In an article published in the Daily FT on 30 June 2026, Attorney-at-Law and LIRNEasia Researcher Sachini Ranasinghe examines the Private Member’s Bill proposed by Opposition MP Faiszer Musthapha, which seeks to restrict social media access for children under the age of 16 in Sri Lanka. She argues that the key question is not whether children need stronger protection online, but whether Sri Lanka is proposing the right solution and has undertaken the groundwork necessary to make such legislation effective. 
In an article published in the Daily FT on 30 June 2026, Attorney-at-Law and LIRNEasia Researcher Sachini Ranasinghe examines the Private Member’s Bill proposed by Opposition MP Faiszer Musthapha, which seeks to restrict social media access for children under the age of 16 in Sri Lanka. She argues that the key question is not whether children need stronger protection online, but whether Sri Lanka is proposing the right solution and has undertaken the groundwork necessary to make such legislation effective. 
In February 2026, the Asia AI4D Observatory: A policy and innovation network on responsible artificial intelligence was launched with the support of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. LIRNEasia, East-West Management Institute, JustJobs Network, and EngageMedia, this three-year initiative will support Asia’s capacity to design, govern, and scale responsible (i.e., safe, rights-based, sustainable, inclusive, and context-appropriate) AI by generating actionable evidence, fostering regional learning and networks, and informing the development of inclusive AI policies and regulations across South and Southeast Asia. 
The ICRIER-PROSUS Center for Internet and Digital Economy (IPCIDE) had its annual conference in New Delhi on the 1st of June 2026 in New Delhi, India. LIRNEasia CEO Helani Galpaya participated in the opening panel and discussed the report. Her input focused on the implications of the report and its findings beyond India. 
This report on data protection in South Korea is part of the “Harnessing Data for Democratic Development in South and Southeast Asia” (D4DAsia) project, which aims, inter alia, to create and mobilize new knowledge about the tensions, gaps, and evolution of the data governance ecosystem, taking into account both formal and informal policies and practices. This report presents a focused case study of South Korea’s evolving data protection framework and its efforts to balance strong privacy protections with data-driven innovation 
This report on data governance in Nepal is part of the “Harnessing Data for Democratic Development in South and Southeast Asia” (D4DAsia) project, which aims, inter alia, to create and mobilize new knowledge about the tensions, gaps, and evolution of the data governance ecosystem, taking into account both formal and informal policies and practices. The report provides an overview of Nepal’s constitutional and governance framework and examines the laws, policies, and institutional arrangements that shape the collection, processing, storage, access, and sharing of data. 
LIRNEasia Policy Fellow Ashwini Natesan participated as a panellist at the Regional Dialogue on AI in Governance held on 19 February 2025 in New Delhi, India. The high-level discussion marked the culmination of a regional initiative delivered under Canada’s Indo-Pacific Engagement Initiative, in partnership with Humber Polytechnic and Social & Media Matters. 
This report on data governance in India is part of the “Harnessing Data for Democratic Development in South and Southeast Asia” (D4DAsia) project, which aims, inter alia, to create and mobilize new knowledge about the tensions, gaps, and evolution of the data governance ecosystem, taking into account both formal and informal policies and practices. The report provides an overview of India’s constitutional and governance framework and examines the laws and policies that shape the collection, processing, storage, access, and sharing of data. 
We are pleased to see the Government of Pakistan taking an important step toward strengthening data governance and public-sector transparency through the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication’s Request for Proposals (RFP) for the “Design, Development, Implementation and Support of the National Open Data Ecosystem (NODE).” t is encouraging to see long-standing discussions around data governance now translating into concrete policy action. This is an area that LIRNEasia Senior Policy Fellow in Pakistan, Muhammad Aslam Hayat, has consistently advocated for through his work on data governance, interoperability, and open data frameworks in Pakistan. 
