Freedom of expression
In the context of the Internet Governance Forum 2017 and growing international debates about the so called “fake news”, the undersigned organizations would like to express strong concerns about possible paths that the framing of the issue is taking. The terminology has been widely spread in rhetorics from the Global North, but we cannot import such a concept without taking into account the long history of media concentration and manipulation in Latin American and Caribbean region. Legitim...
This is the fourth study on internet rights by Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor (EMPOWER) under the APC-IMPACT project. It builds on EMPOWER’s previous research on online freedom of expression and freedom of information as well as freedom of assembly and association. It is a feminist response to increased instances of bullying and harassment on social media, seeking better understanding of how these forms of technology-related gender-based violence manifest in the Malaysian context.&nb...
What have our readers liked most during this year that is coming to an end? Check these stories out if you haven't had a chance to read them yet! What do we want to accomplish in 2017? For years, the internet has had a transformative effect throughout the world. Despite the increasing curbs on freedoms and rights, APC will continue to work on promoting access to a free and open internet to impr...
Shubha Kayastha interviewed research team including Sanchia Brown, Programme Officer at Women and Media Collective (WMC) Sri Lanka and Coordinator of EROTICS, Sri Lanka; Subha Wijesiriwardena, a writer and a blogger working on gender and sexuality project in WMC and also associated with Internews in a project which supports Freedom House which looks like strengthening local LGBTIQ (Lesbian, Gay...
This edition is an exploration of the multiple layers of the relationship between sexuality, rights and sexual expression and the internet. Does it open up new avenues and forums for expression, or does it expose people to more variations of the violence, abuse and harassment that we face onground/offline? And is this even a question to ask, since it is now inevitable that we are all embedded i...
Freedom of expression and opinion online is increasingly criminalised with the aid of penal and internet-specific legislation. With this report, we hope to bring to light the problematic trends in the use of laws against freedom of expression in online spaces in Asia. In this special edition of GISWatch, APC brings together analysis on the criminalisation of online expression from six Asian st...
With the introduction of 3G and 4G technology in the last couple of years, access to the internet has become easier and Pakistan has seen a drastic increase in internet users over the past year. Pakistan currently stands 11th globally in terms of cellular subscribers. As of September 2017, cellular subscribers were around 140.76 million, which according to Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) stood...
The crackdown on the use of secure digital communications in many parts of the world is very concerning. Many governments, including those of Australia and the United Kingdom, are threatening to legislate backdoors for law enforcement in encryption standards, which would substantially weaken security for everyone while increasing the likelihood of damaging attacks from bad actors. Recently, Tur...
The right to privacy plays a critical role as an enabling right for the exercise and enjoyment of other rights, as well as for the free development of an individual’s personality and identity. It also protects and enhances an individual’s ability to participate in political, economic, social and cultural life. It is to be noted with concern that any violations or abuses of the right to priv...
The submission was prepared after consultations and closed group meetings with civil society organisations (CSOs), media and academia in Pakistan. Around 30 individuals from these stakeholder groups attended the meetings. An extensive monitoring and desk review was also part of the methodology. The status of accepted recommendations by the state during the first and second cycles of the UPR was...
Association for Progressive Communications (APC) 2018
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