Impact of digital surveillance on civic space in Myanmar

Summary

The military is weaponising surveillance to crush all civic space. AI-powered cameras and spyware are used to hunt journalists, human rights defenders, and political activists, while repressive new laws create a “rule by lawfare.” This digital dictatorship enables a high-tech war on women and criminalises the very act of seeking privacy.

Since the 2021 coup, the military has deliberately constructed a digital dictatorship in Myanmar, using surveillance to undermine the rights to freedom of assembly and association. This report documents the specific technologies deployed, the legal architecture created to legitimise repression, the complicity of private actors, and the devastating, targeted impact this surveillance has on human rights defenders, journalists, civil society organisations (CSOs), and marginalised groups. It shows surveillance is not merely a tool for monitoring but is the core infrastructure of the military’s rule by lawfare, designed to atomise dissent and enable crimes against humanity. The report is submitted to the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and of association for her recommendations to the UN Human Rights Council on the impact of digital and AI-assisted surveillance.

Download full report (English).