Further Internet Disruptions in Myanmar

Myanmar

6 February, 2021 02:00 - 7 February, 2021 08:00 (1 day 6 hours)

Local Impact

On 6 March 2021, Myanmar’s military rulers shut down the country’s Internet access as thousands of people poured into the streets and joined protests against the recent military coup. Internet access was restored on 7 March 2021, although some services remained blocked.

Cause Documentation

Telenor Myanmar, one of the largest Internet service providers, reported about the communication they received. It said in part:

Directive to block social media services Twitter and Instagram in Myanmar

(Fornebu/Yangon, 5 February 2021) All mobile operators, international gateways and internet service providers in Myanmar received a directive on 5 February 2021 from the Myanmar Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) to, until further notice, block the social media platforms Twitter and Instagram. This comes in addition to the current temporary block of Facebook.

On 7 February 2021, Telenor Myanmar reported that service had been restored.

Data and Analysis

Google Transparency Report data for web search in Myanmar

Google Transparency Report traffic signals for Myanmar — https://transparencyreport.google.com/traffic/overview?fraction_traffic=start:1612224000000;end:1612742399999;product:19;region:MM&lu=fraction_traffic

CAIDA IODA data on Myanmar showing two disruptions occurring less than a week apart, with the disruption of 6 Feb. covering most of the traffic and BGP announcements of the country.

https://ioda.caida.org/ioda/dashboard#view=inspect&entity=country/MM&lastView=overview&from=-1w&until=now

Oracle’s Internet Intelligence data on Myanmar

https://map.internetintel.oracle.com/?root=national&country=MM

Conversations

Internet in #Myanmar is temporarily shut down by order of MoTC. To help you stay connected at this time, Telenor-to-Telenor local calls and SMS are free of charge this weekend. Stay safe. pic.twitter.com/Bfw8LiJo86

— Telenor Myanmar (@Telenor_mm) February 6, 2021

Telenor Myanmar has restored the data network nationwide, following instruction from the MoTC.

Updated statement: https://t.co/OyfpBjyCw2

— Telenor Group (@TelenorGroup) February 7, 2021

After widespread social media blocking, #Myanmar is now experiencing another major #Internet #outage. IODA's data shows that connectivity dropped at ~2:20 AM (UTC) and the outage is ongoing.

Track the outage's status here:https://t.co/LeNO5oUF9O #MyanmarCoup #KeepItOn pic.twitter.com/DtBatRWko9

— CAIDA’s Internet Outage Alerts (@caida_ioda) February 6, 2021

Internet in #Myanmar still completely down after more than 12hrs.

This is now the longest internet shutdown in Myanmar since 2007. (ref: https://t.co/L5YX2O1fYT)

Graphic based on netflow data from @kentikinc. #KeepItOn #myanmarmilitarycoup pic.twitter.com/r0BhSe4fMv

— Doug Madory (@DougMadory) February 6, 2021

Internet has been completely shutdown in #Myanmar, raising grave concern for millions of residents.

The global community cannot see what’s happening to people under military rule in a nation with a devastating history of military violence. #KeepItOn https://t.co/LrvftZdwai pic.twitter.com/IgX6am8cUT

— Access Now (@accessnow) February 6, 2021

UPDATE: INTERNET GATEWAYS WERE TOLD TO SHUT DOWN IN NEXT 30 MINUTES- TELENOR MYANMAR

— Hnin Zaw (@hninyadanazaw) February 6, 2021

Internet Shutdowns

Myanmar