2/24/25, 2:49 PM Online Oppression Takes a New Turn in Myanmar - Fortify Rights By Sai Arkar in German Solidarity Myanmar The Myanmar junta wasted no time oppressing millions of people in the new year, introducing a new and repressive cybersecurity “law” on January 1. This new writ signifies a troubling escalation in the junta’s ongoing assault on basic freedoms in Myanmar, highlighting the regime’s underlying aspirations: to silence any and all opposition to its violent rule and to restrict the fundamental right to free expression. The internet in Myanmar has emerged as an essential medium for the youth, serving as a space to articulate their voices, aspirations, and the bravery needed to take their demonstrations from online spaces to the streets during the coup days. However, as the junta launched a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population for street protests in reaction to their illegal putsch in 2021, and as it now fights against a nationwide revolution, the junta has employed itsforces to control the internet—banning social media platforms, conducting random checks on individuals’ phones in publicplaces, and unlawfully inspecting the devices they detained. As a human rights defender operating within Myanmar and documenting the widespread rights abuses throughout the nation, the recent enactment of the junta’s cybersecurity law has driven me to approach my work and personal life with heightened caution. Since the initial draft was unveiled in 2021 and was revised in 2022, I committed myself to studying the “law”—which is more of an authoritarian decree— in detail. The cybersecurity decree has 16 chapters and 88 articles, including broad provisions to “protect and safeguard the sovereignty and stability of the nation from https://www.fortifyrights.org/mya-inv-oped-2025-02-09/ 2/7