5/22/22, 12:03 AM Myanmar: Freedom on the Net 2021 Country Report | Freedom House The penal code can also be used to imprison internet users. Section 505(a) criminalizes speech “with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, any officer, soldier, sailor or airman, in the Army, Navy or Air Force to mutiny or otherwise disregard or fail in his duty as such.” 238 Section 505(b) outlaws speech “likely to cause fear or alarm in the public.” 239 On February 14, 2021, the military unilaterally amended the penal code to broaden the scope of the crimes of high treason and sedition. 240 The amendments included vaguely worded provisions against knowingly spreading “false news,” causing “fear,” and the “disruption” of military or government officials. The section covering “false news” has been used to charge hundreds of journalists, human rights defenders, and digital activists (see C3). 241 The Law Protecting the Privacy and Security of Citizens, which was enacted in 2017 and widely condemned by civil society for being debated and passed without proper consultation, provides for prison terms of up to three years for defamation. 242 The defamation provisions were amended in 2020 but are still used to prosecute individuals for online activity (see C3). 243 On February 10, 2021, the military suspended parts of the law, including its limited protections against surveillance and the interception of private messages. 244 The military circulated a draft cybercrimes law to telecommunications providers on February 11, 2021 (see A3, C5, and C6). The draft was widely condemned, and more than 250 civil society organizations warned that it would give the military absolute control over the internet in Myanmar and extend military jurisdiction to foreign companies such as Facebook. 245 Much of the draft law circulated by the military was reportedly carried over from a draft created by the previous government but not shared widely. 246 In 2019, the government had commissioned consultants to assist in developing a such a law, 247 stating that the new framework would include provisions penalizing those who “insult the country and people and commit crimes over any communications network.” 248 Human rights defenders have expressed concern that the proposed legislation, like other restrictive laws governing online activity in recent years, would be vague, overly broad, and used to punish a range of online behaviors. 249 The draft cybercrimes law has not been publicly withdrawn, but following the widespread outcry, the military quickly amended the Electronic Transactions Law in February 2021, copying over many of the problematic provisions from the contentious draft. 250 These included new rules that could be used to criminalize the publication of “false information” or information that could damage foreign relations. 251 The USDP-led government had amended but failed to repeal the 2004 Electronic Transactions Law in 2013; it criminalized “any act detrimental to” state security, law and order, community peace and tranquility, national solidarity, the national economy, or the national culture—including “receiving or sending” information with those effects. The law was routinely used to criminalize internet activism during the previous period of military rule. In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the NLD-led government put forward a draft Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases Bill in February 2020. The bill included a provision that imposed fines and a potential six-month prison term on health officials who disseminate certain health information during specified times if it could cause fear or panic. 252 Authorities claimed that the draft law sought to prevent public disorder and the spread of intentionally false information. The bill remained in draft form at the time of the coup. TOP The Trademark Law, adopted in January 2019, penalizes trademark infringement and counterfeiting with up to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of approximately 5 million kyats ($3,800). 253 It was adopted https://freedomhouse.org/country/myanmar/freedom-net/2021 19/28