GISWatch by Association for Progressive Communications (APC)
Global Information Society Watch, 2024
Twenty years ago, stakeholders gathered in Geneva at the first World Summit on the Information So... more Twenty years ago, stakeholders gathered in Geneva at the first World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and affirmed a “common desire and commitment to build a people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society.”
This special edition of Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) considers the importance of WSIS as an inclusive policy and governance mechanism, and what, from a civil society perspective, needs to change for it to meet the challenges of today and to meaningfully shape our digital future.
Expert reports consider issues such as the importance of the historical legacy of WSIS, the failing multistakeholder system and how it can be revived, financing mechanisms for local access, the digital inequality paradox, why a digital justice framing matters in the context of mass digitalisation, and feminist priorities in internet governance. While this edition of GISWatch asks: “How can civil society – as well as governments – best respond to the changed context in order to crystallise the WSIS vision?” it carries lessons for other digital governance processes such as the Global Digital Compact and NETmundial+10.
Global Information Society Watch, 2020
The world is facing an unprecedented climate and environmental emergency. Scientists have identif... more The world is facing an unprecedented climate and environmental emergency. Scientists have identified human activity as primarily responsible for the climate crisis, which together with rampant environmental pollution, and the unbridled activities of the extractive and agricultural industries, pose a direct threat to the sustainability of life on this planet.
This edition of Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) seeks to understand the constructive role that technology can play in confronting the crises. It disrupts the normative understanding of technology being an easy panacea to the planet’s environmental challenges and suggests that a nuanced and contextual use of technology is necessary for real sustainability to be achieved. A series of thematic reports frame different aspects of the relationship between digital technology and environmental sustainability from a human rights and social justice perspective, while 46 country and regional reports explore the diverse frontiers where technology meets the needs of both the environment and communities, and where technology itself becomes a challenge to a sustainable future.
Global Information Society Watch, 2019
Artificial intelligence (AI) is now receiving unprecedented global attention as it finds widespre... more Artificial intelligence (AI) is now receiving unprecedented global attention as it finds widespread practical application in multiple spheres of activity. But what are the human rights, social justice and development implications of AI when used in areas such as health, education and social services, or in building “smart cities”? How does algorithmic decision making impact on marginalised people and the poor?
This edition of Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) provides a perspective from the global South on the application of AI to our everyday lives. It includes 40 country reports from countries as diverse as Benin, Argentina, India, Russia and Ukraine, as well as three regional reports. These are framed by eight thematic reports dealing with topics such as data governance, food sovereignty, AI in the workplace, and so-called “killer robots”.
While pointing to the positive use of AI to enable rights in ways that were not easily possible before, this edition of GISWatch highlights the real threats that we need to pay attention to if we are going to build an AI-embedded future that enables human dignity.
Action Steps: A decade of civil society advocacy in the information society, 2018
The purpose of this review was to look back over the past decade of country reports published in ... more The purpose of this review was to look back over the past decade of country reports published in Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) and attempt to identify trends in civil society perspectives on what needed to be done to create a people-centred information society. The period for analysis was, more accurately, just over a decade: 2007-2017, during which a GISWatch report was produced each year – a total of 11 reports. Over this period, 510 country reports covering 97 countries were published, a substantial record of civil society activism on information and communications technology (ICT) and internet rights. Over 1,900 advocacy recommendations – what were called “action steps” – were proposed by authors.
Global Information Society Watch, 2017
National and Regional Internet Governance Forum Initiatives (NRIs) are now widely recognised as a... more National and Regional Internet Governance Forum Initiatives (NRIs) are now widely recognised as a vital element of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) process. In fact, they are seen to be the key to the sustainability and ongoing evolution of collaborative, inclusive and multistakeholder approaches to internet policy development and implementation.
A total of 54 reports on NRIs are gathered in this year's Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch). These include 40 country reports from contexts as diverse as the United States, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Pakistan, the Republic of Korea and Colombia.
The country reports are rich in approach and style and highlight several challenges faced by activists organising and participating in national IGFs, including broadening stakeholder participation, capacity building, the unsettled role of governments, and impact.
Seven regional reports analyse the impact of regional IGFs, their evolution and challenges, and the risks they still need to take to shift governance to the next level, while seven thematic reports offer critical perspectives on NRIs as well as mapping initiatives globally.
