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Due to the broad provisions, the lèsemajesté law’s interpretation can be twisted to suit those who use it, even for political or personal motives. Anyone can file a complaint under the lèse-majesté law against any individual or entity if the action is framed as disrespectful to the monarchy. Out of the 287 ongoing lèse-majesté cases, 142, or about half, are initiated by individuals, and not by law enforcement authorities, who are compelled to accept all cases. Many of these cases are based on social media posts. In October 2022, the Prayuth Chan-o-Cha government announced a new regulation under the CCA326 requiring social media platforms to remove content within a certain period if requested by authorities or ordinary citizens. The regulation went into effect on December 25, 2022, raising concerns that it was going to be used politically in connection with the elections in May 2023. However, there has been limited use of the policy during the election period. 3. The MFP’s proposals to revise the lèsemajesté law did not even begin during the election campaign. The party submitted proposed revisions in 2021 to amend laws, including Article 112 of the Criminal Code and Article 14 of the Computer Crime Act (CCA)321, 322. The CCA itself, has also on its own been weaponized to silence critics. Examples of using the combination of the two laws include the government’s 2020 request to Facebook to block the Royalist Marketplace page for being critical of the monarchy323; blocking of the website Change.org in 2020 for a petition related to King Rama X324; and the blocking of a 2021 video clip about the Thai manufacturer of a COVID-19 vaccine325. 321 322 323 324 325 326 Information Control and Manipulation The Prayuth Chan-o-cha government had been found to use information operations (IO) to help control the political narratives online. The operations were first exposed in 2020 by the Future Forward Party (FFP), which at that time was part of the parliamentary opposition. FFP claimed that at least 10 military agencies were involved in IO to protect the military and the monarchy, and to attack the political opposition and critics. Among the examples that the FFP alleged is that the pulony.blogspot.com website was “MFP’s MP Proposed Amendment of the Lèse-Majesté Law.” The MATTER, 10 Feb. 2021, thematter.co/ brief/135324/135324. “The Five Laws that MFP Proposed for Amendment.” THE STANDARD, 11 Feb. 2021, thestandard.co/ move-forward-party-fix-five-m112-laws. “Royalist Marketplace Returns.” Prachatai English, 25 Aug. 2020, prachataienglish.com/node/8748. “Thailand Blocks Change.org as Petition Against King Gains Traction.” BBC News, 16 Oct. 2020, www.bbc. com/news/world-asia-54566767. “Court Orders Ban on Thanathorn’s Video Over National Security Concerns.” Prachatai English, 16 June 2023, prachataienglish.com/node/10429. “Stricter Censorship Provision to Be Enforced This Christmas.” Prachatai English, 5 Dec. 2022, prachataienglish.com/node/10128. 90

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Annual Report: Digital Rights in Southeast Asia 2023-2024

Report

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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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2023-Annual-Report-FINAL-1.pdf
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Myanmar Internet Project

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Annual Report: Digital Rights in Southeast Asia 2023-2024

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