Myanmar junta builds a surveillance state: report

Mizzima

Myanmar’s military junta or the State Administration Council (SAC) has started using a suite of technologies to effectively identify, track and locate dissidents in Myanmar starting from March 2025, according to a report by the Myanmar Internet Project (MIP) released on 26 April.

The digital repression tactics by the junta have escalated significantly four years after the coup. The MIP has documented 357 instances of internet shutdowns since the coup until the end of March 2025. Conflict affected and contested areas are frequently subjected to a form of internet shutdown and Sagaing Region and Kachin State are regarded as areas facing most instances of the internet shutdown situation in Myanmar. Internet shutdowns are often observed in contested or liberated areas while areas and the populace under military control are heavily subjected to the junta’s surveillance mechanisms