Myanmar has scored just 9 out of 100 on the Internet Freedom Index for the third consecutive year in 2026, making it the world’s worst environment for internet users as the military regime continues its aggressive crackdown on media freedom and online expression, U.S.-based rights group Freedom House said.
Under the group’s rankings, Myanmar has long been categorized as “Not Free” for internet freedom, but its score dropped significantly from 36 in 2019 to 17 in 2021 after the military staged a coup, and finally to 9 from 2024 onward.
It said the military maintains control over all major service providers to enforce mass censorship, localized shutdowns and digital surveillance.
Following the coup, the Myanmar military regime stepped up suppression of internet freedom and digital rights by enforcing shutdowns, blocking social media and news platforms, and criminalizing virtual private network (VPN) use to crack down on political dissent.
As a result, Myanmar netizens have lost access to information and had their freedom of expression curtailed.
During December-January elections, authorities intensified the blocking of news platforms and the use of anti-censorship tools while arresting individuals for online expression under restrictive new laws.
“This is a very concerning situation,” Thit Nyan, a digital rights analyst from the Myanmar Internet Project, told The Irrawaddy. “This is a life-and-death matter for the public.”
He added that the people of Myanmar, whose lives are seriously affected by conflict, rely heavily on mobile and internet connections for information about airstrikes and to facilitate basic services such as health, education and money transfers.
Myanmar internet users require digital literacy for their own safety, he said.
More than 2,000 netizens have been detained as of September since the 2021 coup for sharing posts or comments criticizing the regime and supporting anti-regime movements, mostly on Facebook, according to Data for Myanmar, a monitoring group.
The regime relies mostly on the Penal Code’s Section 505A outlawing “incitement”, the counter-terrorism law, and the telecommunications law to arrest online critics, including artists and celebrities.
Data for Myanmar said, however, that in 2026 the regime has expanded its scope of action to target individuals who merely express their political views online, rather than just those who are deemed to pose a security threat.
At the same time, experts point out the regime has shut down or restricted mobile and internet networks to control information flow, in an effort to prevent military information from leaking and to conceal its human rights violations.
A total of 140 out of 358 monitored townships are facing communication shutdowns, according to Athan, a group that focuses on freedom of expression. Most of the affected townships are experiencing fighting between regime and anti-regime groups.
Meanwhile, users require VPNs, whose use the regime has criminalized, to access the most-used social platforms such as Facebook.
“I have to swallow my own feelings and control myself not to share them online,” a Yangon netizen told The Irrawaddy. He said he was using his real name for his social account and was aware of many people in major cities who had been arrested for sharing their views in favor of the anti-regime resistance.
“This is a violation of our rights to express ourselves freely and to live safely,” he said.
