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disappointment in the Anwar administration, which was expected to deliver on longpromised reforms before he came to power171. The government also used censorship against PAS as well. The Ministry of Communications and Digital revoked the media passes of reporters from the PAS mouthpiece, Harakah, which criticized the government’s weak support for Palestine in the current Israel-Gaza conflict172. In fact, social media censorship under Anwar’s administration is higher than previous administrations. Meta revealed that between July 2022 to June 2023, the company restricted access to more than 3,500 items in response to government requests173. Among the blocked content include those that are critical of the government, and posts considered as hate speech, and racially or religious- 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 ly divisive. The situation in similar with TikTok, which revealed that it received 340 requests from the government to remove or restrict content affecting 890 posts and accounts from January to June 2023174. As a Muslim country, the government issued a warning to TikTok and Meta against blocking pro-Palestinian content when the 2023 Israel-Gaza War broke out175. The government also threatened to take legal action against Meta for failing to remove content as requested, while demanding to meet with TikTok for better content moderation176. At the end of 2023, the government also reportedly proposed a registration framework for social media platforms in order to have better control of how the platforms operate in the country177. These actions indicate that censorship in Malaysia has intensified under the government of Anwar Ibrahim, raising doubts about its promises to reform the Communication and Multimedia Act. Azmi, Hadi. “Malaysia’s Civil Liberties Squeezed as News Portals Closed, Books Seized Amid Creeping Censorship: Report.” South China Morning Post, 6 Dec. 2023, www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3244035/malaysias-civil-liberties-squeezed-news-portals-closed-books-seized-amid-creeping-censorship-report. Tan, Ben. “PAS’ Ahmad Fadhli Claims Harakah Reporters’ Media Passes Revoked.” Malay Mail, 7 Nov. 2023, www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2023/11/07/pas-ahmad-fadhli-claims-harakah-reporters-media-passes-revoked/100812. Zulhusni, Muhammad. “Social Media Giants Respond to Malaysia’s Rising Content Restrictions.” Tech Wire Asia, 19 Dec. 2023, techwireasia.com/12/2023/meta-and-tiktok-confront-social-media-content-control-inmalaysia. Ibid. “Malaysia Warns TikTok, Meta Over Alleged Blocking of Pro-Palestinian Content.” Reuters, 27 Oct. 2023, www. reuters.com/technology/malaysia-warn-tiktok-meta-over-alleged-blocking-pro-palestinian-contentminister-2023-10-26. “Malaysia Says It Will Take Legal Action Against Meta Over Harmful Content on Facebook.” AP News, 23 June 2023, apnews.com/article/malaysia-sue-meta-undesirable-content-9c2d8b2201b80adb29e27208da4516ce. “MCMC to Prepare Framework to Facilitate Registration, Regulating Social Media, Says Fahmi.” The Star, 2 Dec. 2023, www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2023/12/02/mcmc-to-prepare-framework-to-facilitateregistration-regulating-social-media-says-fahmi. 52

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Annual Report: Digital Rights in Southeast Asia 2023-2024

Report

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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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