Myanmar activists to sue Norway's Telenor for handing data to military

"The claimants allege that Telenor, majority-owned by the Norwegian government, disclosed data from millions of customers to the military authorities, which, after toppling the country's elected government, embarked on a campaign of violence and repression. They say the information helped the military target anti-coup activists, several of whom were tortured in detention and one of whom was executed. Telenor, which has previously faced investigations over its actions from Norwegian authorities, asserts it was trapped by the situation in Myanmar with no good options."

"One claimant, Thazin Nyunt Aung, said she is terribly disturbed and shocked by the data disclosures, which occurred weeks before her husband, lawmaker Phoe Zeya Thaw, was arrested and executed. Ko Ye, another claimant, said she feels betrayed by a company that had a reputation for integrity. We were in danger, in struggle, in a very difficult position. But Telenor did not protect us. On the contrary. Our data was used as a weapon against us, said Ye."

"A group of civil society organisations in Myanmar plans to take legal action against Norwegian telecoms firm Telenor, accusing it of passing customer data to the country's military government for use in repression. The activists sent Telenor a notice of intent to sue on Monday, according to a statement from the Netherlands-based nonprofit Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO), which is backing the case."

A coalition of Myanmar civil society organisations has issued a notice of intent to sue Telenor, accusing the telecom firm of providing customer data to the military after the 2021 coup. Claimants allege the shared data enabled the military to trace and target anti-coup activists, resulting in detention, torture, and at least one execution. The claimants assert that millions of customers' records were disclosed and say the company, majority-owned by the Norwegian government, failed to protect users despite prior scrutiny. Telenor contends it faced no good options in the crisis. Legal representatives demand accountability for the disclosures.

Read at www.aljazeera.com