Critics skeptical of new privacy legislation
Myanmar’s newly enacted privacy and security protection law received skepticism from several civil society groups that said the legislation was “incomplete” and failed to fully ensure the protection of individuals’ privacy and freedom of expression as it was adopted hastily and without public consultation. The privacy and security protection bill was submitted to Parliament in September last year. The Union Parliament voted for the enactment of the legislation on March 1 and President U Htin Kyaw signed the legislation on March 8. The move was an attempt to legislate Article 357 of Myanmar’s 2008 Constitution, which states “the union shall protect the privacy and security of home, property, correspondence and other communications of citizens under the law subject to the provisions of this Constitution.”
