blocking a large majority of the pornography Web
sites tested, while MMT filtered very few such
sites.
Several curious results indicated that the
Myanmar government does not take an entirely
systematic approach to filtering. For example,
Amnesty International (www.amnesty.org) was
blocked entirely on MPT, but MMT filtered only
several Amnesty reports on the country. Other
significant variations among the ISPs, including
the inconsistent blocking of pornography and
gambling sites that suggest distinct filtering
methods, are unusual given both ISPs are staterun.
Conclusion
Although Myanmar does not deploy its filtering
regime with the same sophistication and breadth
as other countries with similarly repressive online
environments, the paranoid grip of the SPDC is
felt in the restrictions on access, the high cost of
services, and the frequently brutal clampdown on
information and expression in all other spheres of
Burmese life. This may be why there are not
many known cases of cyber-dissidents in custody, given that people have been arrested for
anything from publishing subversive poetry to listening to the BBC or Radio Free Asia in public. 27
NOTES
1. U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on
Human Rights Practices 2005: Burma,
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61603.htm.
2. Summary statement by the Secretary-General of the
United Nations on matters of which the Security
Council is seized and on the stage reached in their
consideration, UN Doc. S/2006/10/Add.36,
September 22, 2006.
3. Gen. Than Shwe, 85th Anniversary National Day
Message, November 24, 2005, http://www.mofa.gov.
mm/news/24nov05.html.
4. Financial Times, “Burma’s privately owned presses
are on a roll; Private sector journals are gaining popularity in spite of heavy pressure from state censors,”
December 8, 2005.
5. Reporters Without Borders, “Court upholds threeyear sentences for journalists who photographed
new capital,” June 27, 2006, http://www.rsf.org/
article.php3?id_article=16898.
6. Xinhua News Agency, “Internet users in Myanmar
number nearly 300,000,” November 8, 2006;
International Telecommunication Union, World
Telecommunication Indicators 2006.
7. International Telecommunication Union, ICT
Statistics, http://www.itu.int/ITUD/ict/statistics/ict/index.html.
8. BBC Monitoring International Reports, “Burma
Internet users use proxy servers to visit blocked
websites,” October 17, 2006 (includes text from Ko
Thet, “A hole in the Net,” The Irawaddy, October 1,
2006); The Guardian Online, “The great firewall of
Burma,” July 22, 2003; and Reporters Without
Borders, Internet: Burma, http://www.rsf.org/
article.php3?id_article=10748&Valider=OK.
9. Xinhua News Agency, “Internet users in Myanmar
number nearly 300,000,” November 8, 2006.
10. Ibid.
11. Xinhua News Service, “Myanmar to grant foreign,
local engagement in emerging cyber city,”
November 28, 2006.
12. http://www.burmanet.org/news/2005/09/12/xinhuanews-agency-myanmar-to-expand-internet-services/.
13. BBC Monitoring International Reports, “Burma’s
Internet link with outside world fails for fourth day”
(text by official Chinese agency Xinhua), May 16,
2006.
14. Computer Science Development Law, sections 27,
28, September 20, 1996, http://www.myanmar.com/
gov/laws/computerlaw.html.
15. Digital Freedom Network, “The new Net regulations
in Burma,” January 31, 2000, archived copy available
at http://web.archive.org/web/20010220220441/
http://dfn.org/voices/burma/webregulations.htm.
16. Ibid.
17. International Press Institute, 2005 World Press
Freedom Review: Burma, http://www.freemedia.at/
cms/ipi/freedom_detail.html?country=/KW0001/
KW0005/KW0112/.
18. Digital Freedom Network, “The new Net regulations
in Burma,” January 31, 2000, archived copy available
at http://web.archive.org/web/20010220220441/
http://dfn.org/voices/burma/webregulations.htm.
19. BaganNet, “Access Services,” October 30,2006,
http://www.bagan.net.mm/products/access/
broadband_ADSL.asp.
20. BaganNet, “About mail4u,” October 2006,
http://www.bagan.net.mm/products/services/
aboutmail4u-e.asp.
