Myanmar junta bans directors from leaving By Reuters after pressure from telecoms company

By the hand of Fanny Potkin

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The junta has told top officials of major Myanmar telecommunications companies not to leave the country without permission, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said.

According to a secret order issued by the Myanmar Department of Posts and Telecommunications (PTD) in mid-June, senior officials, foreigners and those from Myanmar, must apply for a special permit to leave the country, the person said.

A week later, they sent a second letter to telecommunications companies asking them to install it before Monday, July 5, in order to spy on calls, messages and web traffic to track technology authorities and monitor their users. said the source. Reuters has not seen the orders.

The directives put pressure on joint ventures as more and more riots erupt against the daily protests of opponents and the activation of spy technology.

A military spokesman did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The board has never made an effort to monitor e-commerce, but soon took power and announced its intention to approve the cybersecurity bill, which should provide data when telecommunications providers request it and “unity, stabilization and peace.” It also changed the privacy law to allow security forces to intercept communications.

The travel ban came after military officials stepped up pressure to complete the deployment of surveillance equipment. A source who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals said the ban was intended to put pressure on telecom companies to end up activating spyware technology, although the order itself does not specify a reason.

Three other telecommunications sources, citing anonymity, said authorities had stepped up pressure to impose interceptions on companies, but would not work further. According to two sources, board officials have repeatedly warned companies not to speak in public or in the media.

Telenor declined to comment. There was no immediate response to requests for comment from a joint venture between Ooredoo, MPT state and a military conglomerate in Mytel, Vietnam’s Viettel and Myanmar.

A few months before the February 1 coup, telecommunications and Internet service providers were ordered to install spyware intercepted by the military to listen to citizen communications, Reuters reported in May.

Reuters was unable to determine how surveillance technology was installed and deployed, but four sources said Norway Telenor ASA (OTC 🙂 and Qatar’s Ooredoo QPSC had not yet fully complied.

One of the first actions taken by the military on February 1 was to cut off Internet access and it has yet to be fully restored so that telecommunications can block an active list of websites and activists ’phone numbers.

The moves have made the future clear for Myanmar’s telecommunications sector, which has been one of the fastest growing in the world. Telenor said on Friday that it was evaluating the future of operations in the country, and a source told Reuters that it was watching the sale of the Myanmar unit.