86 Dictating the Internet: Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) In Laos, a one-party State where the regime has consistently imposed highly repressive restrictions on fundamental freedoms,302 laws have consistently been employed to clamp down on these freedoms to protect “national interests”, “traditional culture and dignity” and “social orderliness”.303 The Criminal Code of Laos, under article 65, prohibits “propaganda against the Lao People’s Democratic Republic” including “slandering the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, or distorting the guidelines of the party and policies of the government, or circulating false rumors causing disorder” to the detriment of national security. This offence incurs a penalty of up to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of between 500,000 to 10 million Kip (approx. USD 57 to USD 1,145).304 Notably, article 23 of Laos’ Constitution similarly prohibits all “cultural and mass media activities” contrary to “national interests” or “traditional culture and dignity.”305 In October 2014, Decree No. 327 On Information Management on the Internet (‘Decree No. 327’) was enacted, imposing criminal sanctions on internet users for disseminating any information which “bribes or convinces the people of Laos, and abroad, to attack against the Lao People’s Revolution Party, the government of the Lao PDR, or destroy the peace, independence, sovereignty, democracy, and prosperity of the Lao PDR” or “publicizes, distorts, and disseminates false propaganda in order to create discrimination against ethnic groups and against the nation”.306 Decree No. 327 further allows for the “monitoring, resisting and suppressing” of information on the internet “which threatens society, and stability of 302 In 2018, Freedom House gave Lao PDR a score of 12/100 for its protection of political rights and civil liberties – or lack thereof; In 2019, Reporters without Borders (RSF) ranked Lao PDR 171 out of 180 countries in its World Press Freedom Index. See Freedom House, ‘Laos Profile’, Available at: https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2018/laos; RSF, ‘Laos: No light at the end of the tunnel’, Available at: https://rsf.org/en/laos 303 See for eg. ICJ, ‘Lao PDR: the ICJ criticizes new Decree on Associations’, 13 December 2017, Available at: https://www.icj.org/lao-pdr-the-icj-criticizes-new-decree-on-associations/; ICJ, ‘Lao PDR – Southeast Asia Security Laws’, Available at: https://www.icj.org/south-east-asia-securitylaws/lao-pdr-southeast-asia-security-laws/; FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights) and the Lao Movement for Human Rights (LMHR), Briefing paper on Laos, 2 September 2016 (‘FIDH, LMHR, 2 September 2016’), Available at: https://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/20160831_laos_foe_br_ en.pdf 304 FIDH, Lao Movement for Human Rights, ‘Joint UPR submission Lao People’s Democratic Republic 35th session (January - February 2020)’, 18 July 2019 (‘FIDH, LMHR, 18 July 2019’), para 5, Available at: https://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/fidh-lmhr_lao_pdr_js_upr35_july_2018.pdf 305 FIDH, LMHR, 18 July 2019, para 5. 306 English translation of Decree On Information Management on the Internet No. 327/GOV (‘Decree No. 327’), article 10, Available at: http://www.laoservicesportal.gov.la/index. php?r=site%2Fdisplaylegal&id=56#a10