This GISWatch special report collates civil society perceptions of the changes that have taken place in the information and knowledge-sharing society over the last ten years, capturing the kinds of shifts that have been experienced by communications activists and stakeholders in a rich and nuanced way. You can download the report in English, French and Spanish.

In his introduction to this year’s edition to Global Information Society Watch, which focuses on transparency and accountability online, David Sasaki explores the the double-edged sword of the internet as a tool for transparency, and how omnipresent observation by our peers can lead to greater accountability.

While hidden cameras can document and flag human rights abuses by authoritarian governments, these same videos can then be used to identify dissidents who are later detained and tortured, explains David Sasaki in his introduction to this year’s Global Information Society Watch, which focuses on transparency and accountability online.

APC and Hivos launched the 2012 edition of the Global Information Society Watch during the second day of the Internet Governance Forum that took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, in a joint presentation with the International Institute for Sustainable Development and the Internet & Society Co:llaboratory.

This second special edition is a follow-up to the 2011 Global Information Society Watch publication. It specifically maps themes and trends that emerged in the 2011 edition, and also follows up on the action steps suggested in the country reports to see how relevant they still are one year later. The publication is available for download.

GISWatch 2012 explores how the internet is being used to ensure transparency and accountability, the challenges that civil society activists face in fighting corruption, and when the internet fails as an enabler of a transparent and fair society.