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Indonesia Key Developments 1. ● Indonesia prepared for general elections set to happen in February 2024. AI played a crucial role as a campaign tool in the lead-up to the 2024 election. Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto used AI to change his image and divert attention from allegations of past human rights abuses. ● The Electronic Information and Transaction Law (ITE) law of 2008 was amended for the second time in 2023. However, the broad provisions that are used against online expression still remain. The amendment process was also criticized as being opaque. ● IndonesiaLeaks, a consortium of media outlets and investigative reporters, reported that the government allegedly used the notorious spyware Pegasus against many politicians and activists. Overview The administration of President Joko Widodo, who is popularly known as “Jokowi”, pushed the country towards increasing digital authoritarianism during his time as president. In 2023, the country again revised the Electronic Information and Transaction Law or Undang-Undang Informasi dan Transaksi Elektronik (ITE Law). However, the broad provisions that allow the law to be used for political reasons still remain. In the lead up to the 2024 election, the government is also planning to regulate the use of artificial intelligence in the country due to its potential for abuse during the election period. tion and Communication Technology issued Ministerial Regulation No. 5 of 2020 (MR5) to that gives power to the government to order social media platforms to take down content. However, MR5 was not observed to have been used despite the onset of the election season at the end of the year. However, the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) announced that it would work with other government agencies and social media platforms to take down content that would heighten “SARA-related” polarization in Indonesia. SARA is an abbreviation of the Bahasa Indonesia words suku, agama, ras, and antargolongan, which means race, religion, ethnicity and inter-group, respectively. In order to cope with Indonesia’s worsening information disorder, the Ministry of Informa- During the election campaign period which began on November 28, observers noted the 35

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Annual Report: Digital Rights in Southeast Asia 2023-2024

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Language

English

Topic

Digital Rights
Digital Surveillance
Information Operation
Internet Connectivity / Accessibility
Internet Restrictions

Author(s)

DigitalReach

Date Published: Aug 6, 2024

Abstract: It is undeniable that information technology has significantly impacted human rights and democracy these days. Different governments around Southeast Asia continually attempt to control digital space through, for example, using repressive laws and regulations, forcing social media platforms to follow their orders, and using spyware and similar technology to surveil critics. In Southeast Asia, democracy and human rights have deteriorated because of these attempts, especially for countries under authoritarian regimes.

In order to better understand the situation, DigitalReach publishes annual reports to present and analyze the events and trends around the region. The 2023 annual report analyzes the digital rights situation in eight countries across Southeast Asia—namely Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam–from January 2023 to December 2023, with glimpses of key updates into 2024, given the timing of its release.

The report format has been changed completely from the previous years. In order to more systematically present the developments observed, the report is organized into three key areas: (1) Legal and Policy Developments, (2) Information Control and Manipulation, and (3) Threats Against Critics and Political Opposition.

From a regional perspective, legal and policy developments in countries that are known to restrict human rights are still mainly about using or coming up with new policies to further suppress human rights in the digital sphere. Countries considered to be more democratic also attempt to change or repeal their laws, but still without a clear sign of improvement toward digital rights.

In terms of information control and manipulation, social media platforms continue to be deployed for political ends, with different platforms serving a specific purpose for each country. The shift toward short video format, TikTok in particular, continued from 2022 to contribute toward information disorder, especially during election periods. The use of video shorts is important when targeting young voters, who played an important role in determining election results in Thailand and Indonesia this year like they did in the Philippines and Malaysia in 2022. State-sponsored cyber armies were also documented, while some governments preferred to assert more effective control of social media platforms. Other important methods related to the flow of information include suppression of media freedom and internet disruptions, which are particularly severe in Myanmar following the 2021 coup.

Judicial harassment is a key form of threat used against critics and political opposition in 2023. It is still common for people in Southeast Asia to be thrown in jail for what they say or do online. Others who do not subscribe to the government’s ideology face online harassment from state-sponsored cyber armies or government supporters. In terms of surveillance, 5 out of 8 countries included in this report have been found to have or are likely to have spyware technology.

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Myanmar Internet Project

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Annual Report: Digital Rights in Southeast Asia 2023-2024

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