Facebook shares data on Myanmar with United Nations investigators

(Reuters) - Facebook says it has shared data with United Nations investigators probing international crimes in Myanmar, after the lead investigator said the company was withholding evidence.

A Facebook representative told Reuters on Tuesday it had given the Independent Investigative Mechanism on Myanmar (IIMM) data from pages and accounts associated with the Myanmar military that it had removed in 2018 to stop hate speech against Rohingya but declined to describe the content.

Myanmar is facing charges of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over a 2017 military crackdown on the Rohingya that forced 730,000 people to flee into Bangladesh.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-facebook/facebook-shares-data-on-myanmar-with-united-nations-investigators-idUSKBN25L2G4

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Facebook improving hate speech detection ahead of Myanmar election

(Reuters) - Facebook Inc said on Tuesday that it was preparing for Myanmar’s general election in November by improving the detection and removal of hate speech and content that incites violence and preventing the spread of misinformation.

The company said in a blog that between now and Nov. 22, it would remove “verifiable misinformation and unverifiable rumours” that are assessed as having the potential to suppress the vote or damage the “integrity” of the electoral process.

“For example, we would remove posts falsely claiming a candidate is a Bengali, not a Myanmar citizen, and thus ineligible,” Facebook said.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-election-facebook/facebook-improving-hate-speech-detection-ahead-of-myanmar-election-idUSKBN25S3H9

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Myanmar: New internet blackout “heinous and reckless”

Responding to credible reports of a widespread mobile internet blackout underway in Myanmar, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns, Ming Yu Hah, said:

“To shut down the internet amid a volatile coup, a humanitarian crisis and a health pandemic is a heinous and reckless decision.

“Since the 1 February coup, people in Myanmar have been forced into a situation of abject uncertainty. An expanded internet shutdown will put them at greater risk of more egregious human rights violations at the hands of the military.

“The military must re-establish all telecommunications immediately and stop putting people’s rights in danger. All mobile operators and telecommunications providers in Myanmar must seek urgent clarification from the Myanmar authorities.”

On 6 February, the Myanmar military reportedly ordered telecommunications companies in the country to fully shut down internet and 4G services. According to information received by Amnesty International, the effective blackout will be in operation until Monday 8 February.

An earlier order, on 5 February, instructed telecommunications companies to block access to Twitter and Instagram.
On 4 February, the military had already announced that they were ordering telecoms operators to block access to Facebook until 7 February.

As the 1 February military coup was underway, internet and phone outages were reported in several parts of the country, including in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, the largest city, Yangon, as well as Shan and Kachin States and the Mandalay and Sagaing regions. Access was later reestablished.

There have also been mobile internet restrictions in conflict-affected areas of Rakhine and Chin States in the country for more than a year. 4G internet access in those areas was reportedly restored late in the evening on 2 February 2021.

Such restrictions pose a real danger to at-risk civilian populations, especially when access to information is so vital during the COVID-19 pandemic – and even more so when the situation on the ground is so tense amid the coup, and in conflict-affected areas.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/02/myanmar-new-internet-blackout/

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Fears of 'digital dictatorship' as Myanmar deploys AI

Protesters fear they are being tracked by cameras armed with facial recognition technology

Protesters in Myanmar fear they are being tracked with Chinese facial recognition technology, as spiralling violence and street surveillance spark fears of a "digital dictatorship" to replace ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Human rights groups say the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to check on citizens' movements poses a "serious threat" to their liberty.

More than 200 people have been killed since Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi was overthrown in a Feb. 1 coup, triggering mass protests that security forces have struggled to suppress with increasingly violent tactics.

Security forces have focused on stamping out dissent in cities including the capital Naypyitaw, Yangon and Mandalay, where hundreds of CCTV cameras had been installed as part of a drive to improve governance and curb crime.

https://news.trust.org/item/20210318130045-zsgja

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