The Norwegian company Telenor, one of the four mobile operators in Myanmar, complied with an order from the Myanmar telecommunication Ministry, which asked them to stop a website from spreading fake news. However, publicly Telenor stated that it viewed the order with “Grave Concern”.
The Myanmar telecommunication Ministry announced Tuesday, 20 February 2024, that they had ordered mobile operators in the country to block a website created by a group who investigates the military known as Justice for Myanmar. The ministry said that the website was spreading fake news.
Telenor also stated that the Ministry had invoked Section 77 of the Telecommunication Law, which authorizes the suspension of communication during an “emergency”. The Ministry used this as the reason why Telenor needed to block one website and three associated IP addresses.
Yadanar Maung, a spokesman from the group Justice for Myanmar, says that this is the governments attempt to silence them.
In recent months the telecommunications ministry has blocked more than 200 websites for spreading fake news.
Source: The Financial Express
