Internet users in the country formally known as Burma have been unable to reach Google or Gmail for over a week, as a ban that also effects Yahoo and Hotmail has been extended to another major web property.
The CIA World Factbook said Burma “suffers from pervasive government controls, inefficient economic policies, and rural poverty.” Though the ruling military junta promotes the name Myanmar for the country, the United States does not recognize that appelation.
Democratic ideals that may have been able to enter the company through email and search services based outside the country have become targets of the government. A report by AsiaNews.it claimed the government has stopped access to Google and its web-based email service, Gmail.
Other services like Hotmail, Yahoo, and Skype have likewise been stifled. AsiaNews.it cited a study by the OpenNet Initiative (ONI), which blamed an American firm, Fortinet, for providing the junta with filtering technology. Fortinet has denied that charge, claiming they have no commercial ties to countries under US embargo, as Burma is.
Reporters Without Borders also highlighted Burma for international attention. The organization cited the start of the 18th year that the ruling junta has kept 76-year-old journalist dissident U Win Tin imprisoned on a charge of publishing “anti-government propaganda.”
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David Utter is a staff writer for murdok covering technology and business.
