The Internet in Burma (also known as Myanmar) has been available since 2000 when the first Internet connections were established. However, the military government works aggressively to limit and control Internet access through software-based censorship, infrastructure and technical constraints, and laws and regulations with large fines and lengthy prison sentences for violators. The government also charges high prices to connect to the Internet, and then charges on a per-hour basis once connected.[1][2] Many native Burmese do not have the money to pay for this.[3]
Myanmar's top-level domain is '.mm'.[4]
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Myanmar Teleport (formerly Bagan Cybertech),[5] Yatanarpon Teleport,[6] Information Technology Central Services (ITCS),[7] Red Link Communications, and the state-owned Myanmar Post and Telecommunication (MPT)[8] are the Internet service providers in Myanmar.[9][10] Internet cafés are common in the country and most use different pieces of software to bypass the government's proxy servers.[3][11][12]
Myanmar has a very low Internet penetration rate due to both government restrictions on pricing and deliberate lack of facilities and infrastructure.[13] According to MPT's official statistics as of July 2010, the country had over 400,000 Internet users (0.8% of the population) with the vast majority of the users hailing from the two largest cities, Yangon and Mandalay.[14] Although 42 cities across the country have access to the Internet, the number of users outside Yangon and Mandalay is just over 10,000. Most of the country's 40,000 Internet connections are ADSL circuits, followed by dial-up, satellite terminal, and WiMax. MPT is also undertaking a trial of fiber-to-the-home in Mandalay, and plans to roll out a similar trial in Yangon.[14]
Myanmar Computer Federation, Myanmar Computer Professionals Association (MCPA),[15] Myanmar Computer Industry Association,[16] Myanmar Info Tech Corporation Ltd. (MICT, MICT Park, or Myanmar Software Park)[17] played important roles helping organizations go online. Private IT enterprises and web developers such as Myanmars.NET[18] were mentioned in a February 2000 New York Times article for being entrepreneurs in this very closed country. Other well-known IT companies are Myanma Computer Company (MCC),[19] Ace Data Systems,[20] Myanmar Information Technology Ltd,[21] and Inforithm-Maze,[22] who led thousands of Myanmar businesses to do business online.
An October 2010 survey found that blogging is the fastest growing type of Internet use in Myanmar, with a 25 percent increase from 2009.[23] A 2009 survey found that:[24]
The government uses a wide range of methods to restrict Internet freedom, including legal and regulatory barriers, infrastructural and technical constraints, and coercive measures such as intimidation and lengthy prison sentences. Although the authorities lack the capacity to pervasively enforce all restrictions, the impact of sporadic implementation and the ensuing chilling effect is profound.[25]
Internet censorship in Myanmar was classified as pervasive in the political area and as substantial in social, conflict/security, and Internet tools areas by the OpenNet Initiative in December 2010.[26] Myanmar is listed as an Internet enemy by Reporters Without Borders in 2011.[27] Myanmar's status is "Not Free" in Freedom House's Freedom on the Net 2011 report.[25]
Myanmar utilizes a network specifically for domestic use, that is separate from the rest of the Internet. The network, similar to the Kwangmyong network used by North Korea, limits the flow of unwanted information from outside of the country.[25]
The Myanmar Wide Web (MWW) is a pejorative term for the nature of Internet access in Myanmar. Its use is considered so threatening that just connecting to the Internet can be seen as a dissident act. As described by journalists and free-speech activists, the MWW is designed to keep users away from information or artistic works that could possibly "subvert" the régime, cause ethnic tension, or encourage political instability in the view of the military junta. The Web sites that users are able to visit are pre-selected by official censors.[28] Free e-mail services, more difficult to monitor than official government accounts, are not allowed. Fortinet, a California-based company, in provides the government with software that limits the material citizens can access on-line, especially e-mail service providers and pornographic websites.[29][30]
The Internet infrastructure is also controlled through total shutdowns and temporary reductions in bandwidth.[25] During the 2007 street protests, the junta completely shut down internet connectivity from September 29 to October 4.[31][32] And state-controlled ISPs occasionally apply bandwidth caps to prevent the sharing of video and image files, particularly during politically sensitive events, such as the November 2010 elections.[33][25]
Myanmar has banned the websites and blogs of political opposition groups, sites relating to human rights, and organizations promoting democracy.[26] Many sites containing keywords or phrases that are considered suspicious, such as “Burma”, “drugs”, “military government”, “democracy”, “student movement”, “8888” (a reference to the protest movement that began on August, 8, 1988), and “human rights” are blocked.[25] Access to Yahoo! Mail, MSN Mail, Gmail, the video-sharing site YouTube, the messaging feature of the social-networking site Facebook, Google’s Blogspot, and the microblogging service Twitter are sporadically blocked.[25] However, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems including Skype are available.
In September 2011 the government stopped blocking YouTube, the BBC, the Voice of America, as well as regional media, such as Thailand's Bangkok Post and Singapore's Straits Times. However, these changes may not be as significant as they first appear, because only 0.3 percent of Burma's population has Web access, outside of Burma's largest city, Yangon, few can read English, and Burmese Internet users may risk arrest and even prison for accessing "subversive" foreign sites like these.[34]
The use of Internet censorship circumvention methods is banned; the Myanmar ISPs block many bypass and proxy websites, but are unable to block all circumvention methods. Cybercafes are required by law to keep records on their customers’ activities and provide police access to the records upon request. However, many cafes do not systematically enforce such monitoring, often assisting their users in circumventing censorship instead. In response the government has increased surprise inspections of cybercafes, instructed cafes to post signs warning users not to visit political or pornographic websites, and instructed cybercafes to install CCTV cameras and assign at least four security staff to monitor users.[25]
Laws regulating the Internet include the Computer Science Development Law (1996), the Wide Area Network Order (2002), and the Electronic Transactions Law (2004), while the Printers and Publishers Registration Act (1962) regulates the media.[35] These laws and associated regulations are broadly worded and open to arbitrary or selective interpretation and enforcement. The Electronic Transactions Law covers “any act detrimental to”—and specifically “receiving or sending and distributing any information relating to”—state security, law and order, community peace and tranquility, national solidarity, the national economy, or national culture. Violators face fines and prison terms of 7 to 15 years.[36] The importing and use of a modem without official permission is banned, with penalties for violations of up to 15 years in prison.[37] Harsh prison terms and selective enforcement encourages self-censorship. However, expression in online environments such as comment features where posters can remain anonymous remains relatively free.
Many political prisoners in Myanmar are charged under the laws mentioned above, for example:[25]
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