ASEAN Regional Coalition to #StopDigitalDictatorship All countries covered in this report have included that the government perceives as threatening to its defamation as a major offence within their criminal control. More specifically, both Laos and Vietnam and penal codes. For example, in Cambodia and use Article 117 of their Penal Code to silence any Thailand, two nations with powerful monarchies, opposition by punishing anything associated with vague and draconian lèse-majesté laws are propagating materials opposing the State.3,4 constantly used to stifle dissent. Digital repression has also been observed in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore. These countries have separate cyberspace-regulating legislation that weaponize accusations of ‘defamation’ and ‘blasphemy’ in order to silence people. observed across many Southeast Asian countries, that freedom of expression is an attack against including government governments gravitate to similar oppressive tactics; the only difference between them tends to be the justifications they use for their oppression. All These measures are often rooted in the view, actors Communist or non-communist, Southeast Asian authority. A particularly complex situation can be witnessed in nations with histories of communist leadership. Vietnam, for example, is known as one of the final strongholds of one-party communist rule in the region, with the country being governed by the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) since 1976. Though the Vietnamese government’s communist identity makes it stand out in the region, it frequently behaves similarly to its non-communist neighbouring governments. Often under the guise of promoting ‘unity’ among the masses in order to protect the integrity of communism in Vietnam, the government enforces strict controls over the online environment and maintains a strong stance against those expressing opposing views. Similar tactics are used in Vietnam’s communist neighbour, Lao PDR (Laos). Laos is also a oneparty socialist republic, and the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) has been the only legal political party since 1975. The Lao government notoriously abuses its vaguely written laws in order the aforementioned control tactics are fundamentally rooted in establishing fear, in order to compel the masses into submission. A clear example of this is exhibited through the behaviour of the Myanmar junta, which has continuously cracked down on dissenting voices since it launched a coup on February 1, 2021. It utilises violent measures to establish fear among its masses, in order to discourage opposition. For instance, the Ministry of Transport and Communications ordered in 2019 restrictions on mobile internet in nine townships in Rakhine and Chin States under Section 77 of the Telecommunications Act. Despite partial lifts, irregular enforcement persists. In April 2021, all mobile data and wireless broadband were cut off. In addition, the military junta is instilling fear in the population by destroying everything in its path, affecting 80,000 homes and forcing 3,800,000 civilians to flee their homes. However, the measures put in place also target workers legitimately engaged in essential jobs. More than 20 media groups, including press agencies, publishing houses and printing works, have been banned since the coup. More than 140 journalists have been detained and, tragically, four have lost their lives in custody.5 to silence views, expressed both online and offline, 3. Lao Official Gazette, Lao People’s Democratic Republic On the Promulgation of the Penal Code, (October 1, 2020), available at: https:// laoofficialgazette.gov.la/kcfinder/upload/files/1Oct2020_ Lao%20Penal%20Code_English%20version.pdf 4. Policing Law, Criminal Code of Vietnam, (November 27, 2015), available at: https://www.policinglaw. info/assets/downloads/2015_Criminal_ Code_of_ Vietnam_(English_translation).pdf 5. Radio Free Asia, Three years of misery in Myanmar, by the numbers, (31 January, 2024), available at: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/ myanmar/myanmar-coup-anniversary-01312024093417.html 14 Dawn of Digital Dictatorship: Weaponizing the Law Against Online Speech in Southeast Asia