developing a such a law,249 stating that the new framework would include provisions penalizing those who “insult the country and people and commit crimes over any communications network.”250 Human rights defenders have expressed concern that the proposed legislation, like other restrictive laws governing online activity in recent years, would be vague, overly broad, and used to punish a range of online behaviors.251 The draft cybercrimes law has not been publicly withdrawn, but following the widespread outcry, the military quickly amended the Electronic Transactions Law in February 2021, copying over many of the problematic provisions from the contentious draft.252 These included new rules that could be used to criminalize the publication of “false information” or information that could damage foreign relations.253 The USDP-led government had amended but failed to repeal the 2004 Electronic Transactions Law in 2013; it 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” information with those effects. The law was routinely used to criminalize internet activism during the previous period of military rule. In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the NLD-led government put forward a draft Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases Bill in February 2020. The bill included a provision that imposed fines and a potential six-month prison term on health officials who disseminate certain health information during specified times if it could cause fear or panic.254 Authorities claimed that the draft law sought to prevent public disorder and the spread of intentionally false information. The bill remained in draft form at the time of the coup. 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 ($3,800).255 It was adopted alongside the Patent Law and the Industrial Design Law, which also include criminal sanctions for violations.256 In May 2019, a copyright law that includes prison terms of up to three years for commercial copying without consent was adopted.257 Each law applies to online content and could be used against users. After a series of leaked draft laws criminalizing “hate speech” received significant criticism from civil society in 2017, the process of developing such a law was largely kept secret, and a bill had not yet been put before the parliament at the time of the coup.258 The government claimed in 2017 that consultations with civil society regarding the bill had occurred,259 but several well-known civil society organizations working on the issue refuted these assertions and had received no responses to their requests for meetings with the parliament.260 The government in April 2020 issued a Directive on the Prevention of Incitement to Hatred and Violence, ordering officials to address the issue of hate speech.261 The directive came in advance of a reporting deadline set by the International Court of Justice. C3: အွန်လိ&ငး် လ&ပ်ေဆာင်မ1များအတွက် ြပည်သမ = ျား အြပစ်ေပးြခင်း ခံရပါသလား။ (၀-၆ မ.တ)် ၁ မ.တ် C3: Are individuals penalized for online activities? (0–6 points) 1 Internet users are frequently prosecuted in Myanmar’s restrictive legal environment. Between the start of the coup and June 2021, 86 journalists and media workers had been charged under at least 10 laws, in many cases for their journalism published online.262 The vast majority were awaiting sentencing at the end of the coverage period and had been held in pretrial detention.263 The military has also targeted prominent social media users—including influencers, actors, singers, and food and beauty bloggers—by adding them to wanted lists that are broadcast nightly for those charged under Section 505A of the penal code (see C2). At least 60 people were on these lists as of early April.264 Free Expression Myanmar (FEM) and Freedom House - Freedom of the Net: Myanmar - အင်တာနက်ေပ*တွင် လွတ်လပ်မ/ - ြမန်မာ2ိ4င်ငံ - Page 20