FILE PHOTO: Gambling ads on Facebook pages and Telegram groups. Chinese nationals who were engaged in online gambling were arrested with weapons in Tachileik city in Myanmar in 2019. Cybersecurity Law was enacted on January 1, 2025 and came into force on July 30. - Eleven Media/ANN
YANGON: The State Administration Council (SAC) has issued a notification stating that the Cybersecurity Law, which includes provisions for action in the cyber domain, including the establishment of an online gambling system without permission and the establishment of a VPN or the provision of VPN services, will come into force on July 30.
The Cybersecurity Law was enacted on January 1, 2025, and the date of enforcement of the law was determined by Section 2 of the law.
The Cybersecurity Law provides for the prosecution of crimes committed domestically, on board a vessel or aircraft registered under any existing law of the State, and in the national cyber domain or in any other cyber domain connected to the national cyber domain.
In addition, if a crime punishable under the Cybersecurity Law is committed by a Myanmar citizen abroad, it will also be prosecuted under the Cybersecurity Law.
Similarly, the Cybersecurity Law is enacted to ensure the safe use of cyber resources, critical information infrastructure and electronic information; to protect the sovereignty and stability of the country from cyber threats, cyber-attacks or cyber misuse using electronic technologies; to systematically develop cybersecurity services; to effectively investigate and prosecute cybercrimes; and to support a digital economy based on cyber resources.
Anyone who establishes a VPN or provides VPN services without obtaining the permission of the Ministry shall be punished with imprisonment for a term of not less than one month and not more than six months, or a fine of not less than one million kyats (US$476) and not more than ten million kyats, or it is stipulated that the evidence related to the case shall be confiscated as state treasury, and if the offender is a company or organisation, the company or organisation shall be fined not less than ten million kyats, and the evidence related to the case shall be confiscated.
Similarly, anyone who establishes an online gambling system without permission shall be punished with imprisonment for a term of not less than six months to a maximum of one year, or a fine of not less than five million kyats to a maximum of twenty million kyats, or both, and the evidence related to the case shall be confiscated as state treasury. If the offender is a company or organisation, the company or organisation shall be fined not less than twenty million kyats, and the evidence related to the case shall be confiscated.
Similarly, anyone who is convicted of publishing, distributing, transmitting, copying, or selling information that is not suitable for public viewing by electronic means shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a minimum of one month and a maximum of six months, or a fine of not less than one million kyats and not more than ten million kyats, or both.
The Cybersecurity Law stipulates that if a person is convicted of using a cyber resource to steal or damage another person’s online currency, or if he or she causes another person to do so, the person shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a minimum of two years and a maximum of seven years, and may also be fined.
Under the Cybersecurity Law, a person who commits or attempts to commit the unauthorised interference, destruction, theft, damage, unlawful transmission, use, distribution, disclosure, modification or alteration of electronic information of a critical information infrastructure shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a minimum of six months and a maximum of three years, or a fine of not less than five million kyats and not more than twenty million kyats, or both, will be imposed.
Similarly, anyone who provides cybersecurity services without a licence shall be punished with imprisonment for a term of not less than one month and not more than six months, or with a fine of not less than one million kyats and not more than ten million kyats, or with both, and the evidence related to the case shall be confiscated as state treasury. If the offender is a company or organisation, the company or organisation shall be fined not less than one hundred thousand kyats and not more than ten million kyats, and the evidence related to the case shall be confiscated.
In addition, if anyone is convicted of continuing to provide cybersecurity services without renewing the licence, he or she shall be punished with a fine of not less than one million kyats and not more than five million kyats. If a digital platform service provider with 100,000 or more users in the country, convicted of operating without registration, shall be fined at least one hundred million kyats, and the relevant evidence shall be confiscated.
The law stipulates that if anyone is convicted of continuing to operate a digital platform service without extending the registration period, he or she shall be fined at least fifty million kyats.
If anyone is convicted of committing any cyber-misuse of computer programs, he or she shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a minimum of six months to a maximum of two years, or a fine of a minimum of one million kyats to a maximum of ten million kyats, or both, or a prison sentence of a minimum of one year to a maximum of three years, or a fine of a minimum of five million kyats to a maximum of twenty million kyats, or both.
Under the Cybersecurity Law, if a person is convicted of performing actions that may damage a cyber resource or install or allow malware to enter it or prevents the person entitled to access a cyber resource from accessing the system or destroys, removes, alters or reduces the usefulness or effectiveness of information in a cyber resource or steals, disables, destroys, alters or otherwise attempts to damage the source code of a computer or uses a cyber resource to defraud or electronically creates, modifies, alters or distributes information that has been created to harm or defame another person or sends unwanted or unsolicited messages using the network and committing an act such as sending an email or transmitting information, or causing another person to do so, he or she shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a minimum of one year and a maximum of two years, or to a fine of not less than five million kyats and not more than twenty million kyats, or both. - Eleven Media/ANN
