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Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar renews plans to curb internet usage with VPN ban

Proposed cyberlaw would limit Facebook access and cash to democracy groups

Myanmar's proposed cybersecurity law stipulates imprisonment of up to three years for use of a VPN. (Source photo by Reuters and Ken Kobayashi)

YANGON/TAIPEI -- Myanmar's military government is planning to outlaw the use of virtual private networks (VPN) under a proposed new cybersecurity law, Nikkei Asia has learned, in a move to reduce internet access and limit money going to pro-democracy groups.

According to a letter sent to industry sources, a revised draft of a cybersecurity law, which the military regime first proposed in February 2021 but subsequently abandoned, stipulates imprisonment of one to three years for the use of a VPN, a technology that allows private and secure internet connections.

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