On September 15, 2026, Norwegian authorities announced an
investigation into Telenor for suspected crimes
against humanity and sanctions violations in Myanmar
following the 2021 military coup. For years, Access Now and
civil society have raised
the alarm over Telenor’s
hasty and irresponsible departure from Myanmar and the
potential human rights abuses should Telenor sell its
Myanmar enterprise to the military-linked
M1 Group.
The decision to file charges against Telenor
follows a police complaint filed
by Justice
for Myanmar and ICJ
Norway last year. Earlier this year, the
Swedish human rights group Justice
and Accountability Initiative (JAI), with the
support of various Myanmar civil society organizations and
EU-based groups, also filed
a class-action lawsuit against
Telenor.
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“As we clearly laid out to Telenor when the
company first announced its departure from Myanmar, its
manner of withdrawal was an abandonment that left those who
relied on its services more vulnerable than ever by putting
their data in the hands of the military-linked M1 Group,”
said Isedua Oribhabor, Business and Human Rights
Manager at Access Now. “The investigation into
Telenor by the Norwegian authorities is a recognition that
companies cannot act with impunity and put people’s data
and lives at risk.”
In August 2021, Access Now,
along with 44 organizations, laid out the potential
dangers of this sale to the Telenor board,
calling for it to stop the sale and conduct human rights due
diligence in line with international standards. Telenor
responded on September
3, 2021. Ultimately, Telenor refused to listen
to civil society and proceeded
with the sale.
“For years, civil
society warned Telenor about the risks its decisions posed
to people in Myanmar who depended on its services,” said
Faiz Naeem, Asia Pacific Policy Analyst at Access
Now. “The decision to investigate Telenor for
crimes against humanity should be a wake-up call for every
technology and telecom company operating in a high-risk
environment: leaving a market does not mean leaving your
human rights responsibilities behind. Companies hold
enormous amounts of sensitive information about the people
that use their services, and when that data falls into the
hands of an abusive authority, the consequences can be
devastating. Human rights due diligence has to shape not
only how companies enter and operate in a market, but also
how they leave it.”
Businesses have an obligation to
protect and respect human rights wherever they operate and
whenever they enter or leave a country, especially in
conflict zones or during times of crisis. Access Now calls
on companies to adhere to their human rights obligations as
laid out in the UN
Guiding Principles on Business and Human
Rights.
