9/24/21, 8:39 PM The State of Internet Censorship in Myanmar | OONI Similarly, no middle boxes were detected as part of this study. Blue Coat software (some types of which can potentially be used for internet censorship and surveillance) was previously detected in Myanmar by OONI in late 2012. Extensive tests though performed across six different networks in Myanmar show that Blue Coat software didn’t appear to be present during the testing period (25th October 2016 to 28th February 2017), indicating that it may have been removed. WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and the Tor network appeared to be accessible across all six networks in Myanmar where OONI tests were run. Introduction In an attempt to examine the current state of internet censorship in Myanmar, the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), Sinar Project and Myanmar ICT for Development Organization (MIDO) collaborated on a joint study to examine whether internet censorship events were persisting in the country through the collection and analysis of network measurements. The aim of this study is to increase transparency of internet controls in Myanmar and to collect data that can potentially corroborate rumours and reports of internet censorship events. The following sections of this report provide information about Myanmar’s network landscape and internet penetration levels, its legal environment with respect to freedom of expression, access to information and privacy, as well as about cases of censorship and surveillance that have previously been reported in the country. The remainder of the report documents the methodology and key findings of this study. Background Myanmar is a sovereign state with a population of around 51 million in South East Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand. It is a parliamentary republic with 7 regions, 7 states, and 1 union territory. Its population is comprised of 135 distinct officially recognised ethnic groups, with the majority Burman ethnic group making up 68% of the population and dominating the military and government. The minority ethnic groups includes the Shans (9%), Karens (7%), Rakhines (4%), Chinese (3%), Indians (2%) and Mon (2%), with the other ethnic groups consisting the remaining 5%. According to Myanmar’s 2014 census, a large majority of Myanmar’s population practices Buddhism, with 87.9% identifying as Buddhists, 6.2% as Christians, 4.3% Muslims, 0.8% Animists, 0.5% Hindus, 0.2% as ‘other’ and the remaining 0.1% as ‘none’. Non-Buddhist minorities face widespread persecution and prejudice, with the Rohingya minority having continued to suffer from human rights violation under the military junta since 1978, with continued criticism by human rights organisations on the government’s treatment of the Rohingya minority. The government has been actively accused of forced or pressured religious conversions of non-Buddhist minorities. Adherence to Buddhism was an unwritten prerequisite for promotions within the government and army, with nearly all senior level officers of the armed forces and the ruling State Peace Development Council (SPDC) identifying as Buddhists. Civil wars and rampant ethnic and religious strife have been a constant feature of Myanmar’s sociopolitical landscape for most of its independent years as ethnic minorities struggle for ethnic and subnational autonomy. Human rights violations and systematic denial of basic rights such as freedom of expression, association, and assembly, occurred with regularity during the military junta’s rule of the country from 1962 till 2011. The ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) regularly arrested activists and opposition party members sentenced by unfair trials in closed courts, in addition to https://ooni.org/post/myanmar-report/ 3/19