How protesters in Myanmar get around social media and Internet blackouts

CNA Online, 10 Feb - https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/myanmar-protests-protesters-getting-around-internet-blackout-14159342

Images and videos of protests across Myanmar have been broadcast and shared online in the past week almost immediately as events unfolded in the country, a far cry from how it was in the past. With smartphones in the hands of more than 20 million people in the country, it has been impossible to stem the flow of information to and from the outside world. "The potential is that people can communicate, take eyewitness accounts, and then circulate those quickly via messaging, by social media, on Facebook and by the Internet," said Prof Gerard Goggin from NTU’s WKWSCI. "Myanmar was a closed system, but the last decade has witnessed a dramatic change. International telecommunication operators saw an opportunity and opened shops," said Asst Prof Saifuddin Ahmed, also from NTU’s WKWSCI. "This facilitated the widespread availability of mobile phones and a lowering of SIM card cost, which in turn enabled the growth of the Internet and social media use in the country."