Electronic oppression: The junta sharpens its instruments of control | Frontier Myanmar 6/26/25, 5:46 PM close to the entire population of Myanmar. These old records are notoriously unreliable, with people’s names often paired with inaccurate or incomplete biographical information. So, the ministry tried to improve this data by launching a campaign of biometric registration, where people aged over 10 have had their fingerprints, faces and irises scanned while their biographical details are digitally recorded. It is unclear how many people have gone through this biometric process, but now-outdated announcements from the ministry suggest it is at least in the millions. The process is a requirement to get a UID, which the regime has said would be needed to obtain passports and border passes, access state healthcare and education, register SIM cards, open bank accounts and get driving licences. However, sources said they have only needed the document for passports and border crossings so far, with older IDs still accepted for other services. An immigration officer in Ayeyarwady said the database was still full of bad or missing information. This was mostly carried over from the old paper records, for people who have not yet undergone biometric registration and received a UID. “When we entered the data from the paper forms into the computer system, there were many errors [and unclear entries] and we often had to guess what was written. Only when the government asked people to get UIDs were we able to obtain correct and complete information,” the officer said, speaking to Frontier anonymously. Meanwhile, the junta’s growing set of biometric data is intersecting with other post-coup surveillance efforts. These include the mandatory registration of SIM cards with personal information and the passing earlier this year of the Cybersecurity Law, which requires that digital platforms save the personal details of users for three years and hand them over to authorities on request, among other privacy violations. Moreover, a census in October last year involved the digital logging of sensitive personal and household information with mobile tablets for the first time. However, only slightly over 32 million people were successfully enumerated, leaving out about 20 million, and experts have doubted the quality of the data collection. The census results are intended to help create an updated voter list for an election, which the regime plans to hold in December, but which is bound to be a sham with the banning of any real opposition and the suppression of basic freedoms. Despite this, the junta is at pains to produce an “accurate” list of voters, because the generals used spurious claims of voter fraud to justify overturning the result of the 2020 election and launching the subsequent coup. New tech, old habits A cyber expert from underground group Spring Revolution Security advised the general public to avoid the regime’s data gathering if possible, but warned that actively refusing to participate “may lead to targeted surveillance”. Those involved in anti-junta activities, however, need to take extra steps to stay under the radar. “You should be careful when travelling and avoid checkpoints as much as possible,” he said, speaking to Frontier anonymously. For people with less to fear from junta authorities, the new population database and ID scheme ostensibly promise greater convenience. The immigration official in Ayeyarwady said it has made replacing documents for people far quicker. “When someone applied for a new CSC after losing the old one we used to look up their personal information in the township office storage room, where we could find their original files. Now, we type https://www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/electronic-oppression-the-junta-sharpens-its-instruments-of-control/ Page 4 of 6