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Thailand 2. Legal and Policy Developments The Move Forward Party received the most votes during the May 2023 general election in Thailand, garnering 14 million of the 39 million votes cast. MFP is a progressive party that was in the opposition during the government of Prayuth Chan-o-Cha in 2019 to 2023. However, the 151 seats that MFP won were not enough for the party to set up the government or for its prime ministerial candidate, Pita Limjaroenrat, to be elected to the post. The 2017 Constitution mandates that forming a government requires a majority vote of 375 from both houses of the National Assembly, including the 500 elected members of the House of Representatives and the 250 unelected senators appointed by the former military junta. The 2017 Constitution has been designed to keep Thailand under military influence, even after the junta known as the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) ceded power to a civilian proxy government in 2019. With 151 elected members, the MFP needed 224 more votes to set up a government. 319 320 During the first round of voting on July 13, the majority of senators abstained, resulting in the failure of the MFP to form the government. Despite widespread suspicion of a hidden agenda, the abstention was claimed to be because of the MFP’s campaign promise to revise the lèse-majesté law. The monarchy in Thailand is a politically sensitive topic in the country. The country has many conservatives who consider that the MFP’s proposal as disrespectful to the country’s revered institution. The lèse-majesté law or the Article 112 of the Criminal Code states, “Whoever, defames, insults or threatens the King, the Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished with imprisonment of three to fifteen years.” Due to its broad provision, the law regularly been weaponized to silence critics. According to the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, there are 287 ongoing lèse-majesté cases as of December 21, 2023319. The law is often used together with the Computer Crime Act (CCA), as most of the lèse-majesté offenses happen online. Even though the use of the law is a threat to human rights, the MFP’s lèse-majesté amendment proposal has led to a petition to the Constitution Court, accusing the party of violating Article 49 of the Constitution which prohibits the “overthrow the democratic regime of government with the King as Head of State”320. “Lèse-Majesté Law Cases From 2020 - 2024.” TLHR, 1 Apr. 2022, tlhr2014.com/archives/23983. “Charter Court Ruling on Jan 31 in Pita, MFP Case.” Bangkok Post, 25 Dec. 2023, www.bangkokpost.com/ thailand/politics/2712634/charter-court-ruling-on-jan-31-in-pita-mfp-case. 89

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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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Annual Report: Digital Rights in Southeast Asia 2023-2024

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