India

As a part of the ITU's pandemic response, the platform REG4COVID was launched, providing a space for regulators and civil society to share their own initiatives. APC asked their community network partners to contribute to the platform, given the general absence of civil society input.

Because of the pandemic, India has been under lockdown since March. What does this mean for rural communities, only 20% of whom have access to the internet? Community networks established by organisations like Digital Empowerment Foundation are bringing critical services to 100 villages of India.

From 10 - 12 June, CYRILLA and APC hosted a Twitter campaign. The purpose of #DigitalLawsAsia was to explore the human rights impacts of digital regulation in South and Southeast Asia.

Over 50 days into the lockdown in India, migrant workers are still on the roads walking day and night to reach home one way or another. Lack of employment has left them high and dry with little to no support from the authorities.

This is a compilation of articles and other resources and initiatives featured by the Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF), an APC member organisation, in their latest newsletter.

In India, a discriminatory citizenship law has sparked widespread protests, which have been met with arbitrary arrests, excessive force and violence by the authorities. APC took part in a side event at the 43rd session of the Human Rights Council which addressed these human rights violations.

Availability and affordability of the internet have a major impact on whether women are able to access and use it. In this article, the authors explore what happens when community networks bring the internet closer to women and the small and big ways in which this changes their lives.

Launched in 2017, Skin Stories is known for publishing first-person narratives by people with disabilities, to bust harmful myths and tell complex stories about disability based on lived experiences.