Previous 37 / 111 Next

Indonesia proof for charges. However, many broad provisions still remain, including Article 27(1) regarding “content that violate propriety”, Article 27A about criminal defamation, Article 28(2) concerning “content that incites, persuades or influences others” that “causes feelings of hatred or hostility”. The revisions also added Article 28(3), which imposes criminal liability for intentionally spreading content that a person “knew contained false statements that cause public unrest98.” In 2023, the government also announced plans to regulate artificial intelligence (AI). Circular Letter No. 9 of 2023 of the Minister of Communications and Information Technology on Ar tificial Intelligence Ethics was issued on December 19, 2023. It is a non-binding policy about AI ethics, implementation of ethical values, and responsibility in using and developing AI technology 99. The policy is expected to become a guideline for the government to craft legally binding AI regulations100. 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 The reason that AI has been in focus is due to its extensive use in the campaign for the 2024 election that began in November 2023. The technology has been used extensively to create AI-generated videos, including “deepfakes” being circulated on social media platforms. Among the deepfake videos are of Joko Widodo delivering a speech in Mandarin101, Prabowo Subianto delivering a speech in Arabic102, and the Golkar Party video clip of the late dictator Soeharto asking people to vote for the party’s candidates103. There is also a deepfake video of Anies Baswedan being scolded by his political backer that went viral on social media104. Compared to preceding years, there was limited application of the Ministerial Regulation No. 5 (MR5) of 2020. MR5 was similar to other repressive laws which had overbroad and vague provisions that could be politically weaponized. The highlight of the circular is about content moderation through which the government can order “Indonesia: Newly Revised ITE Law Threatens Freedom of Expression and Must Be Amended.” International Commission of Jurists, 6 Dec. 2023, www.icj.org/indonesia-newly-revised-ite-law-threatensfreedom-of-expression-and-must-be-amended. Hadi, Aditya. “Indonesia’s AI Guideline Toothless and Ineffective, Analysts Say.” Asia News Network, 28 Dec. 2023, asianews.network/indonesias-ai-guideline-toothless-and-ineffective-analysts-say. “Govt to Prepare Special AI Regulation” Antara News, 22 Dec. 2023, en.antaranews.com/news/301644/ govt-to-prepare-special-ai-regulation. “Doctored Video of Indonesian President Speaking in Mandarin.” AFP Fact Check, 2 Nov. 2023, factcheck. afp.com/doc.afp.com.33Z42RT. Galih, Bayu. “[HOAKS] Prabowo Subianto Berpidato Dalam Bahasa Arab.” KOMPAS.com, 9 Nov. 2023, www.KOMPAS.com/cekfakta/read/2023/11/09/121000482/-hoaks-prabowo-subianto-berpidatodalam-bahasa-arab. “Fake Suharto Video Fuels Debate on AI Use in Indonesian Election Campaign.” Benar News, 12 Jan. 2024, w w w. b e n a r n e w s . o rg / e n g l i s h / n e w s / i n d o n e s i a n / s u h a r to - d e e p f a ke - u s e d - i n - e l e c t i o n - c a mpaign-01122024135217.html. “Hoaks! Rekaman Suara Telepon Surya Paloh Marahi Anies Baswedan.” Antara, 23 Jan 2024, www.antaranews. com/berita/3928362/hoaks-rekaman-suara-telepon-surya-paloh-marahi-anies-baswedan. 37

Select target paragraph3

● ● ●

Annual Report: Digital Rights in Southeast Asia 2023-2024

Report

Preview

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.

Link: source

Primary Documents

2023-Annual-Report-FINAL-1.pdf
English
Download View

Myanmar Internet Project

Select target paragraph3

Annual Report: Digital Rights in Southeast Asia 2023-2024

Primary Documents

Notifications