ASEAN and UNESCO urge digital governance to tackle online threats

Advancing the future of digital platform governance is vital to mitigating the growing impact of online threats such as cyberscams, experts said at the “ASEAN-UNESCO Multistakeholder Forum on the Governance of Digital Platforms” held in Bangkok on Tuesday.

Soohyun Kim, from UNESCO’s Regional Office in Bangkok and Office for UN Coordination for Asia and the Pacific, emphasised that leaders from across regions had come together under a shared conviction — that technology must serve humanity, not the other way around.

“Over the past day and into this morning, we have begun this essential work of weighing opportunity against risk, ambition against responsibility,” she said.

Kim illustrated the scale of the challenge by citing figures: “286 million, 117 million, 102 million, and 71 million. These are the populations of Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand. Now consider 3.2 billion, 3 billion and 2.7 billion. These are the user bases of the three largest digital platforms,” she explained.

She pointed out that a handful of companies now command audiences vastly exceeding the population of any nation, shaping how billions of people learn, communicate, and make decisions. 

Across Southeast Asia, she noted, digital platforms have become vital lifelines for disaster alerts, public health information, and livelihoods. Yet they also pose serious risks, as they can spread misinformation, deepen social divisions, and undermine accountability.

“It is already difficult to know what we can believe online, and the explosive growth of AI-generated content makes it even harder,” she warned. “The cost of inaction is measured in polarisation, mistrust, and the erosion of the very systems that sustain public life.”

She stressed that the question was no longer whether to govern digital spaces, but how. “The answer cannot come from governments alone, nor from companies alone,” she said. “It demands a whole-of-society approach — regulators and innovators, industry and academia, civil society and citizens — all working together in shared responsibility.”

By convening such discussions, ASEAN is helping to foster the cooperation needed to protect people and to participate meaningfully in global debates. Working with partners such as the European Union ensures that regional diversity aligns with universal principles, she added.

“For UNESCO, it is an honour to support this effort. Our Guidelines for the Governance of Digital Platforms, launched in 2023, and the UN Global Principles for Information Integrity, released last year, both call for governance rooted in human rights, transparency, accountability, and user empowerment.”

Kim concluded with three guiding questions for ASEAN’s deliberations:

• How can ASEAN cooperation reduce power asymmetries between global platforms and national regulators?
• How can online safety be strengthened without silencing plural and open spaces?
• How will we measure success — not by compliance alone, but by the trust of the people who use these platforms every day?

“At the core are two rights,” she said. “The right to be heard and the right to know. Protecting these rights will determine the integrity of elections, the safety of children online, the survival of independent media, and the trust that binds our societies together.”

“This forum is not about control. It is about building accountability, transparency, and trust. It is about ensuring that technology serves what unites us — the public good. And this forum is an important step on that path.”

Call for joint efforts against online scams

Chaichanok Chidchob, Minister of Digital Economy and Society, said that in an age where a single click connects people across borders, digital platforms now define how people live, work, and engage. “They have become the infrastructure of society, not merely tools,” he said.

“I believe the technology is no longer convenience and the systems are no longer just to improve our daily lives, but we now require it as a necessity and therefore security should be something that is given importance to” he said.

Chaichanok warned that with the rapid expansion of digital platforms comes growing risk — driven by fast-moving technologies, algorithms that operate as “black boxes”, the mass harvesting of user data, and the rising spread of scams, misinformation, and abuse. Across ASEAN, both governments and users face threats that transcend national borders.

“No single country or sector can tackle these challenges alone,” he stressed. “This underscores why the governance of digital platforms must rest on shared principles, multistakeholder participation, and above all, collective action.”

He emphasised that governments, civil society, academia, and users must each play their part. “Making digital platforms safe spaces while equipping users with digital resilience and literacy is essential. A genuine whole-of-society approach is vital.”

Thailand, he said, urges ASEAN, UNESCO, and the European Union to advance a joint programme on digital platform governance, starting with a strong push to combat online scams. “Scams are not only financial crimes,” Chaichanok pointed out. “They undermine trust, erode inclusion, and imperil the digital economy.”

He noted that the establishment of the ASEAN Working Group on Anti-Online Scams in 2024 and the endorsement of the Bangkok Digital Declaration at the fifth ASEAN Digital Ministers’ Meeting in January 2025 mark concrete steps towards a safer digital region.

“These milestones show that ASEAN recognises the threat — and that we must now move from dialogue to action,” he said. 

“Thailand stands ready to deepen collaboration by sharing policy frameworks, enhancing transparency obligations for platforms, coordinating across banking, telecoms, and law enforcement, and empowering users through literacy and awareness.”

He added that Thailand looks to UNESCO’s expertise in norm-setting and capacity-building, as well as the European Union’s experience in digital platform regulation, to guide and enrich the region’s approach.

“Our national efforts and regional agenda go hand in hand as we engage with the draft ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) and Digital Master Plan 2030. Our goal is an ecosystem that is transparent, accountable, and inclusive,” he said.

Looking ahead, Chaichanok revealed that he will lead the Thai delegation to attend the signing ceremony of the United Nations Convention Against Cybercrime during the upcoming high-level conference in Hanoi, Vietnam.

“This convention, the first global treaty on cybercrime, provides a comprehensive framework to strengthen cooperation, harmonise legal standards, and enhance cross-border efforts to address cyber threats,” he said.

“All in all, Thailand is honoured to walk alongside our partners, bridging global norms with regional realities with firmer resolve. Together, let us shape a digital future that is open, safe, and empowering for all,” he concluded.