The Asian region is in the eye of a perfect storm for a wholesale digital transformation, one that has been accelerated in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The region is home to two-thirds of the world’s population and a significant market base for dominant Chinese and US tech interests today. It also boasts of several home-grown tech hubs that have had enviable growth trajectories in the past decade. These developments have run parallel to digitally-led strategies within national policies of various countries to leap-frog systemic issues.
In our mini-series on Digital Futures in Asia, we explore the regional outlooks in the domain of finance and social media which are at a crucial conjuncture and stand to be wholly transformed through the process of digitalization.
Technology Governance in a Transitioning Political Economy
Sreekanth Mukku
This paper maps the vast array of fintech services transforming the finance landscape in Asia, studies the impacts of these transformations for social and economic equity, and outlines emerging issues of concern for policymakers with respect to the regulation of financial services and capital markets.
Read the full paper here.
Online Content Moderation: Scoping Out a Geographically Proportionate Response
Hatim Hussain
This paper assesses key challenges to content moderation, specifically in the context of cross-border content restrictions. By employing a normative lens and documenting diverse technical and legal approaches, this paper explores the challenges to online moderation of content online in four key areas: the absence of internationally-agreed-upon substantive and procedural frameworks, imprecise terminologies, difficulties in identification of illegal/illegitimate content, and remedies.
Read the complete paper here.