GISWatch 2017 Special Issue – A study on laws criminalising expression online in Asia
Freedom of expression and opinion online is increasingly criminalised with the aid of penal and internet-specific legislation. With this report, we hope to bring to light the problematic trends in the use of laws against freedom of expression in online spaces in Asia.
In this special edition of GISWatch, Unshackling Expression, APC brings together analysis on the crim-inalisation of online expression from six Asian states: Cambodia, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan and Thai-land.
While the report mostly focuses on criminalisation, curbs placed on expression using laws, regulations and policies are also discussed in parts. These countries were chosen for closer study based on preliminary as-sessment. These six states have several socio-political characteristics that are similar and varied. They have largely similar legal systems, since India, Malaysia, Myanmar and Pakistan are former British colonies and follow the commonwealth system. These countries were also chosen keeping in mind sub-regional balance and to bring to the table a diverse experience with laws and violations. All these states, amongst many others, crim-inalise online expression for a variety of reasons, which they set out in their constitutions and legislations. In these country reports, the authors identify and analyse the reasons for which online expression is criminalised, from defamation to sedition, hate speech to blasphemy, national security to contempt of court.
With this report, we hope to expand this research to other states in Asia and to make available a resource that civil society, internet policy experts and lawyers can use to understand the legal framework domestically and to reference other jurisdictions
You can read and download GISWatch 2017 Special Issue: Unshackling expression – A study on laws criminalising expression online in Asia here. The report is available in PDF, Mobi and ePub formats.