Global Information Society Watch, 2017
Freedom of expression and opinion online is increasingly criminalised with the aid of penal and i... more Freedom of expression and opinion online is increasingly criminalised with the aid of penal and internet-specific legislation. With this report, we hope to bring to light the problematic trends in the use of laws against freedom of expression in online spaces in Asia. In this special edition of GISWatch, APC brings together analysis on the crimi-nalisation of online expression from six Asian states: Cambodia, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan and Thailand.
The report also includes an overview of the methodology adapted for the purposes of the country research, as well as an identification of the international standards on online freedom of expression and the regional trends to be found across the six states that are part of the study.
This is followed by the country reports, which expound on the state of online freedom of expression in their respective states. With this report, we hope to expand this research to other states in Asia and to make available a resource that civil society, internet policy experts and lawyers can use to understand the legal framework domestically and to reference other jurisdictions.
Global Information Society Watch, 2017
National and Regional Internet Governance Forum Initiatives (NRIs) emerged in response to the suc... more National and Regional Internet Governance Forum Initiatives (NRIs) emerged in response to the success of the first two global Internet Governance Forums (IGFs). The Tunis Agenda for the Information Society, the outcome document of the final phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), alongside the call for the creation of the IGF, served as the foundations for the model of bottom-up, multistakeholder internet governance. The first NRIs were set up in 2007 and 2008, and there are now close to a hundred initiatives, comprising national, sub-national, regional and youth initiatives, which organise autonomously and cooperate with the global IGF Secretariat. The importance of NRIs has increased throughout the years, as they have grown in number and their work has expanded in scope. They have acquired such relevance within the IGF that an NRI session was included in the IGF 2016 and 2017 main sessions agendas.
This year, APC has taken the initiative to compile two editions of Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) focused on the work of NRIs. While the main 2017 GISWatch annual report provides independent and analytical perspectives on the role of NRIs in internet governance broadly, the present companion edition, Internet governance from the edges: National and regional IGFs in their own words, aims to give voice and visibility to the stories of each NRI, share their experiences and achievements, and highlight their perspectives on internet governance
Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch)
The 46 country reports gathered here illustrate the link between the internet and economic, socia... more The 46 country reports gathered here illustrate the link between the internet and economic, social and cultural rights (ESCRs). Some of the topics will be familiar to information and communications technology for development (ICT4D) activists: the right to health, education and culture; the socioeconomic empowerment of women using the internet; the inclusion of rural and indigenous communities in the information society; and the use of ICT to combat the marginalisation of local languages. Others deal with relatively new areas of exploration, such as using 3D printing technology to preserve cultural heritage, creating participatory community networks to capture an “inventory of things” that enables socioeconomic rights, crowdfunding to realise rights, or the negative impact of algorithms on calculating social benefits. Workers' rights receive some attention, as does the use of the internet during natural disasters.
Ten thematic reports frame the country reports. These deal both with overarching concerns when it comes to ESCRs and the internet – such as institutional frameworks and policy considerations – as well as more specific issues that impact on our rights: the legal justification for online education resources, the plight of migrant domestic workers, the use of digital databases to protect traditional knowledge from biopiracy, digital archiving, and the impact of multilateral trade deals on the international human rights framework.
The reports highlight the institutional and country-level possibilities and challenges that civil society faces in using the internet to enable ESCRs. They also suggest that in a number of instances, individuals, groups and communities are using the internet to enact their socioeconomic and cultural rights in the face of disinterest, inaction or censure by the state.
GLOBAL INFORMATION SOCIETY WATCH is the first in a series of yearly reports covering the state of... more GLOBAL INFORMATION SOCIETY WATCH is the first in a series of yearly reports covering the state of the information society from the perspectives of civil society and stakeholders in the global South.
GLOBAL INFORMATION SOCIETY WATCH has three interrelated goals:
• survey the state of the field of ICT policy at the local and global levels
• encourage critical debate, and
• strengthen networking and advocacy for a just, inclusive information society.
The report discusses the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) process and a range of international institutions, regulatory agencies and monitoring instruments.
It also includes a collection of country reports which examine issues of access and participation within a variety of national contexts.
GLOBAL INFORMATION SOCIETY WATCH is a joint initiative of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and the Third World Institute (ITeM), and follows up on our long-term interest in the impact of civil society on governance processes and our efforts to enhance public participation in national and international forums.
Global Information Society Watch 2008 is the second in a series of yearly reports critically cove... more Global Information Society Watch 2008 is the second in a series of yearly reports critically covering the state of the information society from the perspectives of civil society organisations across the world.
Global Information Society Watch or GISWatch has three interrelated goals:
• Surveying the state of information and communications technology (ICT) policy at the local and global levels
• Encouraging critical debate
• Strengthening networking and advocacy for a just, inclusive information society.
Each year the report focuses on a particular theme. GISWatch 2008 focuses on access to infrastructure and includes several thematic reports dealing with key access issues, an analysis of where global institutions stand on the access debate, a report looking at the state of indicators and access, six regional reports and 38 country reports.
GISWatch 2008 is a joint initiative of the Association for Progressive
Communications (APC), the Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing
Countries (Hivos) and the Third World Institute (ITeM).
Global Information Society Watch 2010 investigates the impact that information and communications... more Global Information Society Watch 2010 investigates the impact that information and communications technologies (ICTs) have on the environment – both good and bad.
Written from a civil society perspective, GISWatch 2010 covers some 50 countries and six regions, with the key issues of ICTs and environmental sustainability, including climate change response and electronic waste (e‑waste), explored in seven expert thematic reports. It also contains an institutional
overview and a consideration of green indicators, as well as a mapping section offering a comparative analysis of “green” media spheres on the web.
While supporting the positive role that technology can play in sustaining the environment, many of these reports challenge the perception that ICTs will automatically be a panacea for critical issues such as climate change – and argue that for technology to really benefit everyone, consumption and
production patterns have to change. In order to build a sustainable future, it cannot be “business as usual”.
GISWatch 2010 is a rallying cry to electronics producers and consumers, policy makers and development organisations to pay urgent attention to the sustainability of the environment. It spells out the impact that the production, consumption and disposal of computers, mobile phones and other technology
are having on the earth’s natural resources, on political conflict and social rights, and the massive global carbon footprint produced.
GIsWatch 2010 is the fourth in a series of yearly reports critically covering the state of the information society from the perspectives of civil society organisations across the world.
GISWatch is a joint initiative of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and the Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries (Hivos).
The 2011 Global Information Society Watch report investigates how governments and internet and mo... more The 2011 Global Information Society Watch report investigates how governments and internet and mobile phone companies are trying to restrict freedom online -- and how citizens are responding to this using the very same technologies.
Everyone is familiar with the stories of Egypt and Tunisia. GISWatch authors tell these and other lesser-known stories from over fifty countries including:
PRISON CONDITIONS IN ARGENTINA Prisoners are using the internet protest living conditions and demand respect for their rights.
TORTURE IN INDONESIA The torture of two West Papuan farmers was recorded on a mobile phone and leaked to the internet. The video spread to well-known human rights sites sparking public outrage and a formal investigation by the authorities.
THE TSUNAMI IN JAPAN Citizens used social media to share actionable information during the devastating tsunami, and in the aftermath online discussions contradicted misleading reports coming from state authorities. Other countries include China, Iran, Lebanon and Pakistan.
“Written by internationally-renowned experts, the report brings its readers easy-to-read and yet comprehensive articles, many with policy proposals, on the most important challenges protecting human rights on the internet is facing today,” says lawyer Matthias C. Kettemann, co-chair of the Internet Rights and Principles Coalition. “The report's country studies –which are in turn saddening, moving, uplifting-- shed light on how the internet can truly be a catalyst for change – and how it can be misused.”
In his preface to the report Frank La Rue, UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression says “GISWatch 2011 offers timely commentary on the future of the internet as an open and shared platform that everyone has the right to access.”
GISWatch 2011 also includes expert reports from:
Egyptian blogger Ramy Raoof on the the role of the internet in the wave of recent social resistance in North Africa
Alex Comninos on revolutions and cyber crackdowns in the Middle East and North Africa
Ron Deibert (Open Net Initiative) on cyberwarfare and counter-terrorism: implications for an open and free internet
Joe McNamee (EDRI) on internet intermediaries - the border control guards who get to monitor and censor your content simply because they host your information
Ben Wagner on Who profits from restricting speech?
Global Information Society Watch 2011 Internet rights and democratisation - Focus on freedom of expression and association online | Published by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and Hivos
The Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) is a space for collaborative monitoring of implementation of international (and national) commitments made by governments towards the creation of an inclusive information society.
It focuses on monitoring progress made towards implementing the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) action agenda and other international and national commitments related to information and communications. It also provides analytical overviews of institutions involved in implementation. GISWatch aims to make governments and international organisations accountable for meeting the commitments they make through contributing to building a strong and sustainable global civil society policy advocacy network.
The GISWatch Reports are a series of yearly reports covering the state of the information society from the perspectives of civil society.
GISWatch is not only a publication, it is a process. The long term goal of the project is to build policy analysis skills and ‘habits’ into the work of civil society organisations that work in the areas of ICT for development, democracy and social justice.
Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) is an annual report focusing on issues affecting info... more Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) is an annual report focusing on issues affecting information societies around the world.
GISWatch 2011 looked at internet rights and democratisation, with a focus on freedom of expression and association online. This Special Edition picks up where GISWatch 2011 left off, analysing more than 60 country and thematic reports in order to better reveal and build understanding of the broad range of practical actions and strategies that activists are developing.
Five clear themes emerge. The first is a strong emphasis on the need for collaborative networking, online and offline, to build multi-stakeholder engagement that can contribute to protection of internet-related human rights. Key ingredients include building a collaborative network structure, effective engagement with internet rights issues, network diversity, open network infrastructure, clear roles and responsibilities, and connection to offline mobilisation.
Connected to this theme is the finding that although the internet is increasingly used as a space for dialogue and debate, democratic participation has not yet been fully realised and many groups remain marginalised both offline and online. There is a need to link online and offline democratic networks to build more meaningful and effective participation and to generate better internet-related public policy.
A third theme is that advocacy efforts are most effective when based on robust evidence and research, but that there are research and information gaps in many areas, which may hinder activists’ advocacy campaigns and drive the need for innovative awareness-raising strategies.
The continuing emergence and evolution of threats to internet freedoms is a major theme from the 2011 GISWatch reports, particularly around intellectual property laws, content filtering, cyber crime laws and anonymity. Strategies to resist these threats vary widely, but share a common element of being grounded in human rights and the use of rights to fight for wider social justice issues such as the need for the rule of law, affordable quality internet access, and freedom of expression. New forms of resistance are also emerging – for example, developing strategies for secure online communication to protect freedom of expression and freedom of association, including anonymity, particularly for women’s human rights defenders.
The fifth theme that arose out of the 2011 GISWatch reports was that in many countries, internet rights advocates have clear, positive policy programmes.
They seek to advance their objectives through concrete proposals in national and global policy spaces and through a mix of both online and offline strategies and actions. The policy proposals developed by local internet rights advocates are shaped by social, economic, environmental, political and other factors, but share commonalities.
These include an emphasis on multi-stakeholder internet policy-making processes; coherence; a balanced approach to internet policy that responds to national contexts while also linking to global policy issues; and an emphasis on innovation in remedies for internet rights violations.
The GISWatch 2011 reports highlighted a wide array of internet rights issues. We hope that this Special Edition will assist activists, civil society groups, human rights defenders, women’s human rights defenders and others, as well as the donors who fund them, to better understand the most effective strategies for practical resistance to threats to internet freedoms and the steps being taken to develop a positive internet rights and public policy agenda.
Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) is an annual report focusing on issues affecting info... more Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) is an annual report focusing on issues affecting information societies around the world.
GISWatch 2011 looked at internet rights and democratisation, with a focus on freedom of expression and association online. This Special Edition picks up where GISWatch 2011 left off, analysing more than 60 country and thematic reports in order to better reveal and build understanding of the broad range of practical actions and strategies that activists are developing.
Five clear themes emerge. The first is a strong emphasis on the need for collaborative networking, online and offline, to build multi-stakeholder engagement that can contribute to protection of internet-related human rights. Key ingredients include building a collaborative network structure, effective engagement with internet rights issues, network diversity, open network infrastructure, clear roles and responsibilities, and connection to offline mobilisation.
Connected to this theme is the finding that although the internet is increasingly used as a space for dialogue and debate, democratic participation has not yet been fully realised and many groups remain marginalised both offline and online. There is a need to link online and offline democratic networks to build more meaningful and effective participation and to generate better internet-related public policy.
A third theme is that advocacy efforts are most effective when based on robust evidence and research, but that there are research and information gaps in many areas, which may hinder activists’ advocacy campaigns and drive the need for innovative awareness-raising strategies.
The continuing emergence and evolution of threats to internet freedoms is a major theme from the 2011 GISWatch reports, particularly around intellectual property laws, content filtering, cyber crime laws and anonymity. Strategies to resist these threats vary widely, but share a common element of being grounded in human rights and the use of rights to fight for wider social justice issues such as the need for the rule of law, affordable quality internet access, and freedom of expression. New forms of resistance are also emerging – for example, developing strategies for secure online communication to protect freedom of expression and freedom of association, including anonymity, particularly for women’s human rights defenders.
The fifth theme that arose out of the 2011 GISWatch reports was that in many countries, internet rights advocates have clear, positive policy programmes.
They seek to advance their objectives through concrete proposals in national and global policy spaces and through a mix of both online and offline strategies and actions. The policy proposals developed by local internet rights advocates are shaped by social, economic, environmental, political and other factors, but share commonalities.
These include an emphasis on multi-stakeholder internet policy-making processes; coherence; a balanced approach to internet policy that responds to national contexts while also linking to global policy issues; and an emphasis on innovation in remedies for internet rights violations.
The GISWatch 2011 reports highlighted a wide array of internet rights issues. We hope that this Special Edition will assist activists, civil society groups, human rights defenders, women’s human rights defenders and others, as well as the donors who fund them, to better understand the most effective strategies for practical resistance to threats to internet freedoms and the steps being taken to develop a positive internet rights and public policy agenda.
Global Information Society Watch, 2012
GISWatch 2012 explores how the internet is being used to ensure transparency and accountability, ... more GISWatch 2012 explores how the internet is being used to ensure transparency and accountability, the challenges that civil society activists face in fighting corruption, and when the internet fails as an enabler of a transparent and fair society.
The eight thematic reports and 48 country reports published ask provocative questions such as: Is a surveillance society necessarily a bad thing if it fights corruption? and how successful have e-government programmes been in fighting corruption? They explore options for activism by youth and musicians online, as well as the art of using visual evidence to expose delusions of power.
By focusing on individual cases or stories of corruption, the country reports take a practical look at the role of the internet in combating corruption at all levels.
GISWatch is published annually and is a joint initiative by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and the Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries (Hivos).
This Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) special report by the Association for Progress... more This Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) special report by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) collates civil society perceptions of the changes that have taken place in the information and knowledge-sharing society over the last ten years. Available in English, Spanish and French, it responds to the opportunity provided by the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) +10 review, which will culminate in 2015. Using the both the WSIS Declaration of Principles (2003) as well as the Civil Society Declaration to the World Summit on the Information Society (2003) as a starting point, it captures the kinds of shifts that have been experienced by communications activists and stakeholders in a rich and nuanced way. The results are being used as input to the formal WSIS review process, as well as to strategise around civil society joint agendas and common positions. The report has been funded by the World Association for Christian Communication.
“The idea of multi-stakeholder engagement was very present at WSIS. It seems the idea that you can’t govern the internet without the inclusion of the voice of civil society was established [there].” —- Susana George, Philippines
“How much freedom of expression citizens have in practice differs greatly depending on the context. Governments like the economic potential of freedom of expression, but not the side effects.” —- Tapani Tarvainen, Electronic Frontier Finland
“In the post WSIS-era multi-stakeholderism is being used as a synonym for democracy, and is treated as an end in itself, rather than a means to an end. Civil society is expected to respond to any introduction of ‘multi-stakeholder participation’ with a sense of grateful victory, even when it makes no difference to existing power dynamics. What it should be, and can be, is a mechanism to help make policy processes more democratic and inclusive, but it does not constitute democratisation of decision-making processes on its own, nor can it be a substitute for such democratisation and inclusion.” —- Anriette Esterhuysen, Association for Progressive Communications, South Africa
“Generally things have gotten much more difficult, specifically with civil society organisations. Back in 2003, the WSIS Declaration sounded almost ‘of course’ – but today it sounds radical. It didn’t sound too radical 10 years ago – this is a sign for alarm.” —- Norbert Bellow, Internet Governance Forum Civil Society Caucus co-coordinator, Switzerland
This edition of GISWatch explores women’s rights and gender through the lens of information and c... more This edition of GISWatch explores women’s rights and gender through the lens of information and communications technologies (ICTs). It includes a series of expert thematic reports on issues such as access to infrastructure, participation, online disobedience, and sexuality online, as well as 46 country reports on topics like the rights of domestic workers, trafficking in women, participation in governance, child brides, and the right to abortion.
GISWatch 2013 shows that gains in women’s rights made online are not always certain or stable. While access to the internet for women has increased their participation in the social, economic and governance spheres, there is there is another side to these opportunities: online harassment, cyberstalking, and violence against women online all of which are on the increase globally. This GISWatch is a call to action, to the increased participation of women in all forms of technological governance and development, and to a reaffirmation and strengthening of their rights online.
