policy
It's a while since APC published my last blog from 'Inside the Information Society': nine months or so. Now feels like the right time to begin the blog again, but with some changes. Quite a few people have told me that they've missed this blog, which is gratifying. I reply that I've been taking time out to reflect on how the 'Information Society' is changing, the changing ways in which it's impacting on the wider world, the ways in which it interacts with other global challenges. I'll st...
Alternatives, an APC member organisation based in Montreal, is partnering with APC and other organisations that focus on the impact of technology on social justice and sustainable development to offer the opportunity to gain valuable experience in this field. APC, together with Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) and the Right To Know campaign (RTK), are hosting internships in South Africa for work focusing on internet-related policy and governance, privacy, and communications. The internships are ...
Some people view the future with excitement. Others look on it in trepidation. That’s especially so as we accelerate towards a digital society. To one side, cyber-optimists imagine a world in which technology cures all our ills and illnesses (some even think that it might conquer death). To the other, cyber-pessimists fear one in which we lose control to our digital crea...
The recently published white paper focuses on convergence of modern and traditional modes of communication, which is a big step in connecting the present to the future of information and communications technologies (ICTs). The use of data in formulating policies and monitoring progress is also a great step towards an evidence-based policy that measures progress within set timelines. Furthermore...
With the annual Internet Governance Forum (IGF) kicking off this week in Guadalajara, Mexico, we developed a guide for participants from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), identifying sessions on themes relevant in the region: human rights, security, trade, and the internet economy. Human rights: Threats to human rights online are ever growing and expanding. MENA governments are using any...
#MyNameIs. Photo by Gareth Gooch A group of NGOs (including APC) have sent an open letter to Facebook, in representation of individuals who have experienced harm as a result of Facebook’s “authentic identity” (commonly known as “real name”) policy. We invite anyone interested in joining efforts to sign this petition. Read the letter –
How does internet policy affect Maghreb-Machrek human rights defenders (HRDs) in their work? Who are the major players in internet policy and how can Maghreb-Machrek HRDs effectively engage them? These were the questions discussed at the regional seminar on freedom of expression, freedom of association and the right to the internet, held in Marrakesh, Morocco on 30 November and 1 December. The...
At APC we support the defence of internet-related human rights at a local, national and regional level. The Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch), developed in partnership with the Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries (Hivos), is a key element in this struggle. GISWatch is an annual report covering the state of the information society from the perspectives of civi...
This paper is part of a series of policy briefs on the mobile internet from a human rights perspective The mobile internet as new media The mobile phone is rapidly becoming media, both as a primary source for content and as a platform for delivery of content. With rapid changes in what a mobile phone can actually do, millions of people are using it to access the internet and to upload and distr...
