Access Now
Access Now defends and extends the digital rights of users at risk around the world. By combining innovative policy, global advocacy, and direct technical support, it fights for open and secure communications for all. Access Now is a supporter of APC's African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG).
APC and other civil society organisations from around the world share reflections on the key outcomes of the 50th session of the UN Human Rights Council, as well as the missed opportunities to address key issues and situations.
APC and other civil society organisations are concerned that the gateway will supercharge the government’s censorship capabilities, allowing it to scale up its website blocking, and could generate self-censorship online among critical voices and independent media outlets.
As the final stage of the trialogue negotiations on the Digital Services Act (DSA) is approaching, ECNL, as part of the DSA Human Rights Alliance, is calling for the Act to truly comply with international human rights standards.
APC and other organisations believe the draft regulations are inconsistent with the international human rights framework, imperil people’s freedom of expression and right to privacy, and could put journalists, dissidents, activists and vulnerable communities, in particular, at greater risk.
The UN Human Rights Council will be discussing a draft resolution on human rights defenders operating in conflict and post-conflict situations. Our organisations call on the Council to ensure that the resolution clearly reflects the gravity and the reality of the situation defenders face daily.
The Committee on NGOs is entrusted with facilitating civil society access so that the expertise and experience of civil society partners can enrich and inform UN debates. It needs members committed to fulfilling this mandate in a fair, transparent, non-discriminatory and apolitical manner.
One year ago, as the Myanmar military sent tanks down the streets, it shut down the internet, mobile phone networks and radio and television channels. Today, the military is ramping up efforts to cement authoritarian control of online space. This is a digital coup, and the world must resist.
In this letter, APC and a diverse range of organisations from around the world reiterate what they consider the key characteristics of the UN Tech Envoy profile based on their experience and mandates as civil society groups working to improve inclusive internet governance and digital cooperation.
In 2020, Facebook (now Meta) commissioned the law firm Foley Hoag to conduct a Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) to evaluate its role in spreading hate speech and incitement to violence on its services in India. A year and a half later, the HRIA has not yet been released.
The undersigned organisations condemn the use of NSO Group’s Pegasus technology in El Salvador for the surveillance of journalists and civil society, as initially flagged by local independent media and confirmed through a joint investigation by global and regional civil society organisations.
Association for Progressive Communications (APC) 2022
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