Who buys and controls the CCTV? Back to contents 32 national and sub-national governments to promote open government, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance. This idea was ultimately dropped. Thus, the mechanisms for the public, civil society organisations, and journalists to be able to obtain information about smart cities implementation, any protections, problems, abuses, or other issues, is virtually non-existent. “In the context of smart cities, it is crucial to note that Myanmar currently does not have a data protection framework.There are no legal requirements for transparency of the operations of CCTV systems, and individuals cannot demand to know what information is held about them, or how it is being processed and used by the operators or third parties such as government bodies.” Interviewees explained that when it comes to smart cities and CCTV, under the 2017 Citizen’s Privacy and Security Law, surveillance needs to be carried out with the approval of the ‘relevant’ ministry, in this case the Ministry of Home Affairs. Governments that want to install CCTV will thus need approval from the Parliament and/or the Ministry of Home Affairs. In the context of smart cities, it is also crucial to note that Myanmar currently does not have a data protection framework.54 Further, this lack of data protection laws, which are in place in over 120 countries worldwide including China, Malaysia, and Thailand, limits the accountability and transparency of the use of the systems, as there are no legal requirements for transparency of the operations of the systems, nor the ability of individuals to demand what information is held about them, or how it is being processed and used by the operators or third parties such as government bodies. Over the past few years, the cybersecurity and cybercrime law has been one of the priorities of the NLD government. According to the interviewees, in 2020, the NLD government was separating cybersecurity