5/23/22, 12:53 PM Junta steps up phone, internet surveillance – with help from MPT and Mytel | Frontier Myanmar staffed by many former Tatmadaw officers. “It’s hard to say whether this push came from the Tatmadaw or the civilian side of the government,” the MPT official said. Among the ministry’s initiatives under the NLD government was a draft Cybersecurity Law, which the military regime inherited and published in early February, in one of its first legislative acts since seizing power. Following significant pushback from rights groups and business associations, the junta dropped the law but transferred some of its sections to the amended Electronic Transactions Law of February 15. The ministry under the NLD also initiated a “lawful interception” programme that would give it direct access to user data from mobile operators and ISPs. Budget documents published by the Open Technology Fund show that the ministry received the equivalent of US$4 million to buy equipment for the project in the 2019-20 fiscal year. In December 2020, Telenor raised the alarm about the programme, warning at a briefing in Yangon that without sufficient safeguards it would create “an opportunity for misuse and breach of customers’ human rights”. NLD lawmakers also approved budget requests from both the communications ministry and the military-controlled Ministry of Home Affairs for a range of digital tools – many purchased from companies in Western countries – that in the wake of the coup are being used against regime opponents. In a recent report, “Myanmar’s Military Struggles to Control the Virtual Battlefield”, Brussels-based think-tank International Crisis Group said that despite the obvious risks of putting these tools in the hands of the security forces without adequate safeguards, those who tried to raise concerns with the NLD government or party lawmakers were largely ignored. To rectify the NLD’s missteps, ICG recommended that the parallel National Unity Government, formed in April by ousted NLD lawmakers and ethnic leaders, announce policies that enshrine privacy and affirm its commitment to a free and open internet. The NUG could also use its platform to raise awareness about digital security, for example the importance of using VPNs, the report said. But the NUG’s Minister for Human Rights U Aung Myo Min told Frontier that focusing on military surveillance of phone and internet use risked distracting from the broader goal of revolution. “Instead of talking about each issue, our goal is just to overthrow the military dictators. Then all issues or problems will be resolved. We want to urge the people to fight this common enemy so that rule of law can be restored,” he said. On June 5, U Htin Lin Aung was appointed as minister for communications, information and technology in the NUG, but his office did not respond to Frontier’s interview request by press time. More stories Torture rife in Myanmar’s prisons Political prisoners released from Myanmar’s jails speak of widespread use of torture by security forces, including death threats, sexual assault and psychological torture. https://www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/junta-steps-up-phone-internet-surveillance-with-help-from-mpt-and-mytel/ 4/7