Human rights
I've been taking time out to reflect on how the 'Information Society' is changing, the changing ways in which it's impacting on the wider world, the ways in which it interacts with other global challenges.
At the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) we are alarmed at the crackdown on Egyptian civil society, which has intensified over the past weeks amidst demonstrations calling for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to resign. Among those arrested is blogger, software developer and activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, a friend of APC and key figure in the 2011 uprising.
Content moderation online is currently done by most social media companies through a mix of automation (or what is sometimes referred to as artificial intelligence or AI) and human moderators. Automation deals effectively with certain kinds of content – but it is not a foolproof system.
Civil society organisations presented a joint statement at the 42nd Human Rights Council, noting significant outcomes and sharing recommendations for further consideration.
Southern African members of the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms Coalition took part in a strategy-networking meeting held in Windhoek, Namibia, where they stressed the need for advocacy for the respect, recognition and promotion of freedom of expression online.
As a technical person, I found the week-long school essential to having a good understanding of the governance side of the internet, which is different from running networks or conducting research on them. Topics related to digital rights, affordable internet access, internet history in Africa, sustainability, internet-related human rights, women and minorities’ participation, etc., were all ...
How can accessibility in rural areas of Africa be improved? What are the challenges for women and girls in terms of internet access? How are internet shutdowns affecting African users? These are some of the issues that Josephine Miliza, Sophie Ngassa and Amanda Manyame focus on, as African experts on internet access with a strong gender perspective.
APC has joined the Christchurch Call Advisory Network to help shape the direction of its implementation in a way that is grounded in human rights and takes a holistic approach, namely, by addressing the root causes of the problem and not just proposing technological fixes.
On 23 September 2019, APC participated in the Christchurch Call Leaders’ Dialogue at the UN General Assembly in New York as a member of the Christchurch Call Advisory Network.
Created in late 2018 by the UN General Assembly, the Open Ended Working Group on developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the context of international security aims to broaden the dialogue on cybersecurity among member states, and to a certain extent, other stakeholders.
Association for Progressive Communications (APC) 2022
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