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Targeted Internet Shutdown in Rakhine and Chin States In June 2019, the Myanmar Ministry of Transport and Communications ordered mobile phone operators to stop mobile internet traffic in nine townships in Rakhine and Chin states. The government referenced “disturbances of peace and use of internet services to coordinate illegal activities” and claimed that the shutdown was necessary to “maintain the stability and law and order in these areas.”74 The internet shutdowns have affected nearly one million people in Rakhine and Chin States.75 Former Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee expressed concern that civilians in Rakhine and Chin states have been cut off from all means of communication, which could potentially enable the Myanmar military to continue committing gross human rights violations against civilians.76 Photo 5 : Rakhine youths using wifi internet in front of a private bank. Photo – Kaung Mrat Naing (MaungDaw) 74 Thu Thu Aung and Sam Aung Moon, “Myanmar reimposes internet shutdown in conflict-torn Rakhine, Chin states: telco operator,” Reuters, February 5, 2020, https://www.reuters.com/article/usmyanmar-rakhine/myanmar-reimposes-internet-shutdown-in-conflict-torn-rakhine-chin-states-telcooperator-idUSKBN1ZZ0LC. 75 Phil Robertson, “Myanmar Again Cuts Rakhine State’s Internet,” Human Rights Watch, February 5, 2020, https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/02/05/myanmar-again-cuts-rakhine-states-internet. 76 “Myanmar: UN expert 'fears for civilians' after Internet shutdown,” Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, June 24, 2019, https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24733&LangID=E. 18

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Lockdown and Shutdown: Exposing the Impacts of Recent Network Disruptions in Myanmar and Bangladesh

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English

Topic

Digital Rights
Internet Connectivity / Accessibility
Internet Restrictions
Rohingya Crisis

Author(s)

Athan
Harvard Law School - Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society: Cyberlaw Clinic
Harvard Law School: International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC)
PDi-Kintha (Peace and Development Initiative)
Rohingya Youth Association

Date Published: Jan 19, 2021

Abstract: We begin the paper with overviews of the human rights situation in Myanmar and Bangladesh which lays the groundwork for both the rationale behind the internet shutdowns as well as their impacts. This section highlights the Tatmadaw’s 2017 “clearance operations” that forced more than 750,000 Rohingyas refugees to flee to Bangladesh, the ongoing armed conflict in Rakhine and Chin State in Myanmar and the situation in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh. We then move to examine the immediate causes of the targeted internet shutdowns in Myanmar and Bangladesh, which both began in 2019. Next, we demonstrate that violations of digital rights are violations of human rights, and explain why internet shutdowns impede the rights of IDPs and refugees. In Section 4, the heart of the white paper, we showcase the voices of our interviewees, and draw out key themes from the interviews. Our findings reveal that there are commonalities in the impacts of the shutdowns in both countries, such as in the areas of public health information around COVID-19, education, and access to reliable news in misinformation-rich environments, as well as differences in areas like work, access to healthcare, and physical security. The paper concludes with key recommendations to the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh.

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Myanmar Internet Project

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Lockdown and Shutdown: Exposing the Impacts of Recent Network Disruptions in Myanmar and Bangladesh

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