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Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP). The CPP won the election by a slim margin with 48.8 percent of the votes, while the CNRP was garnered 44.46%. The CNRP, led by Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha, rejected the official result of the votes and accused the CPP of committing election fraud65. The contested election results triggered a year-long mass protests, which along with the general election results, posed one of the biggest ever challenges for Hun Sen’s since coming to power in 1985. Since then, the regime has implemented and intensified a crackdown against the opposition, independent media, and basically anyone it sees as opposing the government. After a court banned the CNRP in 2017, many opposition politicians went into self-exile in order to avoid jail terms and other forms of judicial harassment arising from politically motivated allegations. Hun Sen has made sure that 2013 will not repeat itself by stamping out any real challenge to his power. CNRP leader Sam Rainsy faces a long list of political charges and has been living in self-exile in France 65 66 67 68 69 70 since 2015. In 2022, he was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment for allegedly trying to give four Cambodian provinces to a foreign state66. The charges arose from his 2013 meeting in the United States with the Montagnard Foundation, an organization that works to protect the rights of indigenous minorities in Vietnam. As a result of the ruling, he was also stripped of all political rights67. Prior to this, Sam Rainsy had been sentenced to a total of 47 years of imprisonment in earlier convictions. In October 2023, Rainsy and other opposition activists were also given prison sentences for their comments posted on Facebook in 202168. Kem Sokha, who was the president of the CNRP, was also sentenced to 27 years in jail in March 2023 for treason. He had been imprisoned since 2017 on these charges69 which alleged that he encouraged a revolution through his election campaign, and his previous work at the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), an NGO that he founded and headed from 2002 to 200770. The ruling also resulted in Kem Sokha being indefinitely banned from politics and stripped of his political rights including voting in Chan Thul, Prak. “Cambodia Election Crisis Deepens as Opposition Rejects Results.” Reuters, 23 Aug. 2023, www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE97B02I. “Cambodia Sentences Sam Rainsy to Life in Prison, Concludes Trial of Kem Sokha.” Radio Free Asia, 19 Oct. 2022, www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/twotrials-10192022180438.html. “Cambodian Court Convicts Opposition Leader of Land Giveaway.” AP News, 20 Oct. 2022, apnews.com/ article/sam-rainsy-cambodia-phnom-penh-government-and-politics-d9353a060ce259707666a77abf6dde7c. “Cambodian court convicts opposition figures for Facebook comments.” Radio Free Asia, 24 Oct. 2023, www. rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/opposition-figures-convictions-10242023164005.html. “Cambodian Opposition Leader Sentenced to 27 Years.” Voice of America, 3 Mar. 2023, www.voanews.com/a/ cambodian-opposition-leader-sentenced-to-27-years-/6988063.html. Vicheika, Kann, et al. “Kem Sokha Questioned Over Work at CCHR; Court Rules on Naming Countries During Hearing.” Voice of America, 15 Jan. 2020, www.voacambodia.com/a/kem-sokha-questioned-over-work-atcchr-court-rules-on-naming-countries-during-hearing/5246520.html. 30

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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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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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