ICT policy
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.
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.
Earlier this month, the Jakarta State Administrative Court declared as illegal the internet shutdowns in Papua and West Papua enforced by the Indonesian government in 2019.
Al Munasq, a dangerous application launched by Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (COGAT) unit last year, violates Palestinians' privacy and can lead to other human rights violations.
Data protection in Africa can still be described to be in its nascent stage. Most African states do not have a data protection law. This paper by Tomiwa Ilori considers the status of data protection in Africa and the impact of public emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic on data protection in Nigeria, Senegal, Uganda, Kenya, Morocco, Tunisia, South Africa and Mauritius.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a need for solutions to “flatten the curve”. This essay by Rumbidzai Matamba and Chenai Chair employs the use of the South African government’s contact tracing initiatives to assess whether the social contract theory can be employed as a tool to justify privacy violations for public health.
In Zimbabwe, just like in many other parts of the world, prison is highly resented by society. This paper by David Makwerere tackles this largely unexplored subject on digital rights for prisoners.
In response to the growing incidence of cyber harassment on Kenyan online platforms, KICTANet conducted a study to highlight the struggles of those affected by it, who are often women. The purpose of this policy brief is to understand the nature of cyber harassment and the existing policy gaps.
The sudden and dramatic advent of the COVID-19 global pandemic caught the world by surprise and left many floundering for responses, none more so than those in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector: the policy makers, regulators and internet and other ICT service providers.
The House of Representatives has approved a controversial anti-terrorism bill and is rushing it through final reading. Human rights groups are condemning the grossly misplaced priorities of the Philippine Congress when the people are struggling with a global pandemic.

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