(GVN) This article by Ronalyn Olea was originally published by EngageMedia, a non-profit media, technology, and culture organization, and an edited version is republished here as part of a content-sharing agreement with Global Voices. Digital technologies, policies, and other measures of control were enacted during the pandemic. Today, the majority of the Asia Pacific has returned to the “old normal,” but the surveillance mechanisms — technological, regulatory, and ideological — remain. This second compilation of the Pandemic of Control series focuses on the lasting impact of the COVID-19 crisis on digital rights and tells the continuing story of digital authoritarianism in the Asia Pacific.