1.2. Countering Online Attacks against HRDs and Advancing Digital Rights in Asia
1st November, 9:00 – 11:00 am, Room: Anggerik 1 & 2
Background: Digital rights vary significantly across Asian countries. While some countries boast robust legal frameworks safeguarding digital rights, others lag behind, offering limited protection or actively suppressing online freedoms through repressive legislations and measures. Government censorship and surveillance also remain prevalent in the region, with authorities conducting activities that harm people’s fundamental freedoms online. New laws continue to restrict freedom of expression (FoE) to silence critical voices protesting the status quo. The use of dis/misinformation, hate speech and smear campaigns continue to discredit marginalised groups and human rights defenders. The imposition of such restrictions leads to the judicial harassment of human rights defenders, civil society organisations (CSOs), journalists, and others. Additionally, tech corporations are playing an increasingly vital role in perpetuating such abuses in the region. They continue to evade accountability, often contributing to the proliferation of digital threats, especially among human rights defenders.
Given the widespread use of online spaces and social media in today’s world, its misuse can have far-reaching consequences on the FoE and freedom of assembly and association (FoAA) online. Addressing digital rights issues in such a climate is becoming increasingly imperative. In an effort to create spaces for collaboration among civil society and other stakeholders working on digital rights issues, this session aims to discuss ways to empower and strengthen civil society to fight digital repression and online attacks against human rights defenders, increase corporate responsibility of tech companies, and address the trend of shrinking online civic space in the region.
Objectives
- Provide a platform to build the collective knowledge base of CSOs by sharing digital rights issues in the region; and
- Facilitate discussions on ways to protect and promote digital rights, focusing on strategies, partnerships and initiatives that CSOs can undertake to counter digital repression and online attacks against HRDs, increase corporate responsibility of tech companies and address the trend of shrinking civic space in the region.
This post was originally published on FORUM-ASIA.
