Facebook usage exploded alongside internet access after 2014, and by 2016, it was estimated that there were 10 million Facebook users in Myanmar.44 By 2018, the number was estimated to have reached 20 million.45 Smartphones generally came with the Facebook app pre-installed, and shop owners would often set up Facebook profiles for their customers.46 Meta’s exponential growth in Myanmar was aided by the July 2016 launch of “Free Basics” and “Facebook Flex” in Myanmar - initiatives jointly provided by Meta and Myanmar Post and Telecommunications – a government agency.47 Facebook Flex is a product that enables subscribers to have a text-only version of Facebook without incurring data charges. Free Basics provided users with access to a basic version of the Facebook platform along with a limited number of services without incurring data charges on their mobile phones.48 A 2019 UN report found that with Meta’s Free Basics, “more local data would mean opportunities for providing better targeted advertising”.49 Amnesty International has previously found that Free Basics acts as a means for Meta to collect masses of data from people in the Global South. Although Free Basics is presented by Meta as a philanthropic initiative providing an “onramp to the broader internet” for those in the Global South who would otherwise lack internet access, Free Basics instead appears to be an “onramp” for increasing data mining in the Global South.50 Under decades of military rule, the population of Myanmar was denied access to diverse media and news sources, and opportunities to express their ideas and opinions were severely curtailed. The rapid transformation of Myanmar’s telecommunications landscape and the sudden dominance of the Facebook platform occurred in a context in which digital media literacy was extremely low. As an American platform populated by trusted friends and family, Facebook was widely perceived as a reliable source of news and information. The IIFFMM observed that “the Government’s use of Facebook for official announcements and sharing of information further contributes to users’ perception of Facebook as a reliable source of information”.51 Meta’s rapid market entry into Myanmar, combined with the enthusiastic embrace of the platform by a population which had long been starved of space to freely express themselves, led to Meta enjoying neartotal market dominance in Myanmar by 2017. The Facebook platform was used not only as a means of communicating with friends, but for many people in Myanmar, it became their primary news source, business directory, online marketplace, and go-to search engine.52 As noted by the IIFFMM in 2018, “[f]or many people, Facebook is the main, if not only, platform for online news and for using the Internet more broadly”.53 As outlined in Section 3.1, above, Meta’s rise to dominance in Myanmar occurred against a backdrop of rising inter-communal tensions and increasing levels of conflict in Northern Rakhine State. At the national level, Myanmar was in the throes of a fragile transition towards democracy after decades of military rule.54 A number of ethnic minority groups had historical and ongoing conflicts with the military, including in Kayin (Karen) State, Kayah (Karenni) State, Kachin State, and Mon State.55 As previously noted, the Rohingya in Rakhine State, in particular, were living under a system of apartheid. This context amounted to a conflictaffected setting, as discussed further in Section 4.1, below. Catherine Trautwein, “Facebook racks up 10m Myanmar users”, 13 June 2016, The Myanmar Times, mmtimes.com/business/technology/20816-facebook-racks-up-10m-myanmar-users.html 44 45 IIFFMM, Detailed findings, para. 1344. 46 See: Rio, “The Role of Social Media in Fomenting Violence” (previously cited); IIFFMM, Detailed findings, para. 1344. 47 IIFFMM, “Detailed findings”, para. 1344. 48 IIFFMM, “Detailed findings”, para. 1344. 49 UNCTD, Digital Economy Report 2019 (previously cited), p 90. 50 Amnesty International, “Surveillance Giants” (previously cited), p.14. 51 IIFFMM, “Detailed findings”, para. 1345. 52 IIFFMM, Detailed findings, para. 1345. 53 IIFFMM, “Detailed findings”, para. 1345. See, Amnesty International, “Annual Report 2013: The State of the World’s Human Rights: Myanmar”, POL 10/001/2013, amnesty.org/en/documents/pol10/001/2013/en 54 See: Amnesty International, “Annual Report 2012: The State of the World’s Human Rights: Myanmar”, POL 10/001/2012, amnesty.org/en/documents/pol10/001/2012/en 55 THE SOCIAL ATROCITY META AND THE RIGHT TO REMEDY FOR THE ROHINGYA Amnesty International 17