ASEAN Regional Coalition to #StopDigitalDictatorship I survived the attempted murder, and that day changed my life forever. I will never give up my activism. We, Lao people, want democracy and freedom!59 –“Jack” Anousa Luangsouphom #JusticeForJack: Shot, but Not Silenced! In an egregious case, Anousa Luangsouphom, also He is also the administrator of a closed Facebook known as “Jack,” a youth democracy activist known group “Laos Drama”60, which was set up in April for his calls for justice and human rights in Laos, 2020 by citizen journalists to discuss democracy was attempted to be killed. On April 29, 2023, he was and human rights issues in Laos, counting more than shot twice in a café in Vientiane and was initially 7,000 members, using the hashtag #ຖ້າການເມືອງ reported to be dead. In reality, he was alive but his ລາວດີ (if only Lao politics were good)–a hashtag family was afraid to make this public, as they thought created among members of the Milk Tea Alliance the killer might try to come back to finish the job. across Asia. The group was infiltrated by government Additionally, after the police visited Jack in hospital, spies, prompting Jack to create his own Facebook he stopped receiving medical care, despite having page in March 2022 with three other passionate extensive injuries. While Lao authorities claimed activists. The page created is called ຂັບເຄື່ອນດ້ວຍ that Jack was targeted due to a personal dispute, ຄີບອດ (“Power of the Keyboard”)61 and serves as a attempting to cover up the truth, he was, in fact, platform for public political debate in the country. silenced because of his online activism. It discusses human rights topics, with a focus on 58 In addition, Jack is one of the administrators of two distinct Facebook pages that both advocate for the protection of human rights in Laos from the repressive Lao government. 130 China’s quasi-monopoly regarding investments in Laos, as well as Lao children’s and teenagers’ right to education. It denounces Lao teacher’s violent physical and emotional practices to “punish” students daring to speak up. Dawn of Digital Dictatorship: Weaponizing the Law Against Online Speech in Southeast Asia