By: Caroline Burkard
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has struggled to become a democratic nation. It became independent from Great Britain in 1948 and military juntas ruled Myanmar from 1962 to 2011. Aung San Suu Kyi of the National League for Democracy party became the first democratically elected leader in 2015. Although popular by the Buddhist population, Aung Suu Kyi was criticized at the global level for her inability to protect the Rohingya Muslim minority from an ethnic genocide.
What many do not know is that in 2018, Facebook was the tool used to further the hatred, discrimination, and killing of innocent Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. Examples included military leaders posting false claims of rape and abuse by specific Rohingya Muslims on Facebook, causing individuals to kill the falsely accused.
After the events in 2018, Facebook took responsibility and implemented measures to decrease the spread of hatred and falsified information. It seems that Myanmar’s current situation will test Facebook’s sincerity and effectiveness.
In November 2020, Aung San Suu Kyi and her party won the general election, almost ridding the country of the pro-military opposition. However, the military and its supporters questioned the legitimacy of the election and without any evidence, alleged voter fraud.
As a result, on February 1, 2021, a military coup seized control of the Burmese government and arrested Aung San Suu Kyi and other government officials. The coup implemented a year-long state of emergency and stated that new elections would be held. Rather than accept this, civilians flooded the streets and protested. In an attempt to negate communication and organization between the Burmese, the military coup blocked Facebook for one week and delayed internet connectivity by 50%.
To the Burmese people, Facebook is not only a way to communicate with friends and family, it is a way to access the state of the country. Many depend on it as their sole form of news.
Just as the Burmese people have taken a stand, so has Facebook. In addition to blocking government agencies in Myanmar from sending “content removal requests,” Facebook has also reduced false content stemming from the military in hopes of eliminating misinformation.
However the coup has proposed a cyber security law which would fine social media users who posted “misinformation or disinformation that causes public panic.” Not only would this law violate Myanmar’s constitution, but it would also sensor political speech and limit an individual’s access to social media.
While nations watch and condone the actions of this coup, each day the coup becomes more volatile. What started as peaceful protests, has now turned into rubber bullets, night raids, and new laws threatening jail time up for up to twenty years for anyone “found to incite hatred towards the military, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation.”
Like United States, other countries have attempted to sanction the military coup in Myanmar, but it seems that the Burmese people will be the ones who suffer and lose their chance at democracy unless these nations take a stand against this dangerous, illegitimate, and discriminative coup.
Student Bio: Caroline Burkard is in her second year as an accelerated evening student at Suffolk University Law School. She currently serves as a staff member on the Journal for High Technology Law. Caroline received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and her Master of Education from UMASS Boston.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog are the views of the author alone and do not represent the views of JHTL or Suffolk University Law School.