Country Summaries
341
sites tested, while MMT filtered very few such
sites.
Several curious results indicated that the
Myanmar government does not take an entirely
systematic approach to filtering. For example,
Amnesty International (www.amnesty.org) was
blocked entirely on MPT, but MMT filtered only
several Amnesty reports on the country. Other
significant variations among the ISPs, including
the inconsistent blocking of pornography and
gambling sites that suggest distinct filtering
methods, are unusual given both ISPs are staterun.
Conclusion
Although Myanmar does not deploy its filtering
regime with the same sophistication and breadth
as other countries with similarly repressive online
environments, the paranoid grip of the SPDC is
felt in the restrictions on access, the high cost of
services, and the frequently brutal clampdown on
information and expression in all other spheres of
Burmese life. This may be why there are not
many known cases of cyber-dissidents in custody, given that people have been arrested for
anything from publishing subversive poetry to listening to the BBC or Radio Free Asia in public. 27
NOTES
1. U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on
Human Rights Practices 2005: Burma,
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61603.htm.
2. Summary statement by the Secretary-General of the
United Nations on matters of which the Security
Council is seized and on the stage reached in their
consideration, UN Doc. S/2006/10/Add.36,
September 22, 2006.
3. Gen. Than Shwe, 85th Anniversary National Day
Message, November 24, 2005, http://www.mofa.gov.
mm/news/24nov05.html.
4. Financial Times, “Burma’s privately owned presses
are on a roll; Private sector journals are gaining popularity in spite of heavy pressure from state censors,”
December 8, 2005.
5. Reporters Without Borders, “Court upholds threeyear sentences for journalists who photographed
new capital,” June 27, 2006, http://www.rsf.org/
article.php3?id_article=16898.
6. Xinhua News Agency, “Internet users in Myanmar
number nearly 300,000,” November 8, 2006;
International Telecommunication Union, World
Telecommunication Indicators 2006.
7. International Telecommunication Union, ICT
Statistics, http://www.itu.int/ITUD/ict/statistics/ict/index.html.
8. BBC Monitoring International Reports, “Burma
Internet users use proxy servers to visit blocked
websites,” October 17, 2006 (includes text from Ko
Thet, “A hole in the Net,” The Irawaddy, October 1,
2006); The Guardian Online, “The great firewall of
Burma,” July 22, 2003; and Reporters Without
Borders, Internet: Burma, http://www.rsf.org/
article.php3?id_article=10748&Valider=OK.
9. Xinhua News Agency, “Internet users in Myanmar
number nearly 300,000,” November 8, 2006.
10. Ibid.
11. Xinhua News Service, “Myanmar to grant foreign,
local engagement in emerging cyber city,”
November 28, 2006.
12. http://www.burmanet.org/news/2005/09/12/xinhuanews-agency-myanmar-to-expand-internet-services/.
13. BBC Monitoring International Reports, “Burma’s
Internet link with outside world fails for fourth day”
(text by official Chinese agency Xinhua), May 16,
2006.
14. Computer Science Development Law, sections 27,
28, September 20, 1996, http://www.myanmar.com/
gov/laws/computerlaw.html.
15. Digital Freedom Network, “The new Net regulations
in Burma,” January 31, 2000, archived copy available
at http://web.archive.org/web/20010220220441/
http://dfn.org/voices/burma/webregulations.htm.
16. Ibid.
17. International Press Institute, 2005 World Press
Freedom Review: Burma, http://www.freemedia.at/
cms/ipi/freedom_detail.html?country=/KW0001/
KW0005/KW0112/.
18. Digital Freedom Network, “The new Net regulations
in Burma,” January 31, 2000, archived copy available
at http://web.archive.org/web/20010220220441/
http://dfn.org/voices/burma/webregulations.htm.
19. BaganNet, “Access Services,” October 30,2006,
http://www.bagan.net.mm/products/access/
broadband_ADSL.asp.
20. BaganNet, “About mail4u,” October 2006,
http://www.bagan.net.mm/products/services/
aboutmail4u-e.asp.
Country Summaries
341