In Indonesia, digital rights under the Prabowo administration are increasingly at risk due to the expanding powers of the military and police. Several laws were amended in 2025 to facilitate this shift. Protests against the government, particularly in August 2025, highlight how Prabowo administration has failed to respect democracy and human rights. Digital tools were also used in the crackdown, during which security forces arrested a number of activists critical of the authorities online, claiming they were spreading narratives that could escalate tensions. Following the demonstration, TikTok suspiciously suspended its live feature and was compelled to hand over user data to the government after initially having its operations disrupted for refusing to comply. The use of political “buzzers”—state-hired cyber troops—continues under the Prabowo administration to serve the government’s political interests. In 2025, surveillance is also one of the main concerns regarding digital rights in Indonesia. The Attorney General’s Office reached an agreement with four telecommunications companies to install wiretapping devices, claiming it was for law-enforcement purposes. This raises concerns that the state is stepping up its surveillance efforts, especially given that alleged state surveillance has already been documented in Indonesia. In Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim’s government is pressing ahead with censorship, particularly of narratives related to the “3Rs,” which stands for race, religion, and royalty. The Communications and Multimedia Act and the Sedition Act remain in use to prosecute political dissidents, despite the 2022 election manifesto of Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan coalition, which promised to amend them. The government has also tightened control over social media platforms by automatically registering them in order to dictate how they can operate. A new law governing social media platforms, the Online Safety Act, was also enacted in May 2025. In 2025, Myanmar’s military junta was preparing to stage a sham election in an attempt to legitimize its rule. Following the 2021 coup d’état, the country had been plunged into civil war and transformed into a surveillance state. The junta has reportedly used Chinese surveillance technology to monitor online activities of political activists, and many individuals were arrested ahead of the election on the grounds that they were obstructing the electoral process. The Chinese technology was reportedly deployed through telecommunications companies operating in the country. A 2025 revelation showed that Telenor, a Norway-based company that exited Myanmar after the 2021 coup, had complied with the military’s request to hand over user data, including information belonging to Aung San Suu Kyi. The Cybersecurity Act was also passed, officially making it illegal to use virtual private networks (VPNs) to bypass the junta’s blocking of websites and applications or to evade surveillance. 8