News

This section features articles that are meant to inform readers about perspectives, issues and debates around certain topics considered relevant within the ICT arena, as well as highlights about all those activities and themes that matter to the APC network and the spaces we engage in.

Local Access: Can community networks help people to harness the power of digital tools? 24 August 2022 By APCNews

Welcome to the 50th monthly round-up of developments impacting your local access networks and community-based initiatives. This month, we look at innovative community-centred connectivity models that enable communication while strengthening self-determination, and much more.

Botswana civil society organisations rebuff criminal procedures bill 23 August 2022 By Thapelo Ndlovu for Issue 1 of Southern Africa Digital Rights

The draft bill would have enabled surveillance abuse and privacy violations. The pressure that was brought to bear by various human and media rights organisations, and the international spotlight that it attracted, paid off and the bill was withdrawn and amended.

Eswatini passes cyber laws under dark clouds
Eswatini passes cyber laws under dark clouds 23 August 2022 By Ndimphiwe Shabangu for Issue 1 of Southern Africa Digital Rights

Since early 2021, the Kingdom of Eswatini has been gripped by waves of civil unrest, with reports of internet shutdowns implemented by the government in response to protests. It is in this climate of suspicion and unrest that cybercrime and data protection laws were gazetted in early 2022.

How the economically marginalised navigate digital adoption in India amid the pandemic
How the economically marginalised navigate digital adoption in India amid the pandemic 23 August 2022 By Vaishnavi and Anish Mishra

The push for digitisation during the pandemic – whether for health management or to keep daily activities going amid lockdowns – deepened the digital divide in India, since escalated digital adoption without adequate policy protections can exclude the already marginalised even more.

Vietnam’s Zalo Connect: Digital authoritarianism in peer-to-peer aid platforms
Vietnam’s Zalo Connect: Digital authoritarianism in peer-to-peer aid platforms 22 August 2022 By Trang Le

The Zalo Connect app in Vietnam connects users in need with private donors. But in doing so, it exemplifies a humanitarian trend that centres on extracting data from vulnerable communities as a precondition to receiving aid, protection and justice.

Data and online privacy under attack in Southern Africa: Showcasing the will and commitment of those fighting
Data and online privacy under attack in Southern Africa: Showcasing the will and commitment of those fighting 18 August 2022 By Frederico Links for Issue 1 of Southern Africa Digital Rights

African internet users remain resilient in the face of all manner of state-sponsored and private tech-enabled cyber threats and obstacles, and civil society actors continue to raise and amplify their voices even as spaces for free expression, online and offline, are squeezed tighter and tighter.

In Sri Lanka, state-sponsored disinformation and suppression of dissent taint COVID-19 response
In Sri Lanka, state-sponsored disinformation and suppression of dissent taint COVID-19 response 10 August 2022 By Harindrini Corea for EngageMedia

The Sri Lankan government has capitalised on the COVID-19 pandemic to further its authoritarian agenda, using digital technologies to reinforce a climate of fear and censorship.

PeduliLindungi: To care for and protect?
PeduliLindungi: To care for and protect? 04 August 2022 By Siti Rochmah Desyana for EngageMedia

In Indonesia, the PeduliLindungi app has become synonymous with the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet it poses an unprecedented threat while leaving citizens with little recourse to protect their data. This article is part of the "Pandemic of Control" series by EngageMedia and CommonEd...

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