8/22/22, 10:18 PM Myanmar: Freedom on the Net 2019 Country Report | Freedom House Several laws explicitly penalize online activity and have been used to imprison internet users. The Telecommunications Law was drafted by the former government in 2013 with the support of the World Bank, 145 and is the primary framework for licensing telecommunications providers, including mobile service providers and ISPs. Although the law was welcomed by many stakeholders as a sign of muchneeded change, 146 the former government added a number of troubling provisions, including Article 66(d), a vaguely worded content provision criminalizing a range of acts online, including defamation, and Article 68, which criminalizes “communication, reception, sending, distribution, or sharing of incorrect information with dishonest intention.” 147 Under public pressure about the number of prosecutions for online activity, the NLD government rushed through an amendment to Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law in 2017. However, the amendment was drafted without proper civil society consultation and was roundly condemned as insufficient. 148 Positive changes in the amendment include a reduction of the maximum prison sentence for violations from three years to two years, the opportunity for the accused to be released on bail, and restrictions on who can file a case. However, the amendment did not define defamation and did not alter provisions that outlaw “extort[ing], defam[ing], disturb[ing], or intimidat[ing]” over a telecommunications network. 149 Civil society activists have argued that the amendment has made no discernible impact on the cases brought after the amendment was enacted. 150 The Law Protecting the Privacy and Security of Citizens, which was enacted in 2017 and widely condemned by civil society for being debated and passed without proper consultation, provides for prison terms of up to three years for defamation. 151 The law has been used to prosecute individuals for online activity (see C3). The previous government amended but failed to repeal the 2004 Electronic Transaction Law (ETL) in 2013, which criminalized “any act detrimental to” state security, law and order, community peace and tranquility, national solidarity, the national economy, or the national culture—including “receiving or sending” related information. The law was routinely used to criminalize internet activism during military rule. In 2014, Thaung Tin, a senior government official, acknowledged the need to address repressive laws like the ETL and the Computer Science and Development Law, which criminalizes unauthorized use of a computer with a “fax-modem card.” 152 The government announced plans to revise the ETL in 2014, but no draft legislation has since been announced. 153 Several draft laws and amendments that could affect freedom of expression online were being considered at the end of the coverage period. In 2019, the government commissioned consultants to assist in developing a new cybersecurity law. 154 Initial drafts of the bill have been shared confidentially with a handful of civil society groups, but the legislation remained at an early stage of development at the end of the coverage period. 155 The government has stated that the new law will include provisions penalizing those who “insult the country and people and commit crimes over any communications network.” 156 Human rights defenders have expressed concern that the law, like other restrictive laws governing online activity in recent years, would be vague, overly broad, and used to punish a range of online behaviors. 157 The Trademark Law adopted in January 2019 penalizes trademark infringement and counterfeiting with up to three years imprisonment and a fine of approximately 5 million kyats ($3,300). 158 It was adopted alongside the Patent Law and the Industrial Design Law, which also include criminal sanctions for https://freedomhouse.org/country/myanmar/freedom-net/2019 13/20