “fugitive arrest machine” because it can quickly detect people who are on wanted lists. “I think they started using the tablets at checkpoints in March,” said a bus driver who goes between Yangon and the town of Magway, who also asked that Frontier withhold his name for security reasons. “They’re not always at the same checkpoint; it’s more like a surprise check.” The risks such checks pose to dissidents has opened a new line of business for brokers, who use their connections with authorities to check whether an individual is marked for arrest on the database. A CDM teacher in Yangon said “going through checkpoints made me really anxious” but he was able to travel in peace after paying a broker K70,000 (about US$16 at the market rate) to check his status on the junta’s new digital records. “There wasn’t any remark saying I had joined the CDM,” he told Frontier. “I felt relieved.” Police patrol a street in Yangon on July 19, 2023. (AFP) Interlocking schemes The junta’s Ministry of Immigration and Population began work on the national database in 2022 by uploading the contents of existing paper records for what it claimed was 52 million citizens, which is https://www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/electronic-oppression-the-junta-sharpens-its-instruments-of-control/ Page 3 of 6