Asia is a poster child for multiple imaginaries: a laboratory for beta testing surveillance practices; a sandbox for new governance approaches; a shiny futuristic universe of gadgets and super-apps; a backward region with extreme data poverty and digital illiteracy. Yet most narratives treat Asia as a monolith. This all-women panel goes deeper, unpacking the specific ways in which datafication and platformisation across Asia are both enabling and challenging, and their implications for rights, entitlements, and consumer welfare. Highlighting recent legal and policy developments (in China, Pakistan, Singapore,
Sri Lanka and Taiwan), this session explores overarching themes of data and policy richness and poverty through multiple lenses – law, public policy, futures thinking, ICT research, and advocacy.
• What are the domestic and international drivers for new legislative approaches? How are consumer interests articulated and incentivised?
• How do women, youth and marginalised groups experience digital platforms differently?
• How do perceptions of surveillance and privacy help or hinder digital and civic participation?
• How does the state see its citizens and improve governance outcomes through data? Are privacy-preserving welfare programs unrealistic in emerging economies?
