THE SOUTHEAST ASIAN COALITION ON TECH ACCOUNTABILITY

MISSION

Act together as a regional community to bring greater accountability from tech companies on human rights and democracy in Southeast Asia.

WHAT WE DO

1. The Role of Social Media Platforms in Politically-related Situations

Social media platforms play an important role in political life in Southeast Asia, especially during elections, periods of protest, and political referendums. Online activism also usually takes place on social media platforms. There are also situations where social media platforms take a course of action that serves to aid an authoritarian regime looking to maintain its grip on power. The SEACT tracks the role of social media platforms in politically related events and identifies problems and challenges with the aim of making social media platforms more accountable.

2. Censorship

Many examples of censorship of content created by activists and critics critical of an authoritarian regime have been documented. Typically, social media platforms censor content to maintain their business model inside a country, in order to make profits, or because they do not fully understand the local context. Some of those who have experienced censorship of their content or accounts do not receive any chance to appeal. The SEACT works systematically on this issue through a coalition model that aims to counter unfair censorship.

3. Countering Hate Speech

Hate speech can be harmful to human rights and democracy when it is used against a particular group of people or for political purposes. Although it has been an issue for a long time, efforts to counter hate speech on social media platforms across Southeast Asia are still limited. The region’s cultural and linguistic diversity makes identifying and countering hate speech especially complicated, but it is also an issue on social media platforms due to a lack of concerted effort and clear policies to counter it. The coalition’s work to tackle hate speech in the region includes both non-technical and technical approaches.

THE COALITION'S MEMBERS

  1. DigitalReach (Secretariat)
  2. Cambodian Center for Independent Media – CCIM (Cambodia)
  3. Cambodian Center for Human Rights – CCHR (Cambodia)
  4. Cambodian Journalist Alliance Association – CamboJA (Cambodia)
  5. The Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy – ELSAM (Indonesia)
  6. TIFA Foundation (Indonesia)
  7. Centre for Independent Journalism, Malaysia – CIJ (Malaysia)
  8. KRYSS Network (Malaysia)
  9. Free Expression Myanmar – FEM (Myanmar)
  10. Foundation for Media Alternatives – FMA (Philippines)
  11. Human Rights Online Philippines – HROnlinePH (Philippines)
  12. Singapore Internet Watch (Singapore)
  13. Internet Law Reform Dialogue – iLaw (Thailand)
  14. Viet Tan (Vietnam)

THE SEACT'S MEMBERS

The map shows the country of the member’s focused work in Southeast Asia