ICT policy

Joint submission to the Ethiopian Communications Authority on draft telecommunications licensing regulations
Joint submission to the Ethiopian Communications Authority on draft telecommunications licensing regulations 30 June 2020 Various

On 17 June 2020, APC collaborated with other organisations to submit a contribution to the draft Telecommunications Licensing Directive No. 1/2020. In the contribution, we recommend the Ethiopian Communications Authority consider international recommendations, as well as best practices in other countries both regionally and globally.

Reflections on COVID-19 policy responses in Uganda and the relevance of the African declaration on internet rights and freedoms for promoting women’s rights online
Reflections on COVID-19 policy responses in Uganda and the relevance of the African declaration on internet rights and freedoms for promoting women’s rights online 29 June 2020 Amuku Isaac

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown why the protection of human rights online is more important now than ever before. The internet has been a gateway for access to critical information, services and opportunities available to many people for the first time, as noted by the GSMA mobile gender gap report.

Mask or muzzle: The impact of COVID-19 measures on digital rights in Kenya
Mask or muzzle: The impact of COVID-19 measures on digital rights in Kenya 29 June 2020 Francis Monyango

Upon the confirmation of the first COVID-19 case in Kenya, the government enacted various legislation to deal with the pandemic. While the measures were well intended, the manner in which existing laws have been implemented has caused some concern among civil society organisations.

Rights organisation VOICE calls on Bangladeshi government to scrap repressive Digital Security Act
Rights organisation VOICE calls on Bangladeshi government to scrap repressive Digital Security Act 28 June 2020 VOICE

Rights and advocacy organisation VOICE expresses deep concern over the arrest of journalists, online activists, teachers, students, writers and cartoonists, among others, under the Digital Security Act 2018, and urges the Bangaldeshi government to scrap the law.

Engage Media's Pretty Good Podcast: Discussions on digital rights in Asia-Pacific
Engage Media's Pretty Good Podcast: Discussions on digital rights in Asia-Pacific 25 June 2020 Sara Pacia for EngageMedia

The second episode of Pretty Good Podcast delves deeper into the Philippine court cyber libel ruling against journalists Maria Ressa and Reynaldo Santos Jr. of Rappler, a Philippine news organisation known to be critical of incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte.

Compulsory e-learning in Namibia’s public schools: A commendable idea marred by the digital divide?
Compulsory e-learning in Namibia’s public schools: A commendable idea marred by the digital divide? 24 June 2020 Nashilongo Gervasius

Cracks within the Namibian education system have been exposed by COVID-19, and the detrimental effects they pose to the right to development and access to knowledge, as set out in Principle 7 of the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms, have increasingly become apparent.

COVID-19 exposes the damage of the ex-regime’s empowerment policy on ICTs and the impact of US sanctions against Sudan
COVID-19 exposes the damage of the ex-regime’s empowerment policy on ICTs and the impact of US sanctions against Sudan 24 June 2020 Wala Mohammed

For decades, the internet has not reached all areas in Sudan proving the lack of real governmental effort to implement the principles of the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms. 

The  shrinking of the digital space during the COVID-19 pandemic: Movement building and internet governance in North Africa
The shrinking of the digital space during the COVID-19 pandemic: Movement building and internet governance in North Africa 23 June 2020 Sodfa Daaji and Rim Menia

The analysis of the sphere of movement building and internet governance in North Africa leads inevitably to assess the shrinking of digital space and online mobilisation during the COVID-19 pandemic in the region.

The gender digital divide and COVID-19: Towards feminist internet regulations in southern Africa
The gender digital divide and COVID-19: Towards feminist internet regulations in southern Africa 23 June 2020 Tina Power

The African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms and the Feminist Principles of the Internet advocate for an internet that is accessible, available, useable and affordable to all persons, without discrimination. Realising these principles has become increasingly urgent in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Privacy and the pandemic: An African response
Privacy and the pandemic: An African response 21 June 2020 Gabriella Razzano

COVID-19 has led to a surge of efforts by both state and private actors to manage the pandemic itself, and the consequences of it, with the aid of technology. Yet privacy has immediately been cast as a required trade-off in the efforts to combat the disease.

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