Myanmar civil society groups Defend Myanmar Democracy and the Myanmar Internet Project have announced plans to sue the Norwegian telecoms giant Telenor. They allege it shared customer data with the junta that took power in a 2021 coup, thereby endangering the lives of civilians.
As we reported at the time, the firm gained final regulatory approval to sell its unit in Myanmar to Lebanese investment company M1 Group in 2022. With this transaction, it is alleged, all customer data fell into the hands of Shwe Byain Phyu – a military-linked company that partnered with Lebanese M1 Group to acquire Telenor’s assets. Shwe Byain Phyu now holds the majority stake in the company, since renamed ATOM Myanmar.
The sale is also said to have included surveillance technology already installed and tested by Telenor.
At the time of the exit Telenor group president and CEO Sigve Brekke said: “Telenor has to leave Myanmar to be able to adhere to our own values on human rights and responsible business, and because local laws in Myanmar conflict with European laws.”
Telenor, which had some 18 million customers in the country, has suggested that the concerns mentioned by the civil society groups have been addressed in investigations in Norway. It has pointed out that, like all operators in any country, Telenor Myanmar was legally required to provide traffic data to the authorities and suggested that disobeying orders from the junta would have put employees in direct danger.
However, as Reuters reports, the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO), a non-profit organisation working with the civil society groups, says the data handed over included "call logs and location data that could be used to track down the junta's political opponents and their family members". It adds that the sale to M1 effectively granted the military "unfettered access" to customer data.
SOMO also says on its website that Telenor went through with the 2022 sale despite warnings by civil society organisations and international legal action against this transfer.
Defend Myanmar Democracy and the Myanmar Internet Project have said several people were arbitrarily detained and tortured in custody after their Telenor data was shared. They say that Zay Yar Thaw, a hip-hop artist turned lawmaker, democracy activist, and opposition leader, was arrested and executed after Telenor shared his call log. Some estimates suggest that the junta has killed almost 7,000 people and arrested close to 30,000.
According to Reuters, the claimants argue that until its exit from Myanmar in March 2022, Telenor knowingly continued to share information, including names, addresses, national ID numbers, call logs, and last known locations, despite being aware of the risk of harming people. They also think it likely that Telenor’s management and board were fully informed about Telenor’s actions.
Under Norwegian law, Telenor can be held liable for damages caused by the negligent or intentional acts of its employees.
