Content moderation online is currently done by most social media companies through a mix of automation (or what is sometimes referred to as artificial intelligence or AI) and human moderators. Automation deals effectively with certain kinds of content – but it is not a foolproof system.
Southern African members of the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms Coalition took part in a strategy-networking meeting held in Windhoek, Namibia, where they stressed the need for advocacy for the respect, recognition and promotion of freedom of expression online.
Welcome to the 22nd monthly round-up of developments impacting your local access networks.
Connecting the Unconnected: Supporting community networks and other community-based connectivity initiatives
This project will contribute to an enabling ecosystem for the emergence and growth of community networks and other community-based connectivity initiatives in developing countries. It is part of a multi-year, multi-donor strategy envisaged to address the human capacity and sustainability challenges, along with the policy and regulatory obstacles, that limit the growth of community-based connectivity initiatives.
Challenging hate narratives and violations of freedom of religion and expression online in Asia
This project seeks to protect and promote respect for freedom of religion and expression on the internet, particularly by countering hate speech online on the basis of religion, and generating narratives and discourse that defend secular and diverse opinions touching upon religion. The three-year project focuses on five countries in South and Southeast Asia: Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Myanmar and Pakistan.
FIRN: Feminist Internet Research Network
The Feminist Internet Research Network is a three-and-a-half-year collaborative and multidisciplinary research project led by APC, funded by the International Development Research Centre. The project draws on the study “Mapping research in gender and digital technology”, and the Feminist Principles of the Internet collectively crafted by feminists and activists, primarily located in the global South.
Take Back the Tech!
Take Back the Tech! is a call to everyone, especially women and girls, to take control of technology to end violence against women. It is a global, collaborative campaign project that highlights the problem of tech-related violence against women, together with research and solutions from around the world. Take Back the Tech! leads several campaigns at various points in the year, but our biggest annual campaign takes place during 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (25 Nov - 10 Dec).
As a technical person, I found the week-long school essential to having a good understanding of the governance side of the internet, which is different from running networks or conducting research on them. Topics related to digital rights, affordable internet access, internet history in Africa, sustainability, internet-related human rights, women and minorities’ participation, etc., were all covered, in addition to a number of other panel discussions and lectures.
The multistakeholder model affords the AfIGF an opportunity to engage a variety of topics and issues that affect and impact citizens, governments, the private sector and end-users of the internet at their various levels. It is not just a talk shop, it is an opportunity to listen and to be heard, and to continue the discussion within the various stakeholder groups, nationally, regionally and globally.
The AfriSIG 2019 sessions were intense and highly engaging and delivered by the faculty in innovative and interactive ways. The participants were an awesome and exciting lot. This combination makes AfriSIG one of the most sought-after opportunities on the continent in the internet governance arena.
Columns
Inside the Information Society
David Souter writes a column for APC twice a month, looking at different aspects of the information society, development and rights. David’s pieces take a fresh look at many of the issues that concern APC and its members, with the aim of provoking discussion and debate. Issues covered include internet governance and sustainable development, human rights and the environment, policy, practice and the use of ICTs by individuals and communities.
The internet of memory: Stories from the APC community
What were information and communication technologies like in the 1980s and 1990s? What are the stories of the genesis and evolution of non-profit computer networks working for social change? Twice a month, this section will take a historical look at the APC community's journey of internet activism and make links to where we are now. Join Jennifer Radloff in this retrospective trip exploring the connections between the past and the present.
At the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) we are alarmed at the crackdown on Egyptian civil society, which has intensified over the past weeks amidst demonstrations calling for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to resign. Among those arrested is blogger, software developer and activist...
APC welcomes this opportunity to address the OEWG and participate in this informal dialogue with stakeholders. APC and its members are increasingly concerned about state security-centric approaches to cybersecurity policy and the exclusion of civil society from cybersecurity efforts.
A coalition of organisations, including APC, call on the Hong Kong authorities to refrain from the invocation of laws that would authorise the restriction or disruption of the internet and other means of communication and to ensure that the internet, including social media, remains open and secure.
APC condemns the prolonged and intentional disruption of communications services in Jammu and Kashmir by the government of India. Communications blackouts often precede other violations of human rights, and given the history of widespread abuse of rights in Kashmir, this is particularly worrying.
To document the benefits of, and challenges facing, small-scale, community-based connectivity projects, APC researchers visited 12 rural community networks in the global South in 2018 and studied a number of others through desk research and interviews.
Oral Statement Delivered during clustered interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteurs on the right to freedom of opinion and expression and on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association Human Rights Council 41st Session.
APC supports the call to the Myanmar government to immediately lift all restrictions on internet access and to restore telecommunication unconditionally to full capacity in the nine townships of Rakhine and Chin States.
The Feminist Internet Research Domains of Change diagram created and explored through the FIRN inception meeting is designed to provide a framework for research project planning that can identify and prioritise specific fields where impact can be made; identify strategies towards that impact by s...
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