News: Access to information
No copyrights without human rights - APC joins the SOPA blackout
On January 18th, APC joined dozens of sites and organisations in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect-IP Act (PIPA) by blacking out. These two bills, if passed, represent an unprecedented threat to the open internet as we know it, with impacts felt far beyond the borders of the United States.
CSISAC Job Opening: Community Manager and Liaison to OECD
The Civil Society Information Society Advisory Committee Liaison (CSISAC) is seeking a community manager and liaison to act as a point of contact with the OECD’s OECD’s Committee for Information, Computer and Communications Policy (ICCP). The position is half time on a one-year contract. Candidates should be available to begin in February 2012, and should be based in Europe, ideally Paris. The deadline for applications is December 31.
Computer Aid seeks new Chief executive officer
APC member Computer Aid international is currently seeking a new Chief executive officer (CEO). The candidate must have previous experience in international development, and ideally information and communication technology for development. Find out more about how to apply. Deadline for applications is Tuesday, December 6 2011.
APC member Colnodo condemns anti-piracy law
“APC member Colnodo has issued a report about Colombia’s controversial “two strikes” bill. Under this law, file-sharers caught with copyrighted content can lose their internet connections or even face jail time.” See full article in Spanish.
Turkey abandons unpopular filtering software
Turkey abandons plans to install mandatory filtering software after months of widespread protest. The reversal of this controversial policy shows the power of determined advocacy.
London Riots: Social media does not cause social problems say APC and GreenNet
Following last week’s riots, British PM David Cameron said that his government is considering a crackdown on online communications. However he forgets that the same websites and phone networks were also used to locate friends and plan safe exits from trouble-spots. APC and GreenNet issue a statement.
Pakistan blocks sex, drugs AND rock and roll
Pakistani authorities have blocked Rolling Stone magazine’s website for criticising the country’s level of military spending. But other banned sites are back online, APC has been informed.
Sexuality 2.0: Online socialising and internet regulation
Experts from Brazil, India, South Africa and the USA will be presenting APC’s groundbreaking EroTICs research in Madrid at the VIII International Association for the Study of Sexuality, Culture and Society Conference on July 9.
Egypt: Court fines Mubarak and Vodafone for communications blackouts
APC welcomes the recent ruling of an Egyptian court that fined former president Mubarak and two of his aides $90 million for cutting internet and cell phones communications during the Egyptian revolution earlier this year.
Last week the G8, this week the UN: APC helps Access Now campaign in Geneva
Major international decisions are being made about the internet in the coming weeks – decisions that could affect the internet as we know it forever. This week the United Nations Human Rights Council will receive its first ever official report on freedom of expression online – and APC is helping deliver the message to the UN in Geneva.
APC welcomes ruling of Egyptian court
APC welcomes the recent ruling of an Egyptian court that fined former president Mubarak and two of his aides $90 million for cutting internet and cell phones during the Egyptian revolution.
APC breaks down the issues behind the Pakistan social media ban for Radio France International
On May 13 2011, the Lahore High Court in Pakistan ruled that Facebook and other websites were in violation of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws and should be banned in the country. Curious to understand more about this ruling, Clea Caulcutt of Radio France International’s Web Watch programme speaks to Grady Johnson of APC’s Internet Rights are Human Rights campaign to get a better understanding of what is at stake. Listen to the interview
Internet Rights are Human Rights, says APC at Human Rights Council
APC calls on the Human Rights Council to treat freedom of expression online as a human rights issue.
APC event at the UN Human Rights Council: Watch the video
As part of APC’s Connect your rights! Internet Rights are Human Rights campaign, APC is co-hosted a side-event at the Human Rights Council’s seventeenth session in Geneva on 3 June.
BREAKING NEWS: Social networking sites face ban in Pakistan
A new ruling by the Lahore High Court may result in a total ban of social media in Pakistan reports APC. Critics condemn the ban as unnecessary, unjust and ultimately counterproductive.
Human rights belong to people, not to networked computers
Former New Zealand human rights commissioner Joy Liddicoat has just joined APC to lead a new Internet Rights are Human Rights campaign. Although she is busy getting ready for Internet Governance Forum consultations on May 18-19, she took a few moments to talk to APCNews.
World Press Freedom Day - Take Back the Tech! to defend your right to communicate
On May 3 join a global day of action to defend our right to share information and opinions freely online – and be our own media!
New research on sexuality and the internet is an “eye-opener”
“It was an eye-opener,” says privacy advocate Gus Hosein when he talks about the findings from APC’s exploratory research on sexuality and the internet in Brazil, India, Lebanon, South Africa, and USA. And it’s given him some good ammunition with which to field those annoying radio callers who question the need for privacy online.
Pirated DVDs in a South African township mean access to culture and social inclusion
Although the political significance of piracy as a form of rebellion in South Africa has mostly dropped away in the post-Apartheid era, “the sharply racialised patterns of inequality and access to media have not,” says a new book that looks at the prevalence of media piracy, how it is organised, and why people buy pirated goods or work in the black market. The book collects case studies from various countries including a chapter on South Africa by APC. The case study of Hanover Park, a township outside Cape Town, reveals that watching pirated films brings families together. And more importantly, allows people with limited means the opportunity to access information and culture they would otherwise not be able to afford, bridging the social gap between the different social classes and making them be a part of a global conversation.
Media Piracy in South Africa
Poverty and social inequity in South Africa have shaped the development of media culture and distribution in the country. Low incomes in a country where one-third of the population lives on less than one dollar a day, high prices for commercial DVDs and Cds and a widespread advertising culture have created a high demand for media goods which are not easily obtained legally for the great majority of South Africans. Making pirated disks, books and online digital formats the desirable alternative. A new study on media piracy Media Piracy in Emerging Economies examines why piracy has come to be so widespread world-wide, the reasons why it persists and looks at the future. APC is the contributor for the South African chapter.
