Previous 8 / 111 Next

in March 2024. Meanwhile, Myanmar has descended into an intense civil war as resistance forces gained ground in key areas. The military junta continues to deploy various information technology-related strategies to suppress the pro-democracy movement. With different political dynamics, the state of the digital space helps describe the state of democracy in each country. Overall, there had been no significant improvement of the digital rights situation in 2023. This will be detailed further with the examination of three main areas, which are (1) legal and policy developments, (2) information control and manipulation, and (3) threats against critics and political opposition. the government to seize any operating system that is unable to mitigate any “cybersecurity threat or incident”1, while the NIG forms the beginnings of a system that mirrors China’s Great Firewall. These initiatives when combined will make censorship and surveillance in Cambodia more sophisticated and pervasive. Meanwhile, the Myanmar military amended the Law on Broadcasting and Television for the second time since the coup, as well as introduced an addendum to the Anti-Terrorism Act in order to intercept, monitor, cut off and restrict communications, and locate whereabouts of suspected “terrorists”. In 2023, the draft cybersecurity law which was circulated shortly after the coup remains pending. 1. Legal and Policy Developments Overall, the legal landscape relating to digital rights remains bleak in the region. Authoritarian regimes covered in this report—including Cambodia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Vietnam—further suppressed digital rights by enacting or amending repressive laws and legislation to increase government control of online space. Cambodia is pursuing its plan to enact a cybersecurity law after issuing the Sub-Decree on the Establishment of the National Internet Gateway (NIG) in 2021. Based on a 2022 draft, the cybersecurity In Singapore, the government adopted the Online Criminal Harms Act (OCHA) in 2023 to fill in the gaps from the Protection on Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) and the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act (FICA). The OCHA allows the government to order internet service providers and app stores to remove or block access to content suspected of being used to commit crimes, including crimes related to national security, national harmony, and individual safety. bill contains broad provisions that allow 1 Kelliher, Fiona. “Leaked Law Proposal Would Give Cambodia Expanded Powers to Censor Critics.” Rest of World, 10 Mar. 2023, restofworld.org/2023/cybersecurity-law-draft-cambodia-elections. 8

Select target paragraph3

● ● ●

Annual Report: Digital Rights in Southeast Asia 2023-2024

Report

Preview

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.

Link: source

Primary Documents

2023-Annual-Report-FINAL-1.pdf
English
Download View

Myanmar Internet Project

Select target paragraph3

Annual Report: Digital Rights in Southeast Asia 2023-2024

Primary Documents

Notifications