Irrawaddy-Sept 5
The regime has already sold over $500 million since the coup, but that has failed to prevent Myanmar’s currency from falling steeply to over 4,000 kyats per dollar. People have therefore criticized the junta’s latest move as a mere short-term solution. The junta-controlled Ministry of Information on Friday announced a plan to create a homegrown substitute for YouTube—a video sharing and livestreaming platform it calls Mtube. The information minister, former Major General Maung Maung Ohn, said his ministry has created Mtube because the regime “is being bullied by those with technological superiority.” According to him, Mtube was invented by Myanmar technicians and will be available soon. Virtually banned from the internet, the junta is apparently desperate for alternative social media platforms to spread its propaganda. Last month, junta spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun revealed the regime’s plan to ban Facebook, which is synonymous with the internet in Myanmar, and replace it with a homegrown social media platform. Facebook barred Min Aung Hlaing in 2018; since the coup it has also taken down the official page of the Myanmar military, along with the accounts of senior military leaders as well as their mouthpiece media.The regime is amending the Cybersecurity Law to include a punishment of three years in prison for using a virtual private network (VPN) to access the internet, in particular Facebook. In May, the regime launched an app named after state propaganda broadcaster Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV), aiming to livestream the regime’s broadcast content via international satellites and to distribute articles from its state-run media. But the app did not survive long and was removed from Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store the following day. So, it will be interesting to see how long Mtube survives. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/specials/junta-watch/junta-watch-yet-another-top-level-trip-to-russia-ex-uk-envoy-becomes-a-hostage-and-more.html
