Censorship in Myanmar (also called Burma) results from government policies in controlling and regulating certain information, particularly on religious, ethnic, political, and moral grounds.
Freedom of speech and the press are not guaranteed by law. Many colonial-era laws regulating the press and information continue to be used. Until August 2012, every publication (including newspaper articles, cartoons, advertisements, and illustrations) required pre-approval by the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division (PSRB) of the Ministry of Information. However, the 2011–2012 Burmese political reforms signalled significant relaxations of the country's censorship policies and in August 2012 the Ministry of Information lifted the requirement that print media organisations submit materials to the government prior to publication.
Burma ranked 151st of 179 nations in the 2012–2013 worldwide Press Freedom Index from Reporters Without Borders. As of 2023 Myanmar is considered one of the least free countries in the world in terms of censorship. Freedom House scores it a mere 9 out of 100 on the Global Freedom Index and categorizes it as “not free.”
History
Konbaung dynasty
During the reign of King Mindon Min of Burma's last dynasty, the Konbaung dynasty, the country had one of the freest presses in Asia. The Seventeen Articles, passed in 1873 safeguarded freedom of the press.
Colonial era
In 1878, after Lower Burma was annexed by the United Kingdom, the Vernacular Press Act was passed, which attempted to repress propaganda against the British government in local language newspapers. In 1898, the Criminal Procedure Code allowed the government to convict people for treason and sedition on grounds of disseminating false information against the state. Soon after, in 1908, the Unlawful Associations Act, was enacted to further stifle freedom of expression.
The Official Secrets Act was passed in 1923, which makes it unlawful for any person to possess classified information from the state. A decade later, the Burma Wireless Telegraphy Act was passed, criminalising possession of telegraphs without government permission. However, there were numerous publications in circulation during the colonial era, with a steady increase. In 1911, there were 44 periodicals and newspapers in circulation, and 103 in 1921. By the end of the 1930s, there were over 200 newspapers and periodicals in circulation, double the amount in 1921.
Post-independence era
Burma gained independence in 1948. The Constitution of the Union of Burma (1947) guaranteed freedom of expression, guaranteeing the "liberties of thought and expression". Two years later, the Emergency Provisions Act, which criminalised the spreading of false news knowingly and the slandering of civil servants and military officials was enacted. Despite the law, in the 1950s, Burma had one of the freest presses in Asia, with 30 daily newspapers (in Burmese, Chinese, English, and Indian languages).
After the military coup d'état by Ne Win in 1962, the Printers and Publishers Registration Law was enacted. This law, still in function, requires all printers and publishers to register and submit copies of their publications to the Press Scrutiny Board, under the Ministry of Home and Religious Affairs (now under the Ministry of Information). In 1975, the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma (1975), Article 157, ensured "freedom of speech, expression and publication to the extent that the enjoyment of such freedom is not contrary to the interests of the working people and of socialism."
The Memorandum to all Printers and Publishers Concerning the Submission of Manuscripts for Scrutiny was issued by the Printers and Publishers Central Registration Board. It gave explicit guidelines on materials that would be censored, including those whose contents were injurious to the Burmese socialist program, the state ideology, the socialist economy, national unity, security, peace and public order, pornographic in nature, libelous, slanderous, or critical of the national government. That same year, the State Protection Law was issued, allowing authorities to imprison any persons who have been suspected of being a threat to national peace. This law has been the basis for the arrests of many journalists and writers.