News
Three key issues for a feminist internet: Access, agency and movements
In this GenderIT.org edition, we have invited partners from our #ImagineaFeministInternet network to dive into the topics of access, agency and movements and weave in some of the conversations that took place at the second Imagine a Feminist Internet meeting in July 2015.
Attacks on social movements increase online, tech support comes to the rescue
Activist technology groups eQualit.ie and May First/People Link rally to mitigate DDoS attacks waged against Palestinian rights defenders and women’s and reproductive rights activists.
AlterMundi, APC's new member in Argentina: "Let's talk about extending the internet infrastructure"
AlterMundi is, in the words of its members, “a network of activists, working with people with no knowledge of networks or information technology so that they can construct and maintain their own
communications systems.” In March 2016, they decided to join the APC network.
Challenges to civil society participation in internet governance in the MENA region
This paper focuses on regional challenges to civil participation in internet governance and the state of internet rights in the Middle East and North Africa, linking them with civil society advocacy strategies.
What is the state of digital security and digital rights advocacy in the Middle East and North Africa?
During the “Arab Spring” of 2011, the internet was a space for mobilisation. Despite the increasing sophistication of persecution, the efforts to defend human rights, both online and offline, have not ceased.
Digital rights advocacy in the Arab world and the Universal Periodic Review
This report explores how local groups in the Maghreb and Machrek regions are engaged in internet-related rights advocacy at the national and regional levels, and how that reflects upon the inclusion of these issues in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process.
Point of View, APC's new member in India: “We're kindred spirits – we care about the same things”
APC welcomes Point of View as a formal member of the network. We interviewed Bishakha Datta, the co-founder and executive director of Point of View, to know more about their motivations to become members and their expectations.
Take Back the Tech! wins the 2016 Womanity Award for the Prevention of Gender-Based Violence
Take Back the Tech! campaign and Luchadoras/Sandia Digital (Mexico) won the 2016 Womanity Award for the Prevention of Violence Against Women. The TBTT campaign was selected by an expert panel including Womanity President Yann Borgstedt, Diana Barran, Chief Executive of SafeLives, Ceri Hayes, Director of Gender Matters, Abir Oreibi, CEO of LIFT, and Jane Seager, Counsel at Hogan Lovells LLP.
Digital safety in context: Perspectives on digital security training and human rights realities in the Arab world
During 2011, in the period dubbed the “Arab Spring”, the internet was a space for mobilisation. Since then, it has also become a space for oppression of activism and dissent. This research aims to highlight the links between the efforts of digital security trainings in the region with the human rights realities, focusing on two case studies: Morocco and Palestine.
How can the internet help realise the right to education? The South African case
As part of our research project Connecting your rights: Economic, social and cultural rights (ESCRs) and the internet, scholar Andrew Rens has produced a paper that focuses on the role of the internet in providing educational resources in South Africa.
RightsCon 2016: “A mandatory meeting on internet rights, but more global South perspectives are needed”
“While the perspectives of the global South do not yet fully permeate discussions in RightsCon, it is emerging as a space where they can be addressed, discussed and more fully understood.”
Joint UPR submission highlights women's rights and the internet in Uganda
“Ugandan women have the potential to be internet users who can champion different societal causes,” said Moses Owiny of WOUGNET, which joined with CIPESA and APC to draft a submission to Uganda’s second Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the Human Rights Council.
WSIS 2016: "On its own, internet access is not enough. Let's build greater social equality"
The WSIS+10 review process and its commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development offer a unique opportunity to focus on the interaction between technology and the various aspects of development.
“We need to take the African Declaration of Internet Rights to where the people are”
Nigerian internet rights defender Gbenga Sesan talks about the African Declaration on Internet Rights, youth and the importance of regional work.
Call for international solidarity with human rights in Sudan online and offline
On Wednesday 4 May 2016, Sudan will undergo a formal review by the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva. Sudanese human rights defenders and international civil society are urging all concerned actors to hold the government of Sudan accountable for ongoing human rights violations.
Private sector has responsibility to protect the right to free expression
As technology becomes increasingly pervasive in our daily lives, the policies of a broad array of private actors have an impact on freedom of expression in the digital age. APC welcomes the focus of the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression on the responsibilities of the ICT sector, and the opportunity to contribute to his study. While there has been significant focus on the impact of large, transnational companies, we wish to highlight other private actors whose human rights responsibilities are not as well understood.
Valeria Betancourt on the Ecuador Disaster Map: "The number of volunteers continues growing daily"
Over the past days, hundreds of people have used the Ecuador Disaster Map to report needs, requests and offers of help through text messages, email or the web, contributing to a crowdsourced map of the situation on the ground. APCNews spoke with Valeria Betancourt, head of the APC policy programme and one of the organisers of this initiative.
The government and the Association of Internet Providers block access to websites in Ecuador
A leaked document shows that the Ecuadorian government of Rafael Correa in collaboration with the private sector has the technical ability, and the willingness, to block and censor websites throughout the national territory.
Ending digital exclusion: Why the access divide persists and how to close it
In a new policy paper from APC, we unpack the underlying causes of limited connectivity, the shortcomings of current initiatives, and propose a set of policy responses to address the access gap.
Joint statement to Brazilian congress: Drop dangerous cybercrime bills
In this statement, the undersigned gathered at RightsCon Silicon Valley 2016, express their concern with the recent attempts by Brazilian legislators to undermine the rights guaranteed by the Civil Rights Framework for the Internet and their objection to the serious and unacceptable setbacks being proposed by the parliamentary Inquiry Commission on Cybercrimes.
