6/9/22, 11:12 AM Telenor follows Myanmar orders to block alleged ‘fake news’ sites | The Myanmar Times A woman talks on her phone in downtown Yangon in November 2017. Photo: Phoe Wa/The Myanmar Times Telenor follows Myanmar orders to block alleged ‘fake news’ sites Norway’s Telenor says it will follow Myanmar’s other mobile operators and comply with the government’s order to block a list of “fake news” sites, including prominent ethnic media outlets, after initially refusing to do so. Myanmar has directed all four of its mobile operators to block access to a total of 221 websites, but it has not made a list of the sites public or clarified the legal basis for the move. A senior government official was reported as saying the clampdown was linked to publication of fake news over the COVID-19 pandemic, but the sites are said to also include adult content, child pornography as well as ethnic media outlets such as Development Media Group and Narinjara, both based in the restive state of Rakhine. The Ministry of Transport and Communications initially issued a directive to the four telecoms operators to block 207 specified websites under Article 77 of the Telecommunications Law, according to Telenor. On March 23 a further directive was issued for the blocking of 14 more websites which the ministry accused of disseminating misinformation, or “fake news”. There has been no public statement by the government or other operators. Telenor, state-owned MPT, Qatar’s Ooredoo and military-run Mytel operate in Myanmar. Telenor said it initially did not comply with the request to block sites in the category of “fake news” as it was unable to establish sufficient legal basis for this part of the request. But the Norwegian company said that on March 30 it had decided to block a further 67 sites, bringing the total to 221. “Telenor has assessed that the risk involved in not following the directive as regards fake news is likely to have wider implications in terms of servicing the public,” the company said, following talks with the ministry. Article 77 of the Telecommunications Law allows the ministry to impose restrictions or bans in an “emergency situation” out of public interest. The government has not explained what kind of emergency it is invoking or how it might extend to adult content or pornography. 42 euro knähylsor förare seniorer But Director general of the Directorate of Communications U Myo Swe told Frontier Myanmar that the Nya rationale behind the orderutformade is that “there so many fake CARESOLE | Sponsored news stories about COVID-19 so we have very recently instructed operators [to block them].” The senior official said he had “no exact list” of blocked websites because not all had been banned on the orders of the department. “The operators have also blocked Read Next Story some websites on their own,” he said. https://www.mmtimes.com/news/telenor-follows-myanmar-orders-block-alleged-fake-news-sites.html 2/6