ASEAN Regional Coalition to #StopDigitalDictatorship Everybody is At Risk of Being a Target of the Government In 2020, SAFEnet documented 22 cases of internet support the longstanding observation of activists users being charged with Article 27(3) of the ITE and HRDs that the ITE Law is routinely misused to Law. An additional 17 were reported in 2021.54 criminalise hundreds of people simply for exercising Data gathered by Amnesty International Indonesia, their right to freedom of expression online.58 A 2023 conversely, shows that the ITE Law was used report by FORUM-ASIA and KontraS shows a new against approximately 81 people from January 2020 pattern in officials’ efforts to suppress criticism: to October 2021, most of whom were accused of Cease-and-Desist letters. Started in 2021, this type defamation.55 Between January 2019 and December of action consists of public officials redacting letters 2022, Amnesty International Indonesia documented in which they fill in for lawsuits against activists, that at least 1,021 human rights defenders faced often citing defamation, insults, or fake news. The prosecution, arrests, attacks, and threats, under the approach often ends in criminalisation, with the defamation article in ITE Law.56 SAFEnet has also accused facing charges and further pressure from highlighted a concerning trend, reporting a total of the government to cease their activism. This also 89 cases of criminalisation related to these articles occurred in Haris Azhar and Fatia Maulidiyanti’s from January to October 2023.57 These findings cases detailed below.59 “ Despite by the end of 2023 the ITE Law having been amended or revised twice, the defamation and blasphemy articles, which have often been misused to silence criticism and repress press freedom, are still maintained. In fact, now new articles have been added, such as articles prohibiting disinformation and excessive authority to cut off Internet access, making the ITE Law even more dangerous for the future of Internet freedom and democracy in Indonesia. It is easy to imagine the number of judicial harassment cases increasing and online censorship becoming more rampant. - Damar Juniarto, Executive Director of SAFEnet 2018-2023 and Advisor of SAFEnet 88 Dawn of Digital Dictatorship: Weaponizing the Law Against Online Speech in Southeast Asia