ASEAN urged to tackle Big Tech accountability after Meta's $18bn settlement

Calls are growing for ASEAN nations to collectively crack down on Big Tech platforms that facilitate the spread of scams and harmful content. This push for regional accountability follows a massive legal defeat for Meta in the United States, signaling a potential shift in how Southeast Asian regulators approach digital oversight.

The momentum for this regulatory shift is spurred by Meta's US$18 billion settlement with several US states concerning the impact of its platforms on children's mental health. In response to this precedent, the advocacy group Scam Watch Pilipinas has urged the Philippines to prioritize platform accountability on the official agenda when it assumes the ASEAN chair in 2026.

The Regulatory Gap

Southeast Asia has historically operated with a fragmented approach to digital oversight, leaving the region vulnerable to coordinated scam networks and algorithmic harms. While individual nations have attempted local fixes, the scale of Big Tech's operations often exceeds the reach of single-country regulators. The recent US settlement serves as a catalyst for advocates who argue that only a unified front can force global platforms to implement stricter safety standards across the bloc.

The Challenge of Consensus

Despite the growing pressure, experts warn that ASEAN is unlikely to implement a regulatory framework as stringent as the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA) or Digital Services Act (DSA). The primary obstacle is the "ASEAN Way," characterized by a strict principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of member states and a requirement for consensus-based decision-making. These structural constraints make the introduction of legally binding, bloc-wide rules nearly impossible under the current charter.

What's Next

Attention now turns to the Philippines' upcoming leadership of the bloc. While legally binding mandates remain unlikely, the 2026 chair could still push for non-binding guidelines or a shared framework for information exchange regarding platform harms. Whether these diplomatic efforts can translate into actual platform changes remains to be seen, as Big Tech companies continue to navigate the region's complex and varied legal landscapes. The outcome will likely depend on whether the Philippines can balance the bloc's tradition of non-interference with the urgent need for digital safety.