The history of these groups is complex, and some media reports continue to refer
to the KNA as the KBGF. For clarity, this report uses the term KNA when referring to
the group's activities since its 2024 rebrand, even where source reporting uses its
previous name.
2.3 NEW ANTI-ONLINE SCAM BILL
On 14 May 2026, the military government’s national newspaper, The Global New
Light of Myanmar (GNLM), announced a new Anti-Online Scam Bill, and the
military parliament then approved it on 28 July 2026 (figure 3). The bill, which
consists of 13 chapters, includes measures on web monitoring and banking activity
as well as introducing extreme penalties tied to certain roles within these scam
operations. Human Rights groups, including Human Rights Myanmar, have
highlighted several issues with the bill, describing it as:
‘...not a genuine response to cybercrime, but a repressive tool of military
control. Framed as an anti-scam law, it expands mass surveillance, censorship,
arbitrary asset seizures, and disproportionate punishment…’.
Figure 3: A screenshot of the Global New Light of Myanmar’s (GNLM) announcement of the
Anti-Online Scam Bill on 14 May 2026. The 13 chapters are highlighted (Source: GNLM).
This bill is vital to highlight in this report, as it forms part of the state’s broader
public narrative, which is addressed in the next section. It sets out a visible public
state response to scam activity, but raises questions around its scope and its
implementation.
www.info-res.org
www.myanmarwitness.org
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