After three years of collaborative research and engagement, the ‘Resisting Information Disorders in the Global South’ project has culminated in the publication of the report ‘Information Disorder and Resilience in the Global South: Structural Drivers, Governance, Media Literacy, and Fact-Checking.’ The report draws on evidence from across the Global South to examine the structural drivers of information disorder and assess regulatory and societal responses in Africa, the MENA region, South-East Asia, and Latin America. LIRNEasia contributed Chapter 4, ‘Empowering Children Against Misinformation: A Review of Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Interventions in Sri Lanka’, authored by Isuru Samaratunga, Research Manager at LIRNEasia, and Helani Galpaya, CEO of LIRNEasia. 
As Sri Lanka pushes forward with the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) across various sectors to drive development and innovation, a critical foundational question must first be addressed. What data will power these systems, and how will that data be governed? In a recent article published in the Daily FT on 6 May 2026, LIRNEasia Research Fellow Ashwini Natesan discusses the importance of grounding AI development in strong data governance. She highlights that before shifting focus to advanced algorithms and AI applications, Sri Lanka must first build a coherent and trustworthy data governance foundation by addressing how data is collected, shared, structured, and protected. She also discusses the legal and governance challenges emerging alongside AI development, particularly around the use of personal data and copyrighted material in training large language models (LLMs). 
In 1942, Isaac Asimov published a short story called Runaround, featuring a robot named ‘Speedy', sent to collect minerals on Mercury. Speedy, unfortunately, gets stuck in a loop: caught between two of his own programmed laws, endlessly circling a pool of selenium, unable to break free. The story gave the world Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. The genius of Runaround is that Asimov didn't use these laws to show what happens when robots work. He used them to show what happens when they don't. 
Even though the Constitution of the Philippines protects citizens’ right to access official records and research data used in policymaking, the absence of a comprehensive right-to-information law has left implementation subject to executive discretion. In a recent article published in InsiderPH on April 6, 2026, J.J. Disini, Country Researcher for the Philippines for LIRNEasia’s D4D Asia Project, highlights gaps in the country’s data governance framework despite constitutional guarantees of access to government information. 
The idea of turning Sri Lanka into a regional data centre hub is an attractive one, particularly in the context of growing global demand for digital infrastructure and AI-driven services. However, it raises important economic questions, especially whether this is a viable and high-return investment strategy for a small, fiscally constrained economy like Sri Lanka.
In an article published in the Daily FT on 24 February 2026, LIRNEasia Chair Professor Rohan Samarajiva questions the feasibility of this proposal, highlighting the significant infrastructure requirements and fiscal implications involved. 
Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming labour markets worldwide. In the Global South, however, these changes are unfolding unevenly, shaped by labour markets defined by high levels of informality, uneven social protection, and large skills gaps. Against this backdrop, the 66th Annual Conference of the Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE) hosted a panel titled “The Global South at an AI Crossroads: Labour Market Transitions Across Africa, Asia, and Latin America” on Monday, 19 January 2026, at Symbiosis International (Deemed) University, Pune. 
As Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to transform the world of work, its impacts in the Global South present urgent and unique challenges. Unlike advanced economies with formal labour markets and stronger safety nets, many countries in the Global South face high levels of informality, limited social protection, and unequal access to skills and digital infrastructure. These issues were explored at “Securing Labour Justice in the Age of AI: A Global South Policy Dialogue,” a pre-summit event held on 15 January 2026 in New Delhi as part of the lead-up to the India AI Impact Summit 2026. 
On February 26, Factum, with the support of the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI), officially launched a policy report titled “Online Safety’s Impact on Human Rights and Digital Governance.”As part of this launch, a panel discussion titled “Case for and Against the Online Safety Act” was organized. Ashwini Natesan (Research Fellow, LIRNEasia) participated as one of the panellists, alongside Prihesh Ratnayake (Research Specialist, Factum) and Benislos Thushan (Attorney-at-law and Development Practitioner).