Introduction ARTICLE 19 Introduction Across the Asia region, an explosion in internet use in recent decades has coincided with a rise in authoritarianism in several countries. Governments in these countries are increasingly pursuing repressive tactics and using more sophisticated technical surveillance tools against those who express themselves online. Many global tech companies have enthusiastically pursued users in Asian markets, often without careful assessment of the human rights challenges involved when operating under authoritarian regimes. These companies must now decide how to respond to regulatory contexts which suppress freedom of expression and privacy. In some countries, tech companies face legal and policy demands to cooperate directly in human rights abuses. In this report, ARTICLE 19 examines such challenges in 3 countries governed by particularly authoritarian regimes – China, Vietnam, and Myanmar – in order to identify strategies for advancing business respect for human rights even where the domestic situation is not favourable to this. For each country, we provide an overview of the current context and the legal environment for tech companies operating there. We then look at how tech companies have responded to government demands, providing case studies which highlight where companies have been complicit in human rights abuses and where they have tried to push back. Based on international human rights standards on freedom of expression and privacy, as well as the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), we make practical recommendations for improving tech companies’ respect for human rights in authoritarian contexts. Although we provide recommendations to governments and companies operating in authoritarian contexts, we believe that the support and collaboration of international, regional, and local civil society is crucial to address the practices we document. International groups and coalitions need to work together and with funders to find ways to support local civil society groups working on issues of freedom of expression and privacy, taking into consideration the realities of conducting advocacy in authoritarian contexts. In particular, we believe it is necessary to build networks and connections between civil society organisations based in authoritarian countries and those based in countries where tech companies are headquartered, to amplify the voices of those impacted by rights violations. Civil society should also continue to engage in public campaigns to challenge tech companies when they fail to uphold their human rights responsibilities, as this has often been the most effective avenue for triggering company action. Last but not least, civil society organisations should expand advocacy focusing on the economic and business harms of human-rights-abusive laws and policies, including in partnership with industry groups and tech companies, to supplement human rights-based advocacy. They should also continue to undertake research to expose abuses, develop best practices, and prepare tools and resources to help tech companies better understand and implement the UNGPs in authoritarian contexts. 8