ASEAN Regional Coalition to #StopDigitalDictatorship to censor social media content within the country, This has led to the Lao government’s growing attempts but it also seeks to expand its reach beyond the Lao to control social media platforms and accounts borders, alleging without legal evidence that some functioning as online news outlets, to silence citizen foreign social media accounts are spreading “fake journalists, and stopping the world from knowing news” about the Lao government. what’s really happening in Laos. . 12 No Independent Media: Lao Authorities’ Tool for Controlling Information The 2016 Media Law The Media Law was adopted in 2008 and amended in 2016 to “ensure that the media implements their duties and mission to be a sharp voice of the ruling [Lao People’s Revolutionary] Party and the people in order to propagate the guidelines and directions, and laws and social-economic development plans of the state.” It allows the authorities to have broad discretion to control information and communication, which greatly undermines the independence of the media.13 There is no independent media in Lao PDR (Laos). Despite the intended role of the media to serve as a voice, bringing attention to societal issues and scrutinising government policies for public awareness, the reality is that the state exerts total control over the media. The government tightly controls media to ensure that TV, radio and printed publications comply with and reflect the government policies. The 24 newspapers, 32 television networks, and 44 radio stations in the country are all obliged to follow the party line mandated by the Peoples’ Propaganda Commissariat, meaning that people in Lao PDR (Laos) have access to little, if any, reliable information.14 This severe control results in a lack of clear, detailed, and comprehensive coverage of societal problems, making it less appealing for people to rely on the country’s state media outlets for news about their The 2019 Order Number 256 Mandating Registration of News Outlet Administrators on Social Media As highlighted, Lao citizens increasingly prefer internet and social media platforms over state-controlled news outlets for accessing uncensored information. In response, the Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism (MICT) issued the Government Order Number 256 in July 2019, mandating registration of news outlet administrators on social media. Non-compliance with this directive carries harsh penalties, justified as measures to combat fake news and disinformation. The order was issued with the intention of regulating the dissemination of “fake news and disinformation in social media” to combat the spread of misinformation and prevent public panic.16 In August 2020, former Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith pushed media and publishing officials to continue “defeating the fake, deceptive, and harmful news” found on social media.17 In September 2020, the Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism issued another notice, reiterating that “any individual, legal entity, state or private sector that continues to publish and provide information to the public via social media without permission will face measures in line with the laws of the Lao PDR”. Reportedly, 20 Facebook pages, including Tholakhong, Inside Laos, and Lao Youth, have been registered while some news sites such as the Lao-Thai Facebook page have not.18 communities.15 As a result, in recent years, Lao people have increasingly turned to social media to find the truth, social media accounts of online bloggers, activists, and citizen journalists. Lao PDR 121