Advocacy groups and analysts are urging the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to take a more robust and unified approach to regulating major technology platforms, following Meta Platforms’ recent US$18 billion settlement in the United States over allegations related to children’s mental health harms on Instagram and Facebook.

Meta agreed last week to implement a series of changes to its platforms, including default time limits and content restrictions, as part of a landmark settlement with multiple U.S. states. This development has intensified calls within Southeast Asia for Asean to establish stronger mechanisms to hold Big Tech companies accountable for scams, harmful content, and fraudulent advertising that proliferate across social media platforms.

Jocel de Guzman, co-founder of the advocacy group Scam Watch Pilipinas, emphasized the limitations individual countries face when addressing these issues alone. “For too long, countries like the Philippines have been dealing with the world’s biggest technology companies individually,” he said, calling for the creation of an Asean-wide framework to enforce platform accountability more effectively.

Experts said the Meta settlement bolsters the case for Southeast Asian governments to seek comparable safeguards tailored to regional circumstances, though they caution that the U.S. model may not be directly transferable. Asha Hemrajani, a technology policy expert and senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, noted that the settlement helped secure commitments from Meta and Roblox executives in Singapore, including enhanced age verification, parental controls, expedited content takedowns, and improved collaboration with law enforcement agencies.

These discussions gained urgency after a school shooting in Zamboanga on August 18 was reportedly live-streamed on social media platforms. The incident marked the second fatal school shooting in the Philippines in less than two months and underscored the potential real-world consequences of unchecked online content.

Despite optimism surrounding the new safety protocols, Hemrajani acknowledged their effectiveness is still uncertain. She characterized recent developments as a potential turning point, one that may encourage other governments to intensify demands for platform responsibility, with particular attention to communication services such as phone calls and SMS, where scams are prevalent.

However, current Asean guidelines on digital platforms notably exclude scams conducted via social media and over-the-top (OTT) services like WhatsApp, a gap highlighted by Alejandro Reyes, chief strategic officer at AI Safety Asia. He pointed out that the problem has increasingly shifted toward these platforms, underscoring a misalignment between existing regional frameworks and emerging threats.

Digital governance analyst Hafizh Nabiyyin criticized Asean’s reliance on non-binding guidance—such as public education and knowledge sharing—instead of enforceable regulations. Hemrajani concurred, noting that while Asean is unlikely to match the European Union’s legally binding approach, its existing frameworks, such as the Guideline for Digital Platform Regulation, set baseline measures including verifying the identities of online sellers.

Success stories from outside the bloc, such as Taiwan’s sharp reduction in scam ads following similar requirements, demonstrate the potential effectiveness of such measures. However, enforcement remains the responsibility of individual member states, limiting their collective impact.

Advocates like Noor argue for an Asean-wide framework to consolidate bargaining power against technology giants, some of which rival Southeast Asian economies in market valuation and revenue. Yet, numerous challenges complicate enforcement, including the economic dependence of the region on these companies, varying levels of exposure to online harms across member countries, and concerns over possible U.S. trade retaliations against governments perceived as targeting American tech firms.

As Southeast Asia grapples with balancing digital growth and consumer protection, the debate around platform accountability and technological governance within Asean continues to intensify.