Athens Journal of Law July 2022 As Facebook was the primary source of information during the NLD government and remains so to those who still have access via a VPN, it deserves the scathing criticism for not addressing the proliferation of fake news and hate speech that fuelled the ethnic violence against the Rohingya in particular and Muslims in general. International action is required to provide oversight of social media platforms to ensure that the platforms adequately monitor posts to minimise the spreading of fake news and hate speech. If the platforms cannot self-monitor their platforms, consideration should be given to remove current safe harbour protections and legislate to have them declared publishers of their online content. Such legislation would expose them to the same sanctions that apply to print or online mainstream media companies. Another issue that has arisen and is challenging to overcome is that of social media becoming an echo chamber. This has been a pressing issue in Myanmar, especially where Facebook became the major source of news and communication because of its early introduction.155 There needs to be education at all levels to cross-check information sources. There is also an urgent need for social media users to be aware of privacy issues associated with open social media platforms. Conclusion Myanmar is an extreme example of the use and abuse of social media. It shows what can happen if there are no strong governance structures. If there are not, the rule of law can break down, and widespread abuses of human rights can occur and, at times, encouraged. Governments need to regulate state and non-state actors in this regard. At the same time the use of social media to oppose the government is a relatively new and powerful phenomenon. It is not only used locally but also sells its message to the world. References Access Now (2022). Update: internet access, censorship, and the Myanmar coup. https:// www.accessnow.org:443/update-internet-access-censorship-myanmar/ Al Jazeera (2021a). Meta to ban Myanmar military-owned firms from its platforms. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/12/8/meta-to-ban-myanmar-militaryowned-firms-from-its-platforms 155 The first author has personal experience of this. A colleague, her sister and 11-year-old niece had to be smuggled out of Myanmar to Mae Sot in Thailand because of their support for the demonstrators during the early days of the coup. She continued to use social media even during her exile in Thailand until she closed it down following several entreaties from her colleagues. She was openly reposting material from various sources to her friends and contacts. In fact, she was putting her freedom at risk because she was just acting as an echo chamber to her circle. Her actions were even more serious as the posts would have violated Thailand’s cybercrime legislation. She seemed to be oblivious to the fact that authorities in both Myanmar and Thailand would be monitoring social media posts, particularly from refugees at the Thai border. It has not been unheard of the Myanmar military crossing the border or the Thai authorities pushing refugees back across the border into the hands of the Myanmar authorities. 325 Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4150894