A/HRC/42/CRP.5 combat the use of their platforms for the spread and promotion of threats and of hate speech and for the incitement to violence, hostility and discrimination.1080 467. The Mission has applied the same international human rights legal standards to the Government’s internet shutdown in 2019 as it applied to hate speech in its 2018 report. These legal standards ensure that restrictions on the internet that safeguard the right to freedom of expression also protect the right of people to be free from hatred and violence by requiring that domestic laws that restrict the internet are formulated with sufficient precision, are accessible to the public, do not confer unfettered discretion on the authorities vested with the power to restriction the internet and provide sufficient guidance to authorities to ascertain what sorts of expression can be properly restricted and what sorts cannot.1081 Laws that restrict internet access and the implementation of those laws must also conform to the tests of necessity and proportionality.1082 For a restriction to be proportionate it must not be overly broad.1083 This means that it must be appropriate to achieve its necessary function; it must be the least intrusive restriction among those which might achieve that necessary function; and it must be proportionate to the interest being protected. 1084 The internet must never be restricted to silence advocacy of human rights and of the full promotion and protection of human rights. 1085 Additionally, any restriction should be subject to review by an independent court or other adjudicatory body to determine its consistency with international human rights obligations. 1086 468. Based on these principles, the Mission concludes on reasonable grounds that the internet shutdown has been based on a law that is incompatible with international human rights law and that the shutdown has been administered in a disproportionate manner. 469. The Mission acknowledges that the internet shutdown is provided for by Myanmar law. Article 77 of the Telecommunications Law grants the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of the Union Government (Telecommunications Ministry) the power “not to operate any specific form of communication … and to temporarily control the Telecommunications Service and Telecommunications Equipments” in the name of “public interest” when an “emergency situation” arises.1087 However, the law does not define “emergency situation”, provides no guidance as to who has the authority to declare an emergency situation and grants the Ministry vague and broad discretionary powers to shut down the internet with no limitations or, oversight. It is also unclear whether the law’s chapter on dispute resolutions provides an effective remedy for appealing the shutdown. 1088 For all these reasons, Article 77 of the Telecommunications Law fails to meet the human rights requirements that must be part of any law that grants Myanmar authorities the power to place restrictions on the internet. 470. The Mission also assessed the lawfulness of the internet shutdown by considering how the Government implemented the law and the impact it has had across Myanmar. The 1080 1081 1082 1083 1084 1085 1086 1087 1088 A/HRC/39/CRP.2, para. 1722, and more generally paras. 1718-1726. In follow-up to the findings it made in 2018 regarding hate speech and incitement, the Mission also maintained a dialogue with Facebook to discuss curtailing the spread of hate speech and deterring incitement to violence in Myanmar. See A/HRC/A/42/50, para. 13. UN Human Rights Committee, General comment No. 34 Article 19: Freedoms of opinion and expression, CCPR/C/GC/34, 12 September 2011, para. 24-25. Ibid., para. 22. Ibid, para. 34. Ibid, para. 34. Ibid, para. 23. UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Representative on Freedom of the Media, the Organization of American States (OAS) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information, Joint Declaration on Freedom of Expression and responses to conflict situations, para. 4(a). Available: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=15921&LangID=E. Telecommunications Law, article 77. Telecommunications Law, chapter XIV (Dispute Resolution). 131