Senior foreign executives of major telecom operators in Myanmar have been told by the junta that they must not leave the country without permission, Reuters reports, citing an unnamed person with direct knowledge of the matter. A confidential order from Myanmar’s Posts and Telecommunications Department (PTD) in mid-June said senior executives, both foreigners and Myanmar nationals, must seek special authorisation to leave the country, the source said.
A week later, telecom operators received a second letter telling them they had until 5 July to fully implement intercept technology they had previously been asked to install to let authorities spy on calls, messages and web traffic and to track users by themselves, the unnamed source added.
Soon after seizing power in Febraury this year, the junta announced plans to pass a cybersecurity bill that would require telecom operators to provide data when requested and remove or block any content deemed to be disrupting "unity, stabilisation, and peace". It also amended privacy laws to free security forces to intercept communications.
According to other three unnamed telecoms sources, Myanmar authorities have increased pressure on the companies to implement the intercept technology. Two sources said companies had been warned repeatedly by junta officials not to speak publicly or to the media on the intercept.
Telenor Group recently announced it is evaluating various options regarding its presence in Myanmar. Back on 4 May, Telenor Group announced an impairment of Telenor Myanmar due to the worsening economic and business environment outlook and a deteriorating security and human rights situation, with limited prospects of improvement.
Back on 1 February 2021, the military declared a state of emergency. Since then, mobile internet was shut down across the country, according to a statement from the Global Network Initiative. Other internet services have also been increasingly restricted. In February, Telenor announced that the Myanmar Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) had directed all mobile operators to temporarily shut down data networks in Myanmar. Voice and SMS services remained open. The MoTC said the decision followed Myanmar’s Telecommunication Law, and was designed to restrict the circulation of fake news, as well as preserve the stability of the nation and interest of the public.
