Myanmar Military Junta Enacts Repressive New Cybersecurity Bill

Among the law’s provisions is a ban on the provision of virtual private networks (VPNs), which are frequently used to circumvent internet controls.

Myanmar’s military junta has passed its long-threatened Cybersecurity Law, which aims to tighten its control over vital arteries of communication amid the country’s intensifying civil war.

According to the text of the law, which has been published in parts in the last two editions of the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar, the purpose of the law is to “effectively investigate and take action against cyber crimes” and to “protect and safeguard the sovereignty and stability of the nation from being harmed by cyber threats, cyberattacks, or cyber misuse through the application of electronic technologies.”

Myanmar’s government has been considering cyber-security legislation for some time – a draft framework was circulated for comments in 2019 – but the passage of the law is a clear reaction to the mass protests and armed uprising against the military’s seizure of power in February 2021. Social media networks and messaging apps – mostly Facebook, but increasingly X and Telegram – have been vital to the resistance groups that are opposing military rule, as well as to the public at large, controlling these channels of communication has become a priority for the junta.

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