Internet in Burma

Internet in Burma

The Internet in Burma (also known as Myanmar) has been available since 2000 when the first Internet connections were established. However, the military government works aggressively to limit and control Internet access through software-based censorship, infrastructure and technical constraints, and laws and regulations with large fines and lengthy prison sentences for violators. The government also charges high prices to connect to the Internet, and then charges on a per-hour basis once connected.[1][2] Many native Burmese do not have the money to pay for this.[3]

Myanmar's top-level domain is '.mm'.[4]

Contents

Access and usage

Service providers, Internet cafés

Myanmar Teleport (formerly Bagan Cybertech),[5] Yatanarpon Teleport,[6] Information Technology Central Services (ITCS),[7] Red Link Communications, and the state-owned Myanmar Post and Telecommunication (MPT)[8] are the Internet service providers in Myanmar.[9][10] Internet cafés are common in the country and most use different pieces of software to bypass the government's proxy servers.[3][11][12]

Internet penetration

Myanmar has a very low Internet penetration rate due to both government restrictions on pricing and deliberate lack of facilities and infrastructure.[13] According to MPT's official statistics as of July 2010, the country had over 400,000 Internet users (0.8% of the population) with the vast majority of the users hailing from the two largest cities, Yangon and Mandalay.[14] Although 42 cities across the country have access to the Internet, the number of users outside Yangon and Mandalay is just over 10,000. Most of the country's 40,000 Internet connections are ADSL circuits, followed by dial-up, satellite terminal, and WiMax. MPT is also undertaking a trial of fiber-to-the-home in Mandalay, and plans to roll out a similar trial in Yangon.[14]

Promotion and support

Myanmar Computer Federation, Myanmar Computer Professionals Association (MCPA),[15] Myanmar Computer Industry Association,[16] Myanmar Info Tech Corporation Ltd. (MICT, MICT Park, or Myanmar Software Park)[17] played important roles helping organizations go online. Private IT enterprises and web developers such as Myanmars.NET[18] were mentioned in a February 2000 New York Times article for being entrepreneurs in this very closed country. Other well-known IT companies are Myanma Computer Company (MCC),[19] Ace Data Systems,[20] Myanmar Information Technology Ltd,[21] and Inforithm-Maze,[22] who led thousands of Myanmar businesses to do business online.

Blogging

An October 2010 survey found that blogging is the fastest growing type of Internet use in Myanmar, with a 25 percent increase from 2009.[23] A 2009 survey found that:[24]

  • Blogs focus on entertainment (14%), technology, computers, and the Internet (17%), books and literature (9%), news (6%), hobbies and travel (6%), politics (5%), and religion (4%), among other topics;
  • 52 percent of Burmese bloggers write from Burma and 48 percent write from abroad;
  • 72% of bloggers are men and 27% are women;
  • 77% of bloggers are single and 14% are married;
  • 35 percent of bloggers are 26 to 30 years old and 29 percent are 21 to 25 years old;
  • 80 percent blog in Burmese, while 8 percent blog in English, 10 percent write in both languages, and the rest use ethnic minority languages such as Kachin, Karen, and Chin.

Censorship

The government uses a wide range of methods to restrict Internet freedom, including legal and regulatory barriers, infrastructural and technical constraints, and coercive measures such as intimidation and lengthy prison sentences. Although the authorities lack the capacity to pervasively enforce all restrictions, the impact of sporadic implementation and the ensuing chilling effect is profound.[25]

Internet censorship in Myanmar was classified as pervasive in the political area and as substantial in social, conflict/security, and Internet tools areas by the OpenNet Initiative in December 2010.[26] Myanmar is listed as an Internet enemy by Reporters Without Borders in 2011.[27] Myanmar's status is "Not Free" in Freedom House's Freedom on the Net 2011 report.[25]

Myanmar utilizes a network specifically for domestic use, that is separate from the rest of the Internet. The network, similar to the Kwangmyong network used by North Korea, limits the flow of unwanted information from outside of the country.[25]

Myanmar Wide Web

The Myanmar Wide Web (MWW) is a pejorative term for the nature of Internet access in Myanmar. Its use is considered so threatening that just connecting to the Internet can be seen as a dissident act. As described by journalists and free-speech activists, the MWW is designed to keep users away from information or artistic works that could possibly "subvert" the régime, cause ethnic tension, or encourage political instability in the view of the military junta. The Web sites that users are able to visit are pre-selected by official censors.[28] Free e-mail services, more difficult to monitor than official government accounts, are not allowed. Fortinet, a California-based company, in provides the government with software that limits the material citizens can access on-line, especially e-mail service providers and pornographic websites.[29][30]

Internet shutdowns and reductions in bandwidth

The Internet infrastructure is also controlled through total shutdowns and temporary reductions in bandwidth.[25] During the 2007 street protests, the junta completely shut down internet connectivity from September 29 to October 4.[31][32] And state-controlled ISPs occasionally apply bandwidth caps to prevent the sharing of video and image files, particularly during politically sensitive events, such as the November 2010 elections.[33][25]

Banned and blocked websites and blogs

Myanmar has banned the websites and blogs of political opposition groups, sites relating to human rights, and organizations promoting democracy.[26] Many sites containing keywords or phrases that are considered suspicious, such as “Burma”, “drugs”, “military government”, “democracy”, “student movement”, “8888” (a reference to the protest movement that began on August, 8, 1988), and “human rights” are blocked.[25] Access to Yahoo! Mail, MSN Mail, Gmail, the video-sharing site YouTube, the messaging feature of the social-networking site Facebook, Google’s Blogspot, and the microblogging service Twitter are sporadically blocked.[25] However, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems including Skype are available.

