Myanmar has a number of government-controlled broadcasters on radio and television, including channels run by the Ministry of Information and by the military. The government needs to end all government-controlled broadcasters and create a public service broadcaster. The USDP government proposed a Public Service Media
The Official Secrets Act was created by the British colonial government in 1923 to criminalise the sharing of almost any kind of information held by the government. The government can say any information is an official secret and is likely to hide corruption and wrongdoing
The Electronic Transactions Law was created under the military government to regulate the internet and control internet users using harsh criminal punishments. The Electronic Transactions Law includes illegitimate criminal punishments for freedom of expression which are unacceptable in a democracy. The Electronic Transactions Law was
The Broadcasting Law was superficially amended in 2018. The amendment failed to protect freedom of expression, and reflects the government’s lack of open consultation. Download as PDF >> The Amendment made just two substantive changes to the legal framework for the broadcast media. One change
The Printing and Publishing Law is a licensing law for the print media. Democracies do not licence the print media because licences are easily abused by governments. Printers and publishers are ordinary businesses and should be regulated under ordinary business laws. There is also no
The Constitution does not fully protect the right to freedom of expression. Articles 354 (liberty of expression and publication) and 365 (freedom of artistic expression) do not comply with international standards. There are no articles protecting media freedom and the right to information.2017 updateThe NLD
The News Media Law was created partly to protect journalists in a country with no constitutional guarantee for media freedom and no government will to amend the many laws criminalising journalism. Unfortunately the law only partially protects media freedom and fails to guarantee journalists’ rights.
The Telecommunications Law was created to regulate previously blocked networks and services but keeps many undemocratic rules with a non-independent government regulator, allowing communications to be closely monitored and users to be criminalised for what they say online. The Telecommunications Law includes illegitimate criminal punishments
The Penal Code (aka Criminal Code) includes many articles on defamation, sedition, offense, religion and incitement that were created under a colonial government and are not suitable for a democracy. The articles are so vague and broad that they are easily used to suppress debate and