ICT policy

Joint statement by organisations urging United Nations Secretary-General to ensure the allocation of sufficient resources for the UN’s principal human rights body to be able to function effectively, so that it can continue to promote and protect human rights across the globe.

“Human Rights in the Age of Platforms”, published by the MIT Press, examines the human rights implications of today's platform society. APCNews interviewed Rikke Frank Jørgensen, editor of the publication, who provided insight on the reflections and recommendations captured in this book.

Privacy International issued an open letter to the CEO of Google parent company Alphabet Inc., asking Google to “take action against exploitative pre-installed software on Android devices.” The letter is both a caution and a call to action and has been endorsed by over 50 other organisations.

The answers, where they exist, on how to build people-centred AI that puts human rights first are certainly complex and often raise further questions. The launch of GISWatch at IGF touched on some of these key issues and it was a special opportunity to gather so many researchers and activists to explore paths for moving forward.

APC recognises the internet as a global public good, which should be governed in an inclusive, transparent, democratic and accountable manner. The lack of transparency, consultation and accountability around the proposed sale of .ORG is in stark contrast to the principles of multistakeholder governance that ISOC promotes in other areas of its work and operations.

The joint submission by APC and partners focuses on opening up the telecommunications market to smaller regional/local operators and community networks that fill the gap that large operators leave behind.

While pointing to the positive use of AI to enable rights in ways that were not easily possible before, this edition of GISWatch highlights the real threats that we need to pay attention to if we are going to build an AI-embedded future that enables human dignity.

Following a seven-year, windy journey, on 8 November 2019, Kenya got a data protection law. The Data Protection Act, 2019 has various positive elements and can go a long way in addressing the live issues in protecting the privacy of data in Kenya.