Page 117 - The Ethics of ASEAN

Ethics of Freedom in ASEAN

A second point is that each and every speaker in this dialogue mentions as an
emerging challenge how social media has disappointed those who hoped to see this
new technology as a platform for freedom of speech. The consensus is that social media
presents real dangers for ethics through its algorithms that push online information that
feeds prejudices and hate in order to keep people on the platform. Worse still, websites
pushing fake news manipulate the choices of people in the democratic process. A year
on, what these panellists observe has continued and new technologies have become even
more challenging.
On the bright side, what we can observe over a longer period of time is the continuing
work being done by the ASEAN Secretariat to move the region towards a more integrated
rules-based ethics of freedom, despite the steps forward or backward of individual
nations. We can also see that what Ramos-Horta called the “pragmatic mindset” of
ASEAN’s older generation is less acceptable to the young generation, even though there
seems to be a gap between communication and taking action as youth representatives
had already observed in previous dialogues. While ASEAN’s youth may be disappointed
with the mindset of the older generation, this dialogue also presents living examples of
leadership ethics championing freedom and human rights.

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