Vietnam also amended its Telecommunications Law, and proposed changes to the Decree No.72/2013/ND-CP (Decree 72) in 2023. As an addition to the 2019 Cybersecurity Law, the amended Telecommunications Law directs global and local social media networks to require the real identities of their users. The amendment of the Decree 72, a key law to regulate the internet in Vietnam, would require all service providers to authenticate user accounts by linking these with mobile phone numbers. Meanwhile, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, which are countries considered as more democratic, have also attempted changes to their cyber-related laws, although it is still unclear how these would result in improving digital rights. In Indonesia, the government of President Joko Widodo revised the Electronic Information and Transaction Law (ITE) in 2023 following the president’s order in 20212. However, the law still retained its broad provisions that can be used to criminalize free speech. The revision process was also criticized as opaque3. 2 3 4 Malaysia is still awaiting for the amendments to the Communications and Multimedia Act and the repeal of the Sedition Act that the prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, promised during the election campaign in 2022 4. However, the government issued pronouncements that the Sedition Law is still necessary to protect the central elements of Malaysian society, namely, race, religion, and royalty, or the “3R”. In practice, protection of the 3R has often been used to justify human rights violations, given their deep roots in the country’s power structures. Therefore, while claiming that amending the law is needed, excluding the 3R raises the question of whether free speech will be truly protected. Lawmakers in the Philippines meanwhile are aiming to criminalize “fake news”, ostensibly in response to the intensity of information disorder in the country. However, the criminalization of “fake news” is potentially harmful to human rights, based on the government’s previous record of using such a law against critics and the media. As 2023 ended, Thailand awaited a court decision on whether amending the country’s repressive lèse-majesté law is constitutional. The amendment to Article 112 of the Criminal Maulia, Erwida. “Jokowi Orders Cyberlaw Review as Libel Claims Soar in Indonesia.” Nikkei Asia, 4 Mar. 2021, asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Jokowi-orders-cyberlaw-review-as-libel-claims-soar-in-Indonesia. Nastitie, Denty Piawai. “Revision of the ITE Law Approved, Legalized, Loopholes in Criminalization Still Open.” KOMPAS.id, 5 Dec. 2023, www.kompas.id/baca/english/2023/12/05/en-revisi-uu-ite-disetujui-celahkriminalisasi-masih-terbuka. Thomas, Jason. “No Plans to Abolish Sedition Act Just yet, Says Ramkarpal.” Free Malaysia TODAY, 21 Mar. 2023, www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2023/03/21/no-plans-to-abolish-sedition-act-justyet-says-ramkarpal. 9