Incident
Myanmar: military cuts mobile internet after seizing power
After seizing power on February 1, 2021, Myanmar's military cut mobile data service nationwide, leaving reporters in rural townships and Rakhine State unable to send news and blocking large areas from outside communication for months.123
What happened
On February 1, 2021, Myanmar's military, led by Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing, seized power from the elected government and detained its leaders. In the weeks that followed, the military ordered mobile internet providers to cut data service, first intermittently and then for extended stretches, across large parts of the country. Reporters for local outlets said the blackout made it difficult or impossible to send news out of affected areas; one editor said reporters in different townships found it very hard to file their stories once mobile data was blocked. In Rakhine State, in the country's west, journalists described a total blockage of mobile data across northern cities and rural areas for months. The shutdown compounded restrictions the military had already placed on domestic media licenses and on journalists' movement.123
Ongoing as of the source reviewed, published in May 2021.123
What reason was given
Stated justification
What changed for reporting
Local reporters said the shutdown of mobile data made it very difficult to send news out of affected townships, cutting off some regions from outside coverage for months at a time.1
Timeline
2021
Who acted
| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
|---|---|---|
| Min Aung Hlaing | other | Chairman, Myanmar State Administration Council |
Outlets and journalists
| Name | Kind | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| Aung Marm Oo | journalist | affected |
Sources
- Journalists struggle to work amid extended internet shutdowns in Myanmar, Ethiopia, Kashmir
- Myanmar coup: Internet shutdown as crowds protest against military
- EXPLAINER: Why did the military stage a coup in Myanmar?
Claims and evidence
Each numbered claim quotes the source it rests on.
- Editor Aung Marm Oo describing the effect of the shutdown on reporters.
Since mobile internet usage [was] blocked by the military junta, our reporters in different townships have found it really difficult to send their news stories
Journalists struggle to work amid extended internet shutdowns in Myanmar, Ethiopia, Kashmir, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2021-05-03.Claim 541, checked 2026-09-22. - Description of the shutdown's severity in Rakhine State.
It's a total blockage of mobile data in the northern cities and rural areas of Rakhine.
Journalists struggle to work amid extended internet shutdowns in Myanmar, Ethiopia, Kashmir, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2021-05-03.Claim 646, checked 2026-09-22. - CPJ's framing of the shutdown as one of three extended shutdowns it documented that spring.
Journalists struggle to work amid extended internet shutdowns in Myanmar, Ethiopia, Kashmir
Journalists struggle to work amid extended internet shutdowns in Myanmar, Ethiopia, Kashmir, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2021-05-03.Claim 647, checked 2026-09-22.