In 2023, the internet penetration rate in Southeast Asia reached 70 per cent, primarily due to pervasive smartphone usage and considerable enhancements in internet infrastructure across the region. Amid this rapid digital transformation in Southeast Asia, content regulation has become an increasingly pressing issue.

Southeast Asia must counteract the proliferation of harmful and illegal online content, including the ubiquitous dissemination of hate speech and the upsurge of AI-generated deepfake videos.

ASEAN member states have employed several strategies to govern information on the internet. Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia are adopting a whole-of-government approach to tackle disinformation by enhancing inter-agency coordination.

Southeast Asian governments have also embraced collaborations with external fact-checking networks, as exemplified in Indonesia, where the government has collaborated with domestic civil society organisations and the Google News Initiative. The world’s biggest technology companies have also partnered with think tanks, such as the partnership between the Centre for Strategic and International Studies Indonesia and Google to establish the Safer Internet Lab.

ASEAN has introduced several initiatives to combat harmful online content. This includes the ASEAN 2035 vision on the information and media sector and the ASEAN Guideline on Management of Government Information in Combating Fake News and Disinformation in the Media, which is a framework for member states to develop policies that effectively address disinformation.

But these initiatives alone are not enough to ensure a more secure online ecosystem in Southeast Asia. While authorities in the region understand that it is imperative their governments address misinformation, there has not been enough attention toward the urgent need to establish a more nuanced regulatory framework. Internet governance in ASEAN lacks such nuance and is devoid of key elements, including a clear categorisation of harmful content and concrete practical norms to tackle that content.

It is critical for ASEAN member states to establish a clear and unambiguous definition of harmful content found on the internet. Building common ground for regulating online content will aid in addressing any potential tensions that may arise between national-level regulatory frameworks and joint regional cooperation efforts. 

Harmful and illegal online content should be categorised by type, such as illegal hate speech, terrorist content and violations of intellectual property rights. These categories can be incorporated into the regional regulatory framework and later adopted into national regulations. Without a clear regulatory framework and guardrails to regulate online content, ASEAN risks allowing member states to exercise excessive control, surveillance and censorship of the internet, giving rise to digital authoritarianism.

Digital authoritarianism is already a problem in Southeast Asia. Across Southeast Asia, authorities restrict and remove content under the pretext of combating fake news and disinformation. This includes weaponising legislation intended to target fake news and misinformation to restrict freedom of speech, such as the Malaysian government increasingly using the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 to curtail freedom of expression. This is also the case with the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act in Singapore, which grants significant discretionary power to law enforcement. This creates a legal environment that can be detrimental to the freedom of expression.

The 2023 report by Freedom House revealed that in Southeast Asia, online content is highly susceptible to restrictions, including censorship by the authorities. The 2023 Freedom House report ‘limits on content’ indicator saw ASEAN states obtain an average score of 15 out of 35. Among the six biggest ASEAN economies, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia exceeded the ASEAN average score, while Thailand and Vietnam lagged behind. 

The poor scores on the ‘limits on content’ indicator among ASEAN member states significantly contributed to the subpar ASEAN performance on internet freedom in the 2023 Freedom House report. ASEAN member states, excluding Laos and Brunei which were not reported on, had an average total score of 42.22 out of 100 for internet freedom in the 2023 report, slightly down from its score in 2022 of 42.8.

Another challenge for content moderation among ASEAN member states is the need to stipulate clear rules to regulate digital services. This must go beyond reducing the dissemination of false online information, as provisioned in the 2024 ASEAN Guideline, to also include the control of harmful online content. ASEAN could mirror the EU Digital Services Act, which offers a comprehensive framework for classifying digital services into intermediary services, hosting services and very large online platforms, each with distinct regulatory obligations.

By implementing this approach to online content regulation, ASEAN can ensure that all digital services comply with rigorous safety and accountability standards. ASEAN must guide member states in establishing comprehensive measures at the national level to enforce accountability from technology giants and ensure their compliance with national regulations.

ASEAN member states should adopt rules which require platforms to conduct activities such as risk assessments, instituting measures to reduce risk, increasing transparency regarding content moderation methods and undergoing independent audits. For example, Southeast Asian governments could mandate transparency reports from major online platforms, which would include the content the platform has removed and the mechanism used to remove it. This approach has resulted in a significant decrease in the dissemination of disinformation within the EU.

It is critical that ASEAN member states enhance joint regional cooperation to bolster the spirit of togetherness. This would help the Southeast Asia region to create a safer internet ecosystem by balancing the regulation of online content and the protection of citizens’ digital rights.