The regime’s armed forces have tightened security at all checkpoints in Chin State’s capital, Hakha, to crack down on anyone using a virtual private network (VPN) to access the internet, which is banned.
Violators are fined and some are even taken to a detention centre for interrogation after soldiers check their Facebook page.
A local familiar with the situation, who requested anonymity, told Khonumthung News that fines of $28 are being levied and five people in Hakha have already been forced to pay them.
Those taken to a detention centre were released after five hours, but one person hasn’t yet been released, although he was arrested a week ago.
On 16 February, three youths were pulled off the bus from Hakha to Mandalay near the capital and arrested after soldiers checked their mobile phones.
After staging a coup in Burma a year ago, the military banned Facebook, but many people got around this by using the VPNs.
“Currently, I can’t use Facebook because if I visit my page with a VPN, the soldiers will arrest me. So I don’t have one installed on my phone, but I can’t access up-to-date information,” the man explains.
He said if you leave the house without a phone, the army will search your house so many people are staying home.
The regime has revived the draft Cybersecurity Law, which was proposed after the coup.
The new provisions ban VPNs, remove the need for certain evidence in court cases and require online service providers to block or delete any online criticism of the military and the State Administration Council that was forcibly installed last year.
Linda Lakhdhir, Asia legal adviser at Human Rights Watch, said: “Myanmar’s military junta has taken a terrible draft Cybersecurity Law and made it even worse… which would further devastate free expression and access to information across the country.”
“The proposed Cybersecurity Law would consolidate the junta’s ability to conduct pervasive censorship and surveillance and hamper the operation of businesses in Myanmar,” she said.
Under the draft bill, anyone who uses VPNs without permission could be fined $3K or imprisoned for three years, or both.
The internet has been banned throughout Chin State since 23 September, with the exception of Hakha Township.