BASELINE STUDIES

Foreign Interference Laws in Southeast Asia: Deepening the Shrinkage of Civic Space
Download Foreign Interference Laws in Southeast Asia: Deepening the Shrinkage of Civic Space reviews developments in laws that seek to curb the role of international actors and their support for CSOs that work on democracy and human rights issues. To set the context, the report examines the rhetoric of ‘foreign

Youth and Disinformation in Malaysia: Strengthening Electoral Integrity
Download Full Report Youth and Disinformation in Malaysia: Strengthening Electoral Integrity identifies the potential risks from disinformation that youths are likely to face in the 15th General Election (GE15) to be held latest by September 2023. A review of media reports and studies that referenced the last 5 general elections,

Internet Freedoms in Thailand
Download Full Report Internet Freedoms in Thailand reviews and analyses legislation that impacts internet freedoms in Thailand. These include provisions in the Constitution, Penal Code, the Computer Crime Act, the Cybersecurity Act, and the Emergency Decree. As this report shows, many provisions under these laws contain vague language enabling wide

MIL in Post-Pandemic Southeast Asia: Approaches to Measuring Effectiveness in the Academic Literature
Download Full Report Dr. James Gomez and Dr. Robin Ramcharan, Directors of Asia Centre, authored an article “MIL in Post-Pandemic Southeast Asia: Approaches to Measuring Effectiveness in the Academic Literature” in Thai Media Fund Journal. The article reviews scholarship on the effectiveness of media information literacy (MIL) to distil its

Thailand Computer Crime Act: Restricting Digital Rights, Silencing Online Critics
Download Full Report Download (in Thai) Thailand Computer Crime Act: Restricting Digital Rights, Silencing Online Critics reviews the provisions of the 2007 Computer Crime Act (CCA) and its 2017 amendment, as well as their impact on digital rights in Thailand. Containing harsh penalties and vaguely-worded provisions subject to extensive interpretation

COVID-19 and Infodemic in Southeast Asia
Download Full Report In the academic article “COVID-19 and Infodemic in Southeast Asia” published in Thai Media Fund Journal, Dr. James Gomez and Dr. Robin Ramcharan examine COVID-19 related ‘infodemic’ from 2020 to mid-2021. They take stock of how the ‘infodemic’ has adversely disrupted access to accurate public health information