ASEAN Regional Coalition to #StopDigitalDictatorship the platform received 51 requests to restrict access to the two social media platforms and complied with 37 of them. They received 101 requests in the second half of 2022. There was a peak in requests in the first half of 2023, with 5,240 cases in total. Google reported 12 removal requests in 2020 and 81 in 2021, with a 43.7% compliance rate in the second half of 2021. We observe 62 requests for 2022. Like many other countries in Southeast Asia, there is a peak in 2023 with 66 requests only from January to June.78 Throughout 2020, Twitter received 13 requests to remove content on 36 accounts and complied with a little over 60% of them.79 A social media platform that did not record any requests to limit access or remove content between 2019 and 2022 was TikTok; however, in 2023, seven government requests to remove or restrict content or accounts were reportedly sent to the platform.80 Further, according to data from the SurfShark website, the Philippines has had a total of 584 account data requests from Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft between 2013 and 2021.81 The legal response to the blocking of Bulatlat, including a civil lawsuit and court orders against the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), reflects media organisations’ efforts to challenge online expression restrictions. This shows the ongoing struggle between independent media and state authorities attempting to control the narrative, particularly in politically sensitive matters. This also highlights how politicians and parties orchestrated harassment campaigns during the May 2022 election, undermining critics and the media. Exposing a broader pattern of manipulating public discourse during crucial moments, emphasising challenges to freedom of expression and the media’s role in democracy. Finally, data on content restriction requests from tech giants like Meta, Google, and Twitter offers a quantitative view of content moderation efforts, revealing evolving dynamics in online restrictions and the response of major platforms to government demands. 230 Dawn of Digital Dictatorship: Weaponizing the Law Against Online Speech in Southeast Asia