Asia

Will community networks change our approach to connectivity?
Will community networks change our approach to connectivity? 01 December 2022 APCNews

Communities from around the world have been demonstrating that they are not only capable of building solutions for the digital divide, they can also do it while seeding important social changes. Welcome to the 53rd monthly round-up of developments impacting your community-based initiatives.

The Hidden Codes that Shape Our Expression: Understanding How Social Media Algorithms Obstruct Feminist Expression and How Malaysian Women Navigate the Challenges
The Hidden Codes that Shape Our Expression: Understanding How Social Media Algorithms Obstruct Feminist Expression and How Malaysian Women Navigate the Challenges 01 December 2022 Serene Lim

This research intends to better understand the barriers and biases resulting from algorithms in women’s access to freedom of opinion and expression, and to examine how they navigate these algorithms to create the much-needed space to speak out, to be heard, and to occupy digital spaces.

#OurVoicesAtIGF: OVOF partners meet at the Internet Governance Forum 2022
#OurVoicesAtIGF: OVOF partners meet at the Internet Governance Forum 2022 17 November 2022 GenderIT.org

The partners in the Our Voices, Our Futures (OVOF) project will meet at the 17th Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Ethiopia on 28 November to 2 December 2022, to amplify the voices of structurally marginalised folks in six countries from Asia and Africa.

Disruptive technologies, surveillance as governance: Data (un)democracy in India during COVID-19
Disruptive technologies, surveillance as governance: Data (un)democracy in India during COVID-19 17 November 2022 Preeti Raghunath

India’s focus on a deterministic and ideological usage of technology to manage the COVID-19 health crisis has not only mismanaged the pandemic, but has pushed the country to contend with Orwellian realities.

A commitment to creativity: The online aesthetics of feminist labour
A commitment to creativity: The online aesthetics of feminist labour 15 November 2022 Zoya Rehman for GenderIT.org

This two-part series sheds light on how art and creativity play a key role in activism in Pakistan and provide the country's feminist movement and struggles with a prominent visual aesthetics on the internet.

Digital authoritarianism in Bangladesh: Weaponising a draconian law to silence dissent in the pandemic era
Digital authoritarianism in Bangladesh: Weaponising a draconian law to silence dissent in the pandemic era 10 November 2022 Zayed Siddiki

The COVID-19 pandemic provided the government with pretext to censor free speech, harass critics, and effectively curb dissent – accelerating what has been an ongoing turn towards authoritarianism in Bangladesh.

Navigating identities: Experiencing online violence as a Shia woman in Pakistan
Navigating identities: Experiencing online violence as a Shia woman in Pakistan 29 October 2022 Zoya Anwer for GenderIT.org

Shia Muslims are constantly at risk of being targeted with violence online and offline for their religious belief. And when Shia women and queer folks go online, they find themselves at risk of being targeted with abuse from multiple fronts as their two identities combine.

India’s Draft Telco Bill empowers governments to impose internet shutdowns
India’s Draft Telco Bill empowers governments to impose internet shutdowns 27 October 2022 Various

APC and the other signatories of this open letter urge the Department of Telecommunications to withdraw the Draft Indian Telecommunication Bill and to prepare a new rights-respecting version, in consultation with stakeholders.

International coalition calls for withdrawal of Draft Indian Telco Bill: Provisions threaten end-to-end encryption
International coalition calls for withdrawal of Draft Indian Telco Bill: Provisions threaten end-to-end encryption 27 October 2022 Various

APC and the other signatories of this open letter stress that India – as the world’s largest democracy, and second largest base of internet users – has an opportunity to draft an exemplary legislation that ensures the protection of human rights in the digital age.

A COVID-19 power grab: Looming digital authoritarianism in Indonesia
A COVID-19 power grab: Looming digital authoritarianism in Indonesia 25 October 2022 Damar Juniarto

In Indonesia, a rise in hard-line approaches to governance is heralding looming authoritarianism. The COVID-19 pandemic has provided the government there with the opportunity to further accelerate digital authoritarianism through online surveillance, censorship and online manipulation.

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