Junta systematically evolved and employed repressive tactics

In the five years since the 2021 coup, the junta has systematically evolved its methods of repression to suppress freedom of expression among the public and journalists, the monitoring group Atan for press freedom and freedom of speech in Myanmar said on June 10.

During the early days following the coup, the regime focused primarily on ground repression, including the violent suppression of street protests, the blatant arrest of journalists, and the use of laws such as Section 505(a) of the Penal Code as a weapon to crack down on people.

However, as armed resistance grew stronger, it began implementing stricter measures, including internet and phone blackouts and digital censorship in resistance strongholds such as Sagaing and Magway regions and Arakan (Rakhine) State.

Athan noted that the junta’s apparent intensification of digital authoritarianism, including tighter laws during the 2025–26 sham election period, effectively serves its goal of enforcing an information blackout.

A source told Than Lwin Times that internet access and freedom of expression have been heavily restricted since the coup, continuing into the newly introduced administration still led by the same coup leader.

“Since 2021, online freedom of expression has been heavily restricted. Social media platforms have been blocked, forcing people to rely on virtual private network (VPN) software to access them. Discussing political issues online is also risky, as activity is monitored and security cannot be guaranteed. The situation continues to deteriorate,” he said.

Based on findings from the five-year period since the coup, Athan said the junta has developed a combined method of repression, blending physical assaults with digital crackdowns, and has been actively implementing it.

Athan added that the junta has also raided news outlets to obstruct the flow of information, used technology to block online media, threatened journalists’ lives, destroyed evidence on the ground, and killed sources, all with the aim of severing the information flow.

The junta also closely monitors the public through round-the-clock surveillance cameras and biometric data collection via the Person Scrutinizing and Monitoring System (PSMS). It frequently shuts down internet access in conflict areas to enforce information blackouts, and its troops often arrest and extort money from people found with VPN applications installed on their phones.

Those targeted by the junta’s repression include media workers, civilian journalists, participants in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM)—a major anti-coup campaign in which civil servants and security personnel refuse to work for the regime—as well as ordinary citizens and users of digital platforms.

Athan also pointed out that the junta’s five-year crackdown on freedom of expression—both physical and digital—was a premeditated effort to eliminate political opposition and independent voices ahead of the election.