ASEAN Regional Coalition to #StopDigitalDictatorship The state of democracy (FITW reports) has We must not allow ourselves to succumb to these significantly declined across the world over the advances of power, and must diligently observe past 17 years, while the state of internet freedom political actions that affect this topic, in order (FOTN reports) significantly declined across the to more effectively collectively demand from world over the past 13 years. Southeast Asia Southeast Asian governing bodies more procedural is no exception to these trends. As the following safeguards, independent oversight, accountability, chapters will show, all the Southeast Asian nations and overall respect of universal human rights. covered in our Thematic Report study fall into the Oppressive governments are counting on the ‘not free’ or ‘partially free’ categories for both the people to be too afraid or ignorant to advocate for state of democracy (FITW) and the state of internet our human rights, so that they can increasingly freedom (FOTN) indexes, have remained in these usurp more power at the expense of our collective categories for the entirety of the 2020 to 2023 freedoms. We must all take digital dictatorship period, and have also all experienced collective seriously, for it is a lethal tool that forms part of score declines during this period. greater dictatorial projects as a whole. 12 13 12. Freedom House, Regional Trends & Countries in the Spotlight, (last updated 2023), available at: https:// freedomhouse.org/report/freedomworld/2023/ marking-50-years/countries-regions#asia-pacific; Freedom House, Freedom in the World Research Methodology, (last updated 2023), available at: https://freedomhouse.org/reports/freedom-world/ freedom-world-research-methodology.; Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2023: The Repressive Power of Artificial Intelligence, (last updated 2023), available at: https://freedomhouse.org/report/ freedomnet/2023/repressive-power-artificial-intelligence#key-findings. 13. Freedom House, Countries and Territories, (last updated 2023), available at: https://freedomhouse. org/countries/freedom-world/scores. Executive Summary: A Regional Overview 21