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In September 2023, Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chih visited the Meta headquarters in California. During the discussion, Pham reportedly said that social media giant could play an influential role in Vietnam’s Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with the U.S. The visit to Meta followed an official state visit of U.S. President Joe Biden to Vietnam earlier in the same month386, 387. The meeting between company representative and the Vietnam delegation was reportedly “warm” despite concerns about human rights in the country 388. Activists have long been trying to push Meta to be more accountable as the platform is an important space for dissent, but Meta has merely responded broadly by saying the company is trying while the situation has not changed much389, 390. 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 Meta is not the only company forced to f o l l o w re q u e s t s o f t h e V i e t n a m e s e government. TikTok was also threatened with a ban after government alleged that it was promoting content considered as anti-state 391. In May 2023, after a probe by the Ministry of Information and Communications, the platform agreed to work with the authorities to address these concerns392. It was reported that the government’s monitoring software had been struggling to handle TikTok’s short video format because the platform’s narratives are highly personalized393. Later in December 2023, the government discussed with TikTok to implement measures to prevent content that violates the law, upgrade its search engine to scan content more efficiently, and improve the censorship system 394 . Government Luong, Dien Nguyen An. “Meta Cozies up to Vietnam, Censorship Demands and All.” Coda Story, 28 Sep. 2023, www.codastory.com/authoritarian-tech/vietnam-censorship-facebook. “Joint Leaders’ Statement: Elevating United States-Vietnam Relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.” The White House, 11 Sept. 2023, www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/09/11/joint-leaders-statement-elevating-united-states-vietnam-relations-to-a-comprehensive-strategic-partnership. Luong, Dien Nguyen An. “Meta Cozies up to Vietnam, Censorship Demands and All.” Coda Story, 28 Sep. 2023, www.codastory.com/authoritarian-tech/vietnam-censorship-facebook. Cloud, David S., and Shashank Bengali. “How Facebook Censorship Helps Suppress Dissent in Vietnam.” Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2020, www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-10-22/facebook-censorshipsuppress-dissent-vietnam. Biddle, Sam. “Facebook Lets Vietnam’s Cyberarmy Target Dissidents, Rejecting a Celebrity’s Plea.” The Intercept, 21 Dec. 2020, theintercept.com/2020/12/21/facebook-vietnam-censorship. Le, Lam. “Vietnam Pressures TikTok to Censor More Content or Face a Ban.” Rest of World, 24 May. 2023, restofworld.org/2023/vietnam-tiktok-ban. Ewe, Koh. “Vietnam Cites Child Safety in Calls for Greater Social Media Censorship Used to Stifle Dissent.” TIME, 12 Oct. 2023, time.com/6322914/vietnam-tiktok-social-media-censorship-child-safety. Le, Lam. “Vietnam Pressures TikTok to Censor More Content or Face a Ban.” Rest of World, 24 May. 2023, restofworld.org/2023/vietnam-tiktok-ban. “The Vietnamese Government Urges TikTok to Actively Remove Information Deemed to Be Erroneous.” Radio Free Asia, 8 Dec. 2023, www.rfa.org/vietnamese/news/vietnamnews/vietnam-government-wants-tiktokto-remove-more-contents-deemed-toxic-12082023072136.html. 104

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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

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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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