A Myanmar smartphone user checks Facebook in 2021. Photo from The Irrawaddy, used with permission. This article by Mi Ei Thinzar Myint was originally published in The Irrawaddy, an independent news website in Myanmar. This edited version is republished on Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement. Myanmar’s military regime blocked Facebook and other messaging apps following the 2021 coup in a bid to restrict freedom of expression and communication that it believes threatens its rule. The people of Myanmar were using virtual private networks (VPNs), either paid or free versions, to b…