In September 2011 the government stopped blocking YouTube, the BBC, the Voice of America, as well as regional media, such as Thailand's Bangkok Post and Singapore's Straits Times. However, these changes may not be as significant as they first appear, because only 0.3 percent of Burma's population has Web access, outside of Burma's largest city, Yangon, few can read English, and Burmese Internet users may risk arrest and even prison for accessing "subversive" foreign sites like these.[34]

Censorship circumvention

The use of Internet censorship circumvention methods is banned; the Myanmar ISPs block many bypass and proxy websites, but are unable to block all circumvention methods. Cybercafes are required by law to keep records on their customers’ activities and provide police access to the records upon request. However, many cafes do not systematically enforce such monitoring, often assisting their users in circumventing censorship instead. In response the government has increased surprise inspections of cybercafes, instructed cafes to post signs warning users not to visit political or pornographic websites, and instructed cybercafes to install CCTV cameras and assign at least four security staff to monitor users.[25]

Laws

Laws regulating the Internet include the Computer Science Development Law (1996), the Wide Area Network Order (2002), and the Electronic Transactions Law (2004), while the Printers and Publishers Registration Act (1962) regulates the media.[35] These laws and associated regulations are broadly worded and open to arbitrary or selective interpretation and enforcement. The Electronic Transactions Law covers “any act detrimental to”—and specifically “receiving or sending and distributing any information relating to”—state security, law and order, community peace and tranquility, national solidarity, the national economy, or national culture. Violators face fines and prison terms of 7 to 15 years.[36] The importing and use of a modem without official permission is banned, with penalties for violations of up to 15 years in prison.[37] Harsh prison terms and selective enforcement encourages self-censorship. However, expression in online environments such as comment features where posters can remain anonymous remains relatively free.

Prison terms

Many political prisoners in Myanmar are charged under the laws mentioned above, for example:[25]

  • Reporters Without Borders counted at least 15 journalists and three internet activists in detention in 2011;[38]
  • Nay Phone Latt, a blogger and owner of three cybercafes, was sentenced to 20 years and six months in prison in November 2008 for posting a cartoon of General Than Shwe, Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council from 1992 to 2011;[39]
  • members of the 88 Generation Students Group, Htay Kywe, Min Ko Naing, Ko Jimmy, Nilar Thein, Mie Mie, and nine others, were convicted on 11 November 2008 of four counts of "illegally using electronic media" and one count of "forming an illegal organization" and sentenced to 65 years in prison apiece, while the group's photographer, Zaw Htet Ko Ko, and other members were given sentences ranging from three to eleven years;[40][41]
  • freelance reporter Hla Hla Win was arrested in September 2009 and given a 27-year prison term, including 20 years for violating the Electronic Transactions Law, while her associate, Myint Naing, received a 32 year sentence;[42]
  • blogger Win Zaw Naing was arrested in November 2009 and faces up to 15 years in prison for posting pictures and reports about the September 2007 protests;[43]
  • a former military officer and a foreign affairs official were sentenced to death in 2010, and another foreign affairs official was sentenced to 15 years in prison, for the leaking information and photographs about military tunnels and a general’s trip to North Korea, but as of December 2010, the executions had not been carried out;[44]
  • journalist Ngwe Soe Lin, who was arrested at a cybercafe in Rangoon, was sentenced to 13 years in prison in January 2010 for working for an exile media outlet;[45]
  • activist Than Myint Aung received a 10-year prison sentence in July 2010 for violating the Electronic Transactions Law by using the Internet to disseminate information that was “detrimental to the security of the state”;[46] and
  • photographer Sithu Zeya was sentenced to eight years in prison in December 2010 for taking pictures in the aftermath of an April 2010 bomb blast in Rangoon and for his affiliation with an exiled media outlet.[47]

See also

References

  1. ^ Martin, Steven, et.al. (2002). Myanmar (Burma), 8th Ed. Lonely Planet Publications. ISBN 1740591909. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Myanmar-Lonely-Planet-Regional-Guides/dp/1740591909#reader_1740591909. 
  2. ^ "Internet Services Tariff", Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications, Information Technology department, Ministry of Communications, Posts and Telegraphs, accessed 10 June 2011
  3. ^ a b "Internet Cafe in Myanmar", Today in Myanmar, 13 February 2009
  4. ^ "Country Code List: ISO 3166-1993 (E)". American National Standards Institute, Inc.. http://xml.coverpages.org/country3166.html. Retrieved 2007-11-12. 
  5. ^ "The Internet in Burma (1998-2009) ", Mizzima News
  6. ^ "Company at a glance", Yatanarpon Teleport Co., Ltd.
  7. ^ "New consortium to shake up IT sector", Ye Kaung Myint Maung, Myanmar Times, vol.19, no.370 (11-17 June 2007)
  8. ^ "Internet Services Tariff", Information Technology department, Ministry of Communications, Posts and Telegraphs, accessed 10 June 2011
  9. ^ "Myanmar Internet Provider", Guide for Myanmar, 2007
  10. ^ "Internet service hampered as Myanmar Teleport server breaks down", Mizzima News Agency, 10 February 2009
  11. ^ "No More Proxies: Myanmar Teleport", Saw Yan Naing, The Irrawaddy Publishing Group, 29 May 2008
  12. ^ "Bypassing Internet Censorship in Burma / Myanmar", VPNHero.com, 16 March 2011
  13. ^ Google Public Data: Burma Internet penetration
  14. ^ a b Wai-Yan Phyo Oo and Saw Pyayzon (2010-07-30). "State of Internet Usage in Myanmar" (in Burmese). Bi-Weekly Eleven (Yangon) 3 (18): 1–2. 
  15. ^ Myanmar Computer Professionals Association, website
  16. ^ Myanmar Computer Industry Association, website
  17. ^ "Myanmar ICT News", Guide for Myanmar
  18. ^ myanmars.net, website
  19. ^ Myanma Computer Company", website
  20. ^ ACE Data ystems, website
  21. ^ Myanmar Information Technology (MIT), website
  22. ^ Inforithm-Maze, website
  23. ^ "Blogging Increases 25% Within A Year” (Blog Yay Thar Hmu Ta Nhit Ah Twin 25 Yar Khaing Hnoan Toe Lar), Myanmar Internet Journal, 17 December 2010
  24. ^ “Myanmar Blogger Survey 2009”, Nyi Lynn Seck, Myanmar Blogger Society, Rangoon, slides, 2 February 2010
  25. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Burma Country Report", Freedom on the Net 2011, Freedom House, 18 April 2011
  26. ^ a b "ONI Country Profile: Burma", OpenNet Initiative, 22 December 2010
  27. ^ Internet Enemies, Reporters Without Borders, Paris, March 2011
  28. ^ Sandy Barron (2000-07-14). "Myanmar works hard to keep Internet Out". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/07/cyber/articles/14myanmar.html. 
  29. ^ "Internet Filtering in Burma in 2005: A Country Study". Open Net Initiative. http://www.opennetinitiative.net/studies/burma/. 
  30. ^ "Burma bans Google and g-mail". Burma Net News. 2006-06-27. http://www.burmanet.org/news/2006/06/27/mizzima-news-burma-bans-google-and-gmail-mungpi/#more-4642. Retrieved 2006-06-28. 
  31. ^ "Myanmar's main Internet link not working: official", Asia Pacific Nets, channelnewsasia.com, 28 September 2007
  32. ^ Burma "Junta tightens media screw", Michael Dobie, BBC News, 28 September 2007
  33. ^ "Pulling the Plug: A Technical Review of the Internet Shutdown in Burma", Stephanie Wang and Shishir Nagaraja, OpenNet Initiative, 22 October 2007
  34. ^ "YouTube, BBC ban lifted in Burma", Patrick Winn, The Rice Bowl, the GlobalPost's reported blog on Asia, 16 September 2011
  35. ^ “Myanmar Law (1988–2004)”, Burma Lawyers’ Council
  36. ^ "The Electronic Transactions Law (The State Peace and Development Council Law No. 5/2004)", Myanmar Law (2004), Burma Lawyers' Council, 30 April 2004
  37. ^ Internet Enemies: Burma, Reporters Without Borders, Paris, 12 March 2009
  38. ^ "Press Freedom Barometer 2011: Burma", Reporters Without Borders
  39. ^ "Burma blogger jailed for 20 years", BBC News, 11 November 2008
  40. ^ Saw Yan Naing (11 November 2008). "40 Burmese Dissidents Given Prison Terms of up to 65 Years". The Irrawaddy. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=14614. Retrieved 8 May 2011. 
  41. ^ Jonathan Head (11 November 2008). "Harsh sentences for Burma rebels". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7721589.stm. Retrieved 17 April 2011. 
  42. ^ "Appeal case for DVB reporter Hla Hla Win", Myint Maung, Mizzima News, 24 March 2010
  43. ^ "Another blogger arrested for posts about Saffron Revolution", International Freedom of Expression Exchange, 18 November 2009
  44. ^ "Two Receive Death Sentence for Information Leak", Irrawaddy Publishing Group, 7 January 2010
  45. ^ "Another Video Reporter Gets Long Jail Sentence", Reporters Without Borders, news release, 29 January 2010
  46. ^ “Court Extends Prison Sentence of NLD Liberated Area Member”, Myint Maung, Mizzima News, 16 July 2010
  47. ^ "Photographer Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison", Reporters Without Borders, news release, 28 December 2010

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