With the aim of exploring internet shutdowns in the African region, the event brought to light stories of the shutdowns’ effects on human rights at individual, national and regional levels, and shared strategies and techniques to avert or lift them, including tech demos, pol...
Worldwide, women are significantly less likely than men to access the internet, and once online, they face greater risks of violence, censorship and surveillance. This is why APC works to create a more feminist internet – one that is built for and with women, girls and gender-diffuse people.
APC is gravely concerned that the Sudanese authorities continue to implement internet restrictions to prevent citizens in the capital from communicating, as protesters try to reorganise after a brutal crackdown by government soldiers that left dozens of peaceful demonstrators dead.
Connecting the unconnected: Supporting community networks and other community-based connectivity initiatives
This project will contribute to an enabling ecosystem for the emergence and growth of community networks and other community-based connectivity initiatives in developing countries. It is part of a multi-year, multi-donor strategy envisaged to address the human capacity and sustainability challenges, along with the policy and regulatory obstacles, that limit the growth of community-based connectivity initiatives.
Challenging hate narratives and violations of freedom of religion and expression online in Asia
This project seeks to protect and promote respect for freedom of religion and expression on the internet, particularly by countering hate speech online on the basis of religion, and generating narratives and discourse that defend secular and diverse opinions touching upon religion. The three-year project focuses on five countries in South and Southeast Asia: Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Myanmar and Pakistan.
FIRN: Feminist Internet Research Network
The Feminist Internet Research Network is a three-and-a-half-year collaborative and multidisciplinary research project led by APC, funded by the International Development Research Centre. The project draws on the study “Mapping research in gender and digital technology”, and the Feminist Principles of the Internet collectively crafted by feminists and activists, primarily located in the global South.
Local Access Networks: Can the unconnected connect themselves?
This project aims to address the following questions: Are local access infrastructure models a viable alternative to connecting the unconnected, and if so, what are the circumstances that make them successful? What are the benefits to the local community in terms of well-being, gender equity and social or economic development where connectivity infrastructure is locally owned?
In this last week there has been an uproar in support of lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer people in Ethiopia, and also a backlash of online threats, harassment and violence.
In numerous countries and at the international level, there is a vicious and concerted attempt to dilute the language around gender in policy and UN mechanisms, which targets any gains in gender equality and advocates exclusion of LGBTIQ people and restrictions on sexual and reproductive rights.
The rollout of the Huduma number is taking place all over Kenya. This piece traces the experience of one young woman, Nyangi, as she tries to get a card, and more broadly the problems and hurdles posed by the system of digital identity.
Columns
Inside the Information Society
David Souter writes a column for APC twice a month, looking at different aspects of the information society, development and rights. David’s pieces take a fresh look at many of the issues that concern APC and its members, with the aim of provoking discussion and debate. Issues covered include internet governance and sustainable development, human rights and the environment, policy, practice and the use of ICTs by individuals and communities.
The internet of memory: Stories from the APC community
What were information and communication technologies like in the 1980s and 1990s? What are the stories of the genesis and evolution of non-profit computer networks working for social change? Twice a month, this section will take a historical look at the APC community's journey of internet activism and make links to where we are now. Join Jennifer Radloff in this retrospective trip exploring the connections between the past and the present.
The Association for Progressive Communications and ARTICLE 19 strongly support the statement issued by the different United Nations bodies against the unwarranted punishment of Ola and join the manifested expressions of deep concern at the gaps in the legal process.
In 2018, the First Committee established two parallel processes to discuss responsible state behaviour in cyberspace: the UN Group of Governmental Experts and the Open Ended Working Group. This explainer offers human rights defenders the information they need to engage with these processes.
The undersigned organisations have expressed their very explicit concerns about the fundamental and human rights questions that will appear in the implementation of the obligations laid down on online content-sharing service providers by Article 17 of the new EU Copyright Directive.
APC stands in solidarity with Dr. Wairagala Wakabi, Executive Director of the Uganda-based Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), who was detained and finally deported upon arrival at the International Airport in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
7amleh – The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media launched its annual report on Palestinian digital rights. The report details violations by governments, authorities, international technology companies and Palestinian society.
The report touches upon various issues including violent and regulatory actions against the media, online censorship, the right to information regime, disinformation, internet disconnections, data protection, and legislative developments related to cyberspace.
APC joined African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX) members and other organisations that work to promote freedom of expression offline and online across the globe to express deep concern about the shutdown of social media platforms by the government of Chad over the past 11 months.
As negotiations at the Human Rights Council enter their final phase, APC and over 150 other civil society organisations join ISHR's call on all states and civil society to use the remaining days to work towards the adoption of a strong resolution on environmental human rights defenders.
Other APC sites
