The Citizen Lab - TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION

In early December, the government asked the Supreme Court to lift the TRO as it maintained the legality of the law and rejected accusations that it is trying to regulate or punish free speech. [...] The SCC was created following a direct order [Farsi] from the Supreme Leader to have “constant and comprehensive monitoring over the domestic and international cyberspace.” The council’s task is to supervise all entities [Farsi] involved in cyber security, including the Passive Defense Organization and the cyber departments of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and the Ministry of Intelligence an. [...] In Thailand, Maj Gen Bunjerd Tientongdee, the deputy director of the Department of Defence Information and Space Technology within the Ministry of Defense, stated that the military is concerned that the widespread use of social media “could lead to public misinformation” and increase the risk of cyber attack. [...] The government accused the websites of “publishing distorted and fabricated articles against the leadership”, a violation of Article 88 of the Criminal Code. [...] In Malaysia, social media as a political tool was embraced early by the opposition — the Pakatan Rakyat coalition — in the 2008 election and resulted in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition losing its grip on majority in parliament for the first time since the country’s 6 .