Justice For Myanmar (JFM) has revealed that Myanmar’s military council is purchasing and implementing technology from China capable of tracking internet users and mobile phone locations. The military council has acquired a ‘Chinese Internet Great Firewall System’ from Geedge Networks, a Chinese company directly linked to the Chinese government, to monitor and track internet and mobile phone users’ locations in real-time. According to JFM, Geedge Networks is collaborating with the military council to conduct digital warfare operations against civilians.
The system will provide unlimited access to monitor over 33.4 million internet users within Myanmar. It can track individual internet network usage and pinpoint mobile phone users’ locations in real-time based on cell tower connections. This technology gives the military unprecedented capabilities to track, arrest, torture, and kill civilians. The system’s operation will be managed by 13 Myanmar telecommunications companies on behalf of the military council, including ATOM (formerly Telenor Myanmar), Mytel, Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT), Ooredoo Myanmar, Frontiir, StreamNet, Golden TMH Telecom, Internet Maekhong Network, Myanmar Broadband Telecom, Myanmar Telecommunication Network, Campana, Global Technology Group, and China Unicom.
This revelation comes at a time when China is increasing its support for Myanmar’s military regime through continued arms sales, providing illegitimate political legitimacy, and supporting the regime’s fraudulent election plans. These actions contribute to war crimes and crimes against humanity in Myanmar. JFM spokesperson Ma Ratana Maung stated that the surveillance technology sold and installed by Geedge Networks, implemented with the cooperation of internet service providers in Myanmar, poses severe risks to anyone criticizing the military group or attempting to access independent news sources. She emphasized that Geedge is helping enhance the military’s capability to track, torture, and kill activists.
JFM has called for immediate sanctions against Geedge Networks and its leadership, as well as an international criminal investigation into individuals involved in the company’s supervision and management. The organization demands that China immediately cease all transfers of weapons, equipment, technology, and related training to the military regime. They also call for recognition of the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) as Myanmar’s highest consultative body, the National Unity Government (NUG) as the legitimate government, and ethnic revolutionary organizations and federal units as key stakeholders in the emerging federal union. The leaked information from Geedge confirms that internet service providers, intermediaries, and fiber optic operators, including foreign companies currently operating in Myanmar, are directly involved in the military’s weaponization of the internet against its people.
