Research

Freedom of expression is a universally accepted human right. As a signatory of the ICCPR, Pakistan has committed to uphold this right in the national constitution and through local laws. This report looks at how this right is framed in the legal structure in Pakistan and how it is practised, particularly in the digital spaces, by customising the APC-La Rue Framework.

India is a country of paradox. In the era of information revolution, while India stands ranked among the top five contributors of the people who are online, it is also one of the top countries where more than 80% of the people have no access to internet, while more than 70% of women in rural India do not have access to a mobile phone. Through this research, Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF)...

This report presents a summary of the most relevant events with respect to human rights and the internet in Latin America in 2015, and was launched at that year's Internet Governance Forum (IGF).

This report focuses on the provision of free internet access to communities in public libraries in South Africa. It has been prepared in response to a United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) review of the 2003 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Plan of Action commitments, with the aim of gauging the extent to which South Africa has met those commitments ten years after...

ICT policy makers and regulators from 14 Southern African countries comprising the Member States of the SADC region gathered in Johannesburg to discuss how infrastructure sharing strategies and policies can be used to improve broadband access in the region. Dveloping countries can save billions and speed universal broadband access by sharing telecom infrastructure (such as ducts, fibres and mas...

This paper addresses the relationship between access to the internet as a key to facilitate and enjoy ESCRs, comparing discourses surrounding internet access, and the frameworks to allow internet access as a right within the larger context of access to different economic, social and cultural rights. The second section summarises the analysis of internet access as a right, concluding with a list...

Turkey has come to the fore due to its conduct to ban world-famous websites, which undoubtedly targets not only websites with LGBTI content but freedom of expression in general. Restrictions on access to websites come in two ways: Blocking the content and bans on obtaining domain names.

What are the world’s governments thinking in the lead-up to the 10-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society? This report aims to inform stakeholder engagement by providing insight into 15 key government perspectives. The country chapter on South Africa was contributed by APC.