This book examines the legal frameworks governing online safety in the Asia-Pacific, a region marked by diverse legal systems, rapid digital transformation, and varying levels of regulatory intervention. As cyber threats—including online harassment, misinformation, child exploitation, deepfake technology, cyberstalking, and personal data breaches—continue to escalate, governments across the region are busy strengthening their legal responses. While legal responses are ongoing, there is a scarcity of scholarly materials to analyse these responses from doctrinal and comparative legal perspectives.

By drawing on case law, legislative texts, policy reports, and interviews with legal experts, the book provides a multidisciplinary analysis of how governments in the Asia-Pacific will approach online safety regulation in the coming years. It also incorporates comparative legal tables, case law summaries, enforcement case studies, and graphical representations of regulatory models to enhance accessibility and practical relevance for readers.

As digital governance becomes increasingly complex, online safety laws in the Asia-Pacific will continue to evolve in response to emerging cyber threats and technological advancements. This book contributes to the ongoing academic and policy discourse by providing a systematic, forward-looking examination of the region’s legal frameworks. Through rigorous legal analysis and policy evaluation, the book offers crucial insights for shaping more effective, harmonised, and human rights-compliant online safety regulations in the Asia-Pacific.

Ridoan Karim is a Senior Lecturer in Cyber Law and the Deputy Director of the Centre for Commercial Law and Regulatory Studies (CLARS) – Malaysia Hub at the School of Business, Monash University Malaysia.

Dr. Karim has published extensively in leading peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, and monographs, and has presented his research at various national and international conferences. His broader research interests include just energy transition, the geopolitical challenges of energy, and sustainable financing for low-carbon investments. He has been actively involved in policy-driven legal research, serving as a consultant and fellow for projects funded by the Malaysian Prime Minister’s Department (BHEUU), the Ministry of Higher Education, the University of Malaya, and the Monash Data Futures Institute.

Recognised for his contributions to emerging legal research, Dr. Karim was awarded the prestigious Monash School of Business Excellence Award (Research) in 2022. He is also a dedicated educator, having played a pivotal role in curriculum development and pedagogical innovation, particularly in cyber law and fintech regulation.

Dr. Karim holds a PhD from the University of Malaya, an MBA from the University of Chichester, a Master of Comparative Laws (MCL) from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), and an LLB from BRAC University, Bangladesh.

Aashish Srivastava's research area is law and technology. He completed his Bachelor of Science, LLB and Diploma in Cyber Law from India. His PhD is from Monash University in the area of electronic signatures, which is published as a book by Springer. He has published several articles in the area of IT law in journals such as Information Technology and People, Journal of Business Law, Common Law World Review, Rutgers Computer and Technology Law Review, Computers Law and Security Review and International Journal of Law and Information Technology. Srivastava has also received a DFAT and several Monash University Internal Grants for furthering his research in e-commerce law, AI and Data protection and hazing.

Dr. Srivastava served as an expert witness in a legal case for the State of Georgia (USA) in 2024, providing a report and analysis on the validity and admissibility of electronic signatures in voter registration.

Dr. Srivastava is also an expert in applied policy research. His article, Framework analysis: a qualitative methodology for applied policy research, has been cited in more than 2000 papers (Google Scholar) and is regularly among the top 10 downloads on SSRN.

Dr. Srivastava has more than ten years of experience in teaching commercial law, marketing law and IT law to business students at Monash Business School. His research and supervision interests include e-commerce, cybersecurity, e-crimes and legal issues in cyber bullying.