Internet rights
Recent instances of the use of state surveillance apparatus for repressive purposes and prosecutions, compounded by a lack of data and online privacy protections and low internet penetration and usage, have heightened fears that the country is regressing in terms of safeguarding online rights.
Governments around the world have resorted to apps to restrict freedom of movement for the unvaccinated as part of their COVID-19 response. Some argue that the use of such tools drives up vaccination rates, but sceptics point out that these tools pose risks to privacy and digital security.
The roundtable is an opportunity to interact with the recently appointed UN Tech Envoy Amandeep Singh Gill, on the sidelines of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, about the Global Digital Compact process and other priorities on the global digital cooperation agenda.
This session will discuss human rights and media freedom in Ethiopia, invite questions about safety in the context of the recent conflict there and enable interaction between stakeholders, including the IGF Secretariat and Ethiopian IGF Committee.
This year’s edition of DataFest Africa brought to light a very significant conversation that needs critical attention: data use in the private sector and civil society organisations within Africa. Pollicy's JulietGrace Luwedde shares key learnings from the biggest data festival on the continent.
This joint stakeholder report focuses on key issues relating to human rights online in India, including internet shutdowns, digital exclusion, freedom of speech and expression online, online harassment and hate speech, privacy, surveillance and data protection.
The draft bill would have enabled surveillance abuse and privacy violations. The pressure that was brought to bear by various human and media rights organisations, and the international spotlight that it attracted, paid off and the bill was withdrawn and amended.
Since early 2021, the Kingdom of Eswatini has been gripped by waves of civil unrest, with reports of internet shutdowns implemented by the government in response to protests. It is in this climate of suspicion and unrest that cybercrime and data protection laws were gazetted in early 2022.
In the second installment of the Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) 15th anniversary series, Anriette Esterhuysen reflects on the birth of the project during her time as APC's executive director, as well as its evolution and longevity as a meaningful resource.
African internet users remain resilient in the face of all manner of state-sponsored and private tech-enabled cyber threats and obstacles, and civil society actors continue to raise and amplify their voices even as spaces for free expression, online and offline, are squeezed tighter and tighter.
Association for Progressive Communications (APC) 2022
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