Norway telecom giant under fire for alleged role in Myanmar junta crackdown on activists

Norway’s telecom giant Telenor has faced backlash for its alleged role in aiding Myanmar junta crackdown on activists following 2021 military coup. 

The class-action lawsuit was filed by the Justice and Accountability Initiative (JAI), a Swedish rights organization, with support from the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations and the Open Society Justice Initiative against Telenor on April 8, representing 1,253 customers.

The plaintiffs claim Telenor failed to protect or even warn users that their data was being shared, despite internal assessments suggesting the orders would lead to arrests. The suit demands a minimum of €11 million (£9.6m).

As per allegations, Telenor complied with 96 percent of the junta’s data requests, providing historical metadata including addresses and last known locations. The data also included information on deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi and executed former MP Phyo Zeya Thaw.

“Telenor went into the country saying you should trust us – they did that and that trust was breached and they’ve faced severe consequences. Even those not physically harmed have had to go underground, they’ve had to run,” said Joseph Wilde-Ramsing, Somo’s advocacy director.

Responding to these allegations, Telenor asserts that refusing orders would have put their local staff’s lives at risk.

“Our employees were working under extremely difficult and uncertain conditions, with direct pressure from the authorities and a highly volatile security situation. We could not take risks with our employees’ safety – their lives were at stake,” a spokesperson from Telenor clarified.

The telecom company has also argued that it was legally bound to share metadata, while dismissing allegations regarding link between data handling and specific human rights violations.