GISWatch is published annually and is a joint initiative by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and the Humanist Institute for Development Cooperation (Hivos).
This report presents an up-to-date assessment of internet rights in Turkey, and has been prepared... more This report presents an up-to-date assessment of internet rights in Turkey, and has been prepared to coincide with the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2014 which is being hosted by Turkey in Istanbul from 2–5 September 2014. The IGF is a space that strives for a democratic and inclusive internet and this report assesses the Turkish government’s respect for international human rights standards in relation to freedom of expression online. The assessment is based on the La Rue framework[1] and focuses on internet regulation, internet access, blocking, surveillance, liability of internet intermediaries, criminalisation of legitimate expression, and cyber-attacks. The report concludes with recommendations for actions to promote and protect an open and free internet in Turkey
[1] The framework was developed by the Association for Progressive Communications and is based on the work of the former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression Frank La Rue. It is available online at: http://www.apc.org/en/system/files/APC_FLRFramework_20140620.pdf
Global Information Society Watch, Nov 10, 2014
Online surveillance, security and privacy are concerns that have been central to human rights act... more Online surveillance, security and privacy are concerns that have been central to human rights activists for years – but with the recent revelations by former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden of United States (US) government spying on citizens, the issues have reached global attention.
This Global Information Society Watch tracks the state of communications surveillance in 57 countries across the world – countries as diverse as Hungary, India, Argentina, The Gambia, Lebanon and the United Kingdom. Each country report approaches the issue from a different perspective. Some analyse legal frameworks that allow surveillance, others the role of businesses in collecting data (including marketing data on children), the potential of biometrics to violate rights, or the privacy challenges when implementing a centralised universal health system. The perspectives from long-time internet activists on surveillance are also recorded.
Using the 13 International Principles on the Application of Human Rights to Communications Surveillance as a starting point, eight thematic reports frame the key issues at stake. These include discussions on what we mean by digital surveillance, the implications for a human rights agenda on surveillance, the “Five Eyes” inter-government surveillance network led by the US, cyber security, and the role of intermediaries.
These reports are published at a critical time: they show how rampant government surveillance is across the world, and how business is often complicit in this. They suggest action steps that civil society can take to push for a human rights framework for internet governance – and to expose what until now has remained hidden.
GISWatch is published annually and is a joint initiative by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and the Humanist Institute for Development Cooperation (Hivos).
Feminist internet research network (FIRN) by Association for Progressive Communications (APC)
Feminist Internet Research Network (FIRN), 2023
Digital gender-based violence has been the topic of many studies in Türkiye, and yet only a few o... more Digital gender-based violence has been the topic of many studies in Türkiye, and yet only a few of those have evaluated the issue through a queer feminist perspective. The negative online experiences of LGBTQI+ are therefore often neglected. By uncovering these neglected experiences, the research explores the digital violence targeted against LGBTQI+ users. Through a mixed methodology, the study aims to understand the dynamics of digital gender-based violence. In a political context where laws act against gender equality and against the LGBTQI+ communities, the study offers possible strategies and recommendations to all the parties involved in the protection and prevention of digital violence including LGBTQI+ organisations, human rights organisations, the relevant digital platforms and the LGBTQI+ community as a whole.
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GISWatch by Association for Progressive Communications (APC)
This special edition of Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) considers the importance of WSIS as an inclusive policy and governance mechanism, and what, from a civil society perspective, needs to change for it to meet the challenges of today and to meaningfully shape our digital future.
Expert reports consider issues such as the importance of the historical legacy of WSIS, the failing multistakeholder system and how it can be revived, financing mechanisms for local access, the digital inequality paradox, why a digital justice framing matters in the context of mass digitalisation, and feminist priorities in internet governance. While this edition of GISWatch asks: “How can civil society – as well as governments – best respond to the changed context in order to crystallise the WSIS vision?” it carries lessons for other digital governance processes such as the Global Digital Compact and NETmundial+10.
This edition of Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) seeks to understand the constructive role that technology can play in confronting the crises. It disrupts the normative understanding of technology being an easy panacea to the planet’s environmental challenges and suggests that a nuanced and contextual use of technology is necessary for real sustainability to be achieved. A series of thematic reports frame different aspects of the relationship between digital technology and environmental sustainability from a human rights and social justice perspective, while 46 country and regional reports explore the diverse frontiers where technology meets the needