Telenor’s Exit from Myanmar - investigation and legal matters
1. OECD National Contact Point (NCP) – final statement
The OECD Norwegian National Contact Point (NCP) has provided its final conclusion regarding Telenor's forced exit from Myanmar in 2022. Telenor disagrees with several of the conclusions. More information is available here.
2. Investigation and charges
On 15 September 2026, Telenor was informed that an investigation had been opened and charges brought against the company, on suspicion of breaching the Sanctions Act and suspected complicity in crimes against humanity. Both matters relate to the Telenor Group's former operations in Myanmar. For more information and Telenor's statements on the matter, please read the company's press release.
3. Class action
The Justice and Accountability Initiative (JAI) filed a class action lawsuit against Telenor ASA in April 2026, seeking damages for the sharing of sensitive personal data with military authorities in Myanmar following the 2021 coup. On 17 September 2026, the Asker and Bærum District Court in Norway ruled that the case may proceed to the next stage.
Telenor's comments:
What happened in Myanmar was absolutely terrible – there is no doubt about that. The lawsuit concerns the handover of traffic data that Telenor Myanmar was required to provide under local legislation. Our employees risked imprisonment, torture or the death penalty if the military authorities' orders were not complied with. In Telenor's view, there is no basis for liability in this case.
Telenor is ready for these questions to be dealt with in court. We disagreed that the conditions for a class action had been met, and will now take the time to go through the ruling thoroughly before considering whether it should be appealed.
Balancing employee safety and human rights responsibilities
Telenor acknowledges that human rights due diligence must consider all rights-holders. However, when faced with the brutal force of the military, Telenor maintains that an employer cannot give instructions that put employees' lives at direct risk. This position is in line with internationally recognised principles, including the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).
Telenor notes that several actions were taken by Telenor Myanmar throughout their operations to mitigate potential adverse impacts on local customers. These included raising awareness on digital skills, introducing transparency reporting through Annual Sustainability briefings which covered authority requests updates, and engaging in multistakeholder advocacy with policy makers to ensure legal frameworks were introduced before lawful intercept (LI) technology could be activated. The company transparently communicated the scope of the authority requests (until it was forced to stop after the coup) and did not activate LI.