"Marking its launch the Digital Accountability Collective South Asia calls for stronger platform governance and user protection", 21 February 2025

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In January 2025, Digitally Right (Bangladesh), Digital Rights Foundation (Pakistan), and Hashtag Generation (Sri Lanka) convened in Colombo and the Digital Accountability Collective South Asia (DACSA) emerged from a shared commitment to address pressing concerns regarding platform governance, accountability, and the broader impact of existing and emerging technologies in South Asia. 

... The coalition aims to come forth as the first step in a wider South Asian collective that brings together the concerns and wealth of experience of three organizations who have been working on the ground to foster equality and safety in online spaces and hold tech platforms accountable.

DACSA expresses grave concern over the growing trend among social media and tech corporations to enact drastic policy changes, reportedly influenced by commitments to align with the current US administration’s priorities. These shifts, which include delegitimising fact checking and dismantling safeguards for marginalized communities risk exacerbating misinformation, political instability, communal violence, and democratic backsliding in regions like South Asia. 

The erosion of accountability mechanisms, including protections for gender and marginalized identities, blatantly disregards the severe offline consequences of online hate speech and discrimination. By outsourcing enforcement to flawed user-reporting systems and abandoning proactive safeguards, tech companies disproportionately burden vulnerable communities already grappling with systemic harassment and violence. Such actions reveal a troubling prioritization of corporate and political interests over regional safety and equity. We urge all social media and tech companies to halt this dangerous trajectory and engage meaningfully with civil society to develop policies that prioritize user well-being. In South Asia, where digital platforms increasingly dictate political discourse and public safety for millions, the stakes of these profit-driven experiments are intolerably high.