📲 Can you imagine showing your face & ID just to keep your social media account? That’s what the Philippines and Thailand are pushing for with mandatory social media account verification. While promises of “online safety” and “battling disinformation” look good on paper, we must treat it for what this truly is: an extension of state surveillance and a deliberate attack on political freedoms. As Manushya Foundation’s Digital Rights Advisor Jean Linis-Dinco highlights in our b

ICYMI: Meta launched another PR stunt in the form of its so-called 2024 Human Rights Report. In our latest opinion piece, Manushya Foundation’s Digital Rights Advisor Jean Linis-Dinco breaks down how Big Tech’s accountability theatre fuels exploitation, reproductive justice backlash, and genocide. 👉 Read the full blog here: bit.ly/MetaPRStunt #WeAreManushyan  ♾️ Equal Human Beings #Technocolonialism   #BigTechCensorship   #BigTechSuppression   #StopDigitalDictatorship

On 21 January 2026, four Thammasat University students were summoned by police for allegations of violating Section 112 and the Computer Crime Act. Their alleged “crime”? Holding a political satire banner on their own university campus. This case stems from a Facebook post by the Independent Political Satire Group of Thammasat University, showing banners expressing opinions on the monarchy. Authorities claim the banners constituted lèse-majesté because they allegedly coincide

On 11 December 2025, the Chiang Rai Provincial Court read out the Supreme Court’s judgment in the case of 32-year-old pro-democracy activist Mongkol "Bas" Thirakhot, sentencing him to 46 years in prison without suspension under Section 112 and the CCA. This marks one of the highest penalties in the history of cases under the Lèse-Majesté law. This ruling follows years of escalating punishment against Bas. Decades for Dissent: The Case Against Activist Bas Two cases (later mer

What’s happening in India? India ordered all smartphone manufacturers to preinstall Sanchar Saathi, a permanent state-run surveillance app that would appear on every new device. While they revoked the plan the week after, it does not erase intent. Sanchar Saathi was marketed as public service, but in reality, it was an attempt to normalise surveillance by embedding it directly into the device itself. What is Sanchar Saathi? Sanchar Saathi is a government app presented as a to

‘𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝘆𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲’ is this year’s theme, and it is all about small steps that we can take to protect ourselves from online threats.  We’re sharing some cybersecurity tools to help safeguard your digital freedom. Because in the digital era, 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲, it is deeply political. Cybersecurity matters for all of us, whether you’re an activist, a student, a worker, or si

#ฉันคิดถึงคุณ #𝗜𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗬𝗼𝘂 🫂 On this day, 2 years since activist and lawyer 𝗔𝗻𝗼𝗻 𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮 was unjustly imprisoned, we join...

🇳🇵𝗡𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗹’𝘀 𝗚𝗲𝗻-𝗭 𝘃𝘀. 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲: 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 #𝗡𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗞𝗶𝗱𝘀 🚨 𝗡𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗹’𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗲...

#NoWarCambodiaThai 🇰🇭🕊️🇹🇭 #NoWarThaiCambodia ✊🏽 #JointStatement 📣 The civil society coalitions under the South East Asia...

At #RightsCon 2025, as part of the ASEAN Regional Coalition to #StopDigitalDictatorship, we convened a powerful session:“Solidarity...

#DecoloniseTheInternet   🛜 We present the Post-Western Digital Rights #Manifesto. It is  a radical commitment to solidarity, equity, and justice in the digital realm. This is a living document, built by and for communities resisting digital imperialism. Digital spaces were meant to liberate us, but they’ve been hijacked for surveillance, control, and corporate profit. ✊ It’s time to reclaim technology for the people. 💥 Technology has the power to transform society, but only

🚨 #WorldDayAgainstCyberCensorship 📵🌐 12 March 2025—On World Day Against Cyber Censorship , let’s be reminded that #censorship thrives on obedience. 🔥 Reject it. Resist it. Speak louder.  🔥 📵 1. What is Cyber Censorship? The internet was meant to be a tool of liberation —a space for free expression. Instead, the ruling class and governments worldwide have turned it into a weapon of control. Governments shut down networks  📵, imprison dissidents  ⛓️, and erase truths  t

#DecolonizeTheInternet ✊ Throwback to #RightsCon 2025: Decolonising Digital Rights & Data!  🚨 Big Tech, colonial legacies, and state power are intersecting to suppress dissent, silence resistance, and erase histories. From Palestine to Myanmar, digital platforms are complicit in oppression—profiting from engagement while muting calls for liberation. At #RightsCon2025 , as part of the ASEAN Regional Coalition to #StopDigitalDictatorship, we convened powerful voices from margi

#StopDigitalDictatorship‼️ #SaveMyanmar 🇲🇲 #RejectTheJunta ❌ 📢 MYANMAR’S ILLEGAL JUNTA CYBERSECURITY LAW: ASEAN REGIONAL COALITION STANDS AGAINST DIGITAL DICTATORSHIP! The ASEAN Regional Coalition Against Digital Dictatorship stands united against Myanmar's illegitimate junta’s Cybersecurity Law No. 1/2025—a tool designed to silence dissent, tighten its grip on power, and crush the digital freedoms of the Burmese people. ❌ This illegal law is a full blown assault on democr

🌏 Last week, around 40 individuals representing over 15 languages, 10 Southeast Asian and other global nations, as well as a plethora of...