The 2026 Digital Rights Asia-Pacific Assembly is just one week away, bringing together over 500 human rights defenders, activists, policymakers, technologists, academics, and more from
In this edition, covering February 2026 to April 2026, it can be observed that the junta continues to enact new laws to justify further online surveillance, internet shutdowns and other forms of digital repression.
The Songs for Harmony team, formed under the Digital Spaces for Dialogue project, co-created the songs in the mini album which explores themes of kindness and social harmony through music and storytelling.
Drawing inspiration from the Filipino spirit of bayanihan, DRAPAC26 is co-owned and co-led by a coalition of organisations with years of experience advancing digital rights across the Philippines and the wider region. Get to know the organisations behind DRAPAC26.
After much anticipation and deliberation, the 2026 Digital Rights Asia-Pacific Assembly (DRAPAC26) programme is now live on our official website. DRAPAC26 takes place in Manila
On a July morning in 2024, Bangladesh’s internet went dark. This was no minor inconvenience. For freelancers, digital entrepreneurs, students, and families, the shutdown severed access to income, safety, and community. It underscored a deeper reality: internet shutdowns in Bangladesh are not technical disruptions, but assaults on rights and livelihoods, disproportionately impacting working-class communities and gig workers.
In an increasingly connected digital landscape, the internet offers young people connection and opportunity, while concealing serious risks. Teenagers navigating online spaces are often exposed to exploitation, harassment, and grooming that unfold quietly and out of sight.
Platform workers in the Philippines face exploitative and often invisible working conditions. Delivery platforms use algorithms to control work, reduce autonomy, and prioritise profit over basic rights. While gig work offers flexibility, it comes with unstable income, opaque systems, and limited legal protections, leaving workers vulnerable and excluded.
Transgender and hijra communities in Bangladesh navigate a world of invisibility and risk. Even after Bangladesh legally recognised a “third gender” in 2014, transgender and hijra communities continue to face entrenched stigma and discrimination, both online and offline.