"Access marks up the Myanmar government’s telecom “Masterplan”, 12 Aug 2015

[W]e were eager to answer the Myanmar government’s call for comment on its Draft Telecommunications Masterplan, a concise and strong start to a document that lays out a plan for the next few years of the country’s telecommunications roll-out. The plan sets out three broad goals: to create a Myanmar national broadband infrastructure with affordable services; to deliver communications content and services for the Myanmar people in a rights-respecting, mobile-first system; and to develop an institutional and policy framework for effective oversight...Despite having a short window of time to comment, and despite the fact that there wasn’t much notice for the consultation, a few civil society organizations...were able to submit comments...Access and MCRB raised many of the same issues, counseling the Myanmar Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) to place human rights like privacy, free expression, and affordable, equitable access to information on equal footing with its goal of aggressively developing the nation’s telecommunications infrastructure. For instance, Access and MCRB both called for: A commitment to Net Neutrality, which is fundamental to ensure that the internet remains a platform for the enjoyment of human rights and innovation; A commitment not to shut down communications networks, like the Myanmar government did in 2007; A data protection system that informs and protects users, while also encouraging innovation; A lawful intercept framework that comports with international law and norms, such as the International Principles on the Application of Human Rights to Communications Surveillance, and suggestions for applying those principles as articulated in Access’s Implementation Guide [PDF] for the principles, and the 7 Principles developed jointly by MCRB and the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) for a rights-respecting lawful intercept model; and finally; A non-judicial dispute resolution mechanism that complies with the 7 principles for effective grievance mechanisms that are elaborated in the U.N. Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights.