Reckoning with a virtual battlefield

Loud and clear: Protesters making the three-finger salute during a demonstration against the military coup in Mandalay. — AFP

THE nation’s military rulers are seeking to limit access to the Internet to an internal network of only “whitelisted” sites to quash opposition to their seizure of power, according to a report by the International Crisis Group.

It likened the Internet to a “virtual battlefield” where the military is struggling to gain an edge because it lacks technological capacity, while social media companies like Facebook have banned military officials and many government agencies.