After nearly four years of military rule in Myanmar, the country has become one of the most heavily restricted digital spaces in the world, according to a recent report from Freedom House.
The latest Freedom on the Net report, released yesterday, reveals a continued decline in global internet freedom for the 14th year in a row. Only 17 percent of the world’s internet users now enjoy a “free” internet, with Myanmar ranking at the bottom alongside China with a score of just 9 out of 100 in categories like obstacles to internet access, content restrictions, and user rights violations.
The report highlights the military junta’s implementation of a new censorship system and crackdown on virtual private networks (VPNs) that help users bypass internet controls, all amidst a backdrop of severe political oppression.
Since seizing power in a 2021 coup, the military in Myanmar has aggressively silenced dissenting voices and imposed mass censorship and surveillance measures, further limiting internet freedom for civilians and activists.
The report underscores the significant decline in Myanmar’s information landscape following the 2021 coup, which ended a period of political reform that had fostered media freedom and openness to the outside world. The country’s highest score of 40 on the Freedom on the Net report was in 2014, following the abolishment of press censorship and the expansion of mobile internet access.
While Myanmar stands out as a particularly concerning case, other Southeast Asian nations also face challenges to internet freedom. Malaysia and the Philippines rank as the most free in the region, while Thailand, Vietnam, and other countries are classified as “partly free” or “not free.”