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  • Writer's pictureManushya Foundation
    • Nov 23, 2022

#FreedomOnTheNet 🖥 Recap from Freedom on the Net: Unpacking Internet Freedom Trends Across SE Asia







#FreedomOnTheNet 🖥 Recap from Freedom on the Net: Unpacking Internet Freedom Trends Across Southeast Asia


📝 On November 21, Manushya Foundation, together with partners from Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, organized the regional launch of the Freedom on the Net 2022: Unpacking Internet Freedom Trends Across Southeast Asia. During the launch, we discussed key trends, challenges, developments, and specific cases of digital rights violations.


📌 Living under a digital dictatorship, all countries saw one clear, common threat, that is, the abuse of various laws against online criticism of the government or traditional institutions like the monarchy. However, each country has also experienced unique challenges in the past years.


🔇 Here are a few notable examples. Draconian prison sentences for those questioning the monarchy in Thailand remain a top concern for free speech online. Meanwhile, the judicial system in Myanmar makes it difficult to understand why an internet user might be charged for speech crimes. In Indonesia, journalists, and civil society actors were attacked online through hacking. Finally, artists were targeted in Malaysia for touching upon issues that are considered “controversial”, such as the royal family or LGBTIQ+.


#WeAreManushyan ♾ Equal Human Beings


✊ Manushya Foundation condemns all acts by state and non-state actors that erode online freedoms. We urge that those in power all over Southeast Asia refrain from abusing provisions on defamation, fake news, or content moderation to intimidate, harass, or prosecute its critics. Governments must comply with international human right standards on #digitalrights and #onlinefreedom!


➡️ Read our Freedom on the Net 2022 Thailand Report at: https://www.manushyafoundation.org/fotn-2022

➡️ Check out Freedom on the Net 2022: Countering an Authoritarian Overhaul of the Internet at: https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2022/countering-authoritarian-overhaul-internet


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