Control and Resistance
155
Information Controls in Burma
The SPDC maintains tight authoritarian rule over all forms of media and communications in the country. All local television, radio stations, and daily newspapers are
owned and controlled by the state.
12 Within the country there are 100 private publications, which are also heavily restrained and censored by state authorities.
13 The Printers and Publishers Registration Act, implemented in 1965, prohibits printed publications
from being critical of the government and requires all printers and publishers to register with the government and submit materials for review.
14 The Video and Television
Law applies similar regulations to television and fi lm media.
15 Together, these restrictions have stifl ed what was once a vibrant free press.
16
Amid this repression of traditional media the Internet has become an important
source of information on Burma. Beginning in the early 1990s, Burmese expatriates
and journalists living in exile set up news groups, mailing lists, and Web sites to disseminate information on the human rights and political situation in the country.
17
Today, the most popular independent Burmese Web sites operate outside of the
country, with Mizzima News based in India, The Irrawaddy in Thailand, and the
Democratic Voice of Burma in Norway. These Web sites receive reports from citizens
within the country and provide an alternative to state-controlled media that often
includes content critical of the regime. While these media organizations have become
important outlets for international audiences to receive information on Burma, they
are heavily censored within the country.
The regime aggressively denies, shapes, and controls online information in Burma.
Internet penetration is very limited with an estimated online population of less than
1 percent.
18 OpenNet Initiative (ONI) testing has consistently found that the only two
Internet service providers (ISPs), Yatanarpon Teleport (or Myanmar Teleport, formerly
known as Bagan Cybertech) and Myanmar Posts and Telecom, extensively fi lter Internet content by targeting circumvention technologies, foreign e-mail providers, communications tools such as Skype and Gtalk, material related to human rights and the
Burmese democratic movement, and independent news Web sites.
19 The Web sites of
Mizzima News, the Democratic Voice of Burma, and The Irrawaddy have been fi ltered
by the country ’ s ISPs for years. Filtering is achieved through technology linked to U.S.
companies Fortinet and Bluecoat despite an embargo that places limits on exports to
Burma.
20 These technical restrictions are paired with hard legal enforcement, and bloggers and journalists in the country face a constant threat of prosecution for publishing
dissenting material. The Reporters Without Borders ’ s Press Freedom Index of 2010
ranked Burma 174 out of 178 countries, and in 2009 the Committee to Protect Journalists deemed Burma the worst country in the world to be a blogger.
21 These repressive
controls create a climate of self-censorship in which citizens avoid publishing and
seeking out banned content.
155
Information Controls in Burma
The SPDC maintains tight authoritarian rule over all forms of media and communications in the country. All local television, radio stations, and daily newspapers are
owned and controlled by the state.
12 Within the country there are 100 private publications, which are also heavily restrained and censored by state authorities.
13 The Printers and Publishers Registration Act, implemented in 1965, prohibits printed publications
from being critical of the government and requires all printers and publishers to register with the government and submit materials for review.
14 The Video and Television
Law applies similar regulations to television and fi lm media.
15 Together, these restrictions have stifl ed what was once a vibrant free press.
16
Amid this repression of traditional media the Internet has become an important
source of information on Burma. Beginning in the early 1990s, Burmese expatriates
and journalists living in exile set up news groups, mailing lists, and Web sites to disseminate information on the human rights and political situation in the country.
17
Today, the most popular independent Burmese Web sites operate outside of the
country, with Mizzima News based in India, The Irrawaddy in Thailand, and the
Democratic Voice of Burma in Norway. These Web sites receive reports from citizens
within the country and provide an alternative to state-controlled media that often
includes content critical of the regime. While these media organizations have become
important outlets for international audiences to receive information on Burma, they
are heavily censored within the country.
The regime aggressively denies, shapes, and controls online information in Burma.
Internet penetration is very limited with an estimated online population of less than
1 percent.
18 OpenNet Initiative (ONI) testing has consistently found that the only two
Internet service providers (ISPs), Yatanarpon Teleport (or Myanmar Teleport, formerly
known as Bagan Cybertech) and Myanmar Posts and Telecom, extensively fi lter Internet content by targeting circumvention technologies, foreign e-mail providers, communications tools such as Skype and Gtalk, material related to human rights and the
Burmese democratic movement, and independent news Web sites.
19 The Web sites of
Mizzima News, the Democratic Voice of Burma, and The Irrawaddy have been fi ltered
by the country ’ s ISPs for years. Filtering is achieved through technology linked to U.S.
companies Fortinet and Bluecoat despite an embargo that places limits on exports to
Burma.
20 These technical restrictions are paired with hard legal enforcement, and bloggers and journalists in the country face a constant threat of prosecution for publishing
dissenting material. The Reporters Without Borders ’ s Press Freedom Index of 2010
ranked Burma 174 out of 178 countries, and in 2009 the Committee to Protect Journalists deemed Burma the worst country in the world to be a blogger.
21 These repressive
controls create a climate of self-censorship in which citizens avoid publishing and
seeking out banned content.