enues dipped. 94 Testing by ONI confirmed filtering practices consistent with 2007 findings: search engines as well as the suite of additional services (e.g., Google Groups,
Picasa, Google Docs, Google News, and Google Translate) offered by Google, Yahoo,
and MSN were all accessible, with the exception of Google Video and google.at
(Austrian Google), which were blocked by MPT. However, free e-mail services continued to be filtered, with Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, Hushmail, and mail2web blocked by
both ISPs. In addition, MPT took the precaution of blocking additional e-mail sites
including hotmail.msn.com (though not www.hotmail.com). While MMT and MPT
blocked the Web site www.skype.com, once Skype is accessed and downloaded using
circumvention tools, it is possible to use the Skype VoIP service on both ISPs.
Testing in 2008–2009 revealed that MMT targeted social media sites more than MPT.
Only MMT blocked Flickr, YouTube (although MPT blocked Google Video), Geocities,
and Blogspot. Blocking of the entire Blogspot/Blogger domain by MMT rendered many
of the blogs that were the most active in disseminating images and information relating to the Saffron Revolution inaccessible. However, while MPT kept the Blogspot
domain open, it blocked the individual blogs of at least four prominent bloggers featured by international media during the Saffron Revolution: ko-htike.blogspot.com
and niknayman.blogspot.com, two blogs reported blocked in September 2007, 95 as
well as moemaka.blogspot.com and myochitmyanmar.blogspot.com. To avoid being
casualties of the blocking of popular domains such as Blogspot and Wordpress, bloggers sought their own personal domain, such as blog.mghla.com, with its content
hosted by Blogspot.
International news agencies filtered by both ISPs included Radio Free Asia (www
.rfa.org), the Voice of America Burmese and English Web sites, and the BBC Burmese
service. Only MPT blocked the main BBC Web site and BBC News, while MMT filtered
CNN and the Financial Times. Both MMT and MPT blocked many major independent
news sites reporting on Myanmar, including overseas regional publications such as
The Irawaddy, Mizzima News, Democratic Voice of Burma (www.dvb.no), and BurmaNet
News, as well as Web sites exclusively in the national language (www.burmatoday.net).
While both ISPs blocked some regional publications, such as Thailand’s The Nation
newspaper, the Asia Times (www.atimes.com), and the Asian Tribune, MMT targeted
regional news sites slightly more than MPT.
Web sites containing content on human rights advocacy and democratic reform
continued to be a priority for blocking. A substantial number of nongovernmental
organization Web sites with different levels of involvement in Myanmar human rights
issues were blocked on both ISPs, from international rights organizations such as
Human Rights Watch, the Open Society Institute, and Amnesty International, to a
wide range of Burma-focused groups (e.g., Burma Watch; www.burmacampaign
.org.uk). Within this group were Web sites documenting the persecution of ethnic
minorities and the personal Web site of Aung San Suu Kyi. Other continuities in
Burma
441
Picasa, Google Docs, Google News, and Google Translate) offered by Google, Yahoo,
and MSN were all accessible, with the exception of Google Video and google.at
(Austrian Google), which were blocked by MPT. However, free e-mail services continued to be filtered, with Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, Hushmail, and mail2web blocked by
both ISPs. In addition, MPT took the precaution of blocking additional e-mail sites
including hotmail.msn.com (though not www.hotmail.com). While MMT and MPT
blocked the Web site www.skype.com, once Skype is accessed and downloaded using
circumvention tools, it is possible to use the Skype VoIP service on both ISPs.
Testing in 2008–2009 revealed that MMT targeted social media sites more than MPT.
Only MMT blocked Flickr, YouTube (although MPT blocked Google Video), Geocities,
and Blogspot. Blocking of the entire Blogspot/Blogger domain by MMT rendered many
of the blogs that were the most active in disseminating images and information relating to the Saffron Revolution inaccessible. However, while MPT kept the Blogspot
domain open, it blocked the individual blogs of at least four prominent bloggers featured by international media during the Saffron Revolution: ko-htike.blogspot.com
and niknayman.blogspot.com, two blogs reported blocked in September 2007, 95 as
well as moemaka.blogspot.com and myochitmyanmar.blogspot.com. To avoid being
casualties of the blocking of popular domains such as Blogspot and Wordpress, bloggers sought their own personal domain, such as blog.mghla.com, with its content
hosted by Blogspot.
International news agencies filtered by both ISPs included Radio Free Asia (www
.rfa.org), the Voice of America Burmese and English Web sites, and the BBC Burmese
service. Only MPT blocked the main BBC Web site and BBC News, while MMT filtered
CNN and the Financial Times. Both MMT and MPT blocked many major independent
news sites reporting on Myanmar, including overseas regional publications such as
The Irawaddy, Mizzima News, Democratic Voice of Burma (www.dvb.no), and BurmaNet
News, as well as Web sites exclusively in the national language (www.burmatoday.net).
While both ISPs blocked some regional publications, such as Thailand’s The Nation
newspaper, the Asia Times (www.atimes.com), and the Asian Tribune, MMT targeted
regional news sites slightly more than MPT.
Web sites containing content on human rights advocacy and democratic reform
continued to be a priority for blocking. A substantial number of nongovernmental
organization Web sites with different levels of involvement in Myanmar human rights
issues were blocked on both ISPs, from international rights organizations such as
Human Rights Watch, the Open Society Institute, and Amnesty International, to a
wide range of Burma-focused groups (e.g., Burma Watch; www.burmacampaign
.org.uk). Within this group were Web sites documenting the persecution of ethnic
minorities and the personal Web site of Aung San Suu Kyi. Other continuities in
Burma
441