Commons and Communication: Building an Asian Commons with the Internet

In an era where global conglomerates have monopolized the Internet ecosystem across infrastructure, platforms, and content, it is imperative to consider alternatives. The Internet of today has contributed to promoting violence in Myanmar, propagating fake news in India, censoring citizen voices in Hong Kong and South Asia, and succumbing to the influences of profit and political power. Nonetheless, within this hostile ecosystem, individuals have leveraged the same Internet and platforms for education, community building, and supporting human rights groups. More importantly, the Internet has enabled the unprecedented exchange of information previously unseen by humankind. This chapter aims to envision an alternative public Internet for Asia, harnessing the Internet’s potential to foster ‘commonality’ for all peoples of Asia. The chapter argues that a public Internet could be a transformative approach to solidify the concept of an Asian Commons, focusing on the shared use of symbolic and digital resources, and promoting information equality across Asia. The Asian Commons Internet presents a viable option for the collective stewardship of knowledge and information in the region, ensuring equitable access to media production, distribution, and consumption. The study relies on works of James Carey and Stuart Hall, along with the rich literature on practices of commoning, to argue for an Internet that facilitates the ‘common’ in communication rather than just a transfer of information. Further, we suggest practices of boundary commoning and subversive commoning, along with technology such as torrents as a possible praxis for bringing the common to life. Simultaneously, it is important to recognize the current commodified Internet as a site of struggle and aims to carve out spaces within this existing space to build communities towards the idea of an Asian Commons Internet! This chapter endeavours to outline the possibilities and advantages of such an alternative Internet framework, advocating for a people-driven digital future for Asia.