Myanmar s digital regime foreshadows SE Asia
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published : 15 Mar 2021 at 04:30
5 A woman uses her mobile phone to check Facebook and other mobile apps in Yangon as Myanmar s generals ordered internet providers to restrict access to Facebook, days after they seized power. AFP
The throttling of internet freedoms in the wake of Myanmar s coup is the latest in a distinct trend toward digital authoritarianism in Southeast Asia. Attacks on the internet are rising, including countrywide shutdowns and targeting of conflict zones.
Such assaults also include tactics like intentionally slowing down internet servers in Vietnam, pressuring technology companies to take down critics social media posts in Cambodia, actively manipulating social media narratives in the Philippines and the alleged deployment of signal jamming during political protests in Thailand.
BBC News
By Alice Cuddy
media captionMyanmar coup: What s happened so far?
Myanmar woke to the news on Monday that the military was seizing control of the country. I guess I ll be live tweeting a coup now, former Reuters journalist Aye Min Thant wrote on Twitter shortly before 07:00 local time (00:30 GMT). Things are still pretty quiet for now, though people are awake and scared. I ve been fielding calls since 6am from friends and relatives. The internet is in and out and my sim card no longer works.
It said the top army commander was in charge and a one-year state of emergency had been declared. The country s civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, had been detained, along with other members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party.
BBC News
By Christopher Giles
The military takeover in Myanmar on Monday resulted in internet disruption in large parts of the country.
The authorities have now blocked access to Facebook, which they said was for the sake of stability .
How the internet dropped off
The restrictions to the internet were reported on Monday at 03:00 local time (20:30 GMT on Sunday).
Internet connectivity had dropped to 50% of normal levels by 08:00 local time that day, as people were waking up to the news of the military takeover. Army cut off the state media TV and radios, local phone line and internet getting disabled across the country, tweeted Burmese Reuters journalist Wa Lone.