Dangerous Speech, Anti-Muslim Violence, and Facebook in Myanmar sonal connections with ultranationalist monks.20 In 2013, the Thein Sein government passed the Telecommunications Law, which authorized fines and prison sentences for those proven guilty of “defaming, disturbing, causing undue influence, or threatening any person using a telecommunications network.”21 Military personnel, the Thein Sein government, and Aung San Suu Kyi’s government, which assumed power in 2016, have used this law to press charges against journalists and other individuals who have criticized or satirized political leaders online.22 Yet officials have not used this law to charge individuals who have stirred up religious hatred. Even Wirathu, whom the military regime had previously jailed for inciting anti-Muslim violence, has not faced charges. After the January 2017 assassination of Ko Ni, a constitutional lawyer and Aung San Suu Kyi’s adviser, Wirathu praised the killers.23 Ko Ni was a Muslim who promoted social inclusion. The exmilitary assassins’ motivations were reportedly “extreme patriotism.”24 Following that, the state-sponsored Buddhist monks’ council banned Wirathu from giving public speeches for a year but the government did not curtail his online activities. Meanwhile, a judge agreed to hear a case filed by one of Wirathu’s supporters who accused a Burmese journalist of defamation for posting criticism of Wirathu’s comments on his personal Facebook page.25 Aung San Suu Kyi’s government has wrestled with how to assert some control on the population’s use of the platform while not offending Buddhist nationalists. It is unclear if the government has ever asked Facebook to shut down any accounts; however, in February 2018, an official social-media-oversight team was set up to identify “cases that harm the stability and tranquility of the country.”26 The military has been sensitive about independent reporting and therefore unwilling to allow journalists access parts of northern Rakhine State, where it carried out clearance operations in 2017. The operations were in response to deadly attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army on border posts.27 Despite denials that the security forces committed acts of violence against civilians, satellite photos documented the systematic burning of Rohingya villages.28 Several hundred thousand Rohingya fled to Bangladesh, including women and girls who had witnessed or experienced rape by the security forces and affiliated militia groups. While not conclusive, a survey conducted in Rohingya refugee camps suggested that more than 6,000 civilians died, including young children.29 Two Burmese journalists who managed to gather information on the military’s execution of ten Rohingya males were later entrapped and charged with violating the colonial-era Official Secrets Act.30 This was clearly a warning to other journalists, who have become much more cautious in their reporting.31 United Nations officials and human-rights organizations characterized the journal of international affairs | 47