Hi,
Today the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), in collaboration with Sinar Project and Myanmar ICT for Development Organization (MIDO), published a report on *The State of Internet Censorship in Myanmar*.
You can read our report here: https://ooni.torproject.org/post/myanmar-report/
As part of our study, OONI software tests were run across 6 local vantage points in Myanmar between 25th October 2016 and 28th February 2017. These tests are designed to measure:
- Blocking of websites; - Blocking of Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger; - Blocking of Tor; - Presence of middle boxes (i.e. systems that could be responsible for censorship or surveillance).
Upon analysis of thousands of network measurements, we did not detect any block pages that could confirm any cases of internet censorship. Five sites, however, including those of the U.S. embassy in Myanmar and of the Organization of American States (OAS) presented signs of TCP/IP and HTTP blocking.
While OONI software tests detected the presence of Blue Coat software (some types of which can potentially be used for internet censorship and surveillance) in Myanmar back in 2012, we did not detect the presence of this software in any of the 6 networks where tests were performed. On another positive note, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and the Tor Network were found to be accessible in all 6 networks in Myanmar throughout the testing period.
Please contact us with any questions or feedback you may have.
All the best,
~ The OONI team.