Portable internet helps Asia scam centers bypass blackouts

Trafficking experts have raised concerns over how satellite internet technology may hamper efforts to crack down on scam centers in Asia. | REUTERS

by REBECCA L. ROOT
April 25, 2025

BANGKOK – In February, Thai and Myanmar authorities worked together to turn off electricity and the internet in an unprecedented operation to free thousands of trafficking victims forced to work in cyber-scam centers in Myanmar.
It succeeded, and some 7,000 people from 29 countries were released.

But trafficking experts question how significant the blackouts were, and will be, if satellite internet technology such as Starlink, China's SpaceSail or the French-German Eutelsat becomes abundant in the region.