A new report on internet censorship in Burma says the ruling military junta is becoming more sophisticated in censoring online material after the recent introduction of a new firewall, allegedly supplied by US-based company Fortinet.

“Internet Filtering in Burma in 2005: A Country Study” by the Open Net Initiative -a collaboration between Harvard University, the University of Toronto and Cambridge University-tested access to a range of websites in Burma and found 84 percent of sites “with content known to be sensitive to the Burmese state” to be blocked. The blocked sites include The Irrawaddy’s homepage, as well as 85 percent of web-based email sites.

The report notes that Burma “implements one of the world’s most restrictive regimes of internet control” and suggests internet-based email sites, such as Hotmail and Yahoo, are barred because they allow an avenue for freedom of expression which cannot be monitored by the state. Burma has only two internet service providers-Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications and Bagan Cybertech-both of which charge for email accounts. Free email sites would therefore be considered a threat to both organizations’ ability to generate revenue.

MPT is directly controlled by the military, while Bagan Cybertech is rumored to have come under the increasing influence of the junta following the arrest of managing director Ye Naing Win-the son of ousted former prime minister Khin Nyunt-on a series of charges including economic crimes.

ONI’s study also found 65 percent of pornographic web pages to be prohibited in Burma as well as 24 percent of gambling sites, although it suggests the Burmese government’s “primary motivations for censorship appear to be political as opposed to moral or cultural.”

The main concern for internet users in Burma, according to the report, is the use of new filtering software which allows the junta to produce a more complete filtering system. “Burma’s system of internet control shows no signs of lessening” the report says, “and may worsen as it moves to a more sophisticated software product.”

This statement was backed up by internet users in Rangoon today, one of whom told The Irrawaddy “It’s becoming more strict-there are more bans on websites… the internet lacks much more freedom than before.”

ONI’s findings that Burma is further restricting its online services are based mainly on the alleged recent introduction of a new firewall provided by California-based Fortinet, a claim denied by the company.

However, junta-backed daily newspaper The New Light of Myanmar published an article in May last year-“Prime Minister Attends Ceremony to Introduce Fortinet Antivirus Firewall”-in which it claimed the Rangoon-based Myanmar Millennium Group had been designated the sole representative of Fortinet in Burma. The article also featured a photograph of Fortinet sales director Benjamin Teh, of the company’s Malaysian office, shaking hands with Burma’s former prime minister Gen Khin Nyunt.

Teh today denied that Fortinet has any involvement in Burma and refused to confirm or deny whether he visited Rangoon last year. “We don’t have any direct resellers and we don’t have any direct partners in Myanmar [Burma],” he said, refusing to comment further.

The ONI report includes comments from Fortinet director of worldwide public relations, Michelle Spolver, saying “Fortinet employs a two-tier sales model, in which we sell 100 percent of our products to resellers, who then sell to end-users. We do not directly sell, deploy or configure our products for end-users. Additionally, we have no record in our databases of Myanmar Millennium Group being a Fortinet reseller.”

Speaking to The New York Times in an article published today, Spolver said “Our [Fortinet's] intent is to fully comply with the law, and Fortinet does not condone doing business with US-embargoed or sanctioned countries.”