[Rightscon 2025 Taipei] SEACPN on Content Moderation

Civil society and digital rights organizations established the South East Asia Collaborative Policy Network (SEA CPN) in 2023 to share experiences and strategies to promote internet freedom by developing the capacity of CSOs to engage with ICT companies (tech companies, ISPs and telcos), governments and ASEAN. We would like to open up collaborations with RightsCon participants. Online administrative censorship is on the rise in Southeast Asia. Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia implemented mandatory “notice-and-takedown” systems where criminal/civil liability is imposed on intermediaries for failure to take down or block websites when government agencies make the requests. We would like to discuss how we can work with tech actors to push back on censorship orders not complying with international human rights standards.

At the same time, social media trolls, often aligned with the ruling elites, are attacking vulnerable groups to shrink the latter’s freedom of speech, making it difficult to achieve substantive democracy. We would like to discuss how we can work with social media platforms in moderating these harmful contents to promote democracy. Current approaches to dealing with “hate speech” are not sufficient to protect human rights defenders and other vulnerable groups as content forcefully revealing and defaming HRDs can come in various formats. Civil society and big tech need to discuss more openly to develop effective moderation standards while also pushing back against censorship, especially with the proliferation of disinformation and harmful content in relation to the 2024 and 2025 elections in Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Host institution: South East Asia Collaborative Policy Network (SEA CPN)

Notes from the meeting:

Philippines does not have laws holding platforms liable and many pro-government trolls are using the loophole to engage “red tagging” which results in much violence and terror against human rights defenders and journalists.

Indonesia: law on takedown –> used to suppress mass protests

acted upon faster when trusted flagger requests moderation with platforms

collaboration works only on certain issues – child protection and public images

public policy related takedowns are not done.  

Vietnam:  freer China but war online – Internet is the only civic space. Vietnamese govt/propaganda – Cybersecurity 2018 aimed to target foreign tech companies – Facebook, Google popular – much commercial activity there

Gov’t trolls really big – Big techs, friends or foes? We need to engage big techs to point out those trolls.

Hanuk Cornelius: ASEAN no binding guideline on content moderation – 190 cases

Forum Asia

ASEAN information ministers – minimiz harmful effects of fake news

Meta Stopping Fact-check: Grace, a move to avoid duties under CDA

support CSOs on digital literacy, misinformation/

does not support CSOs by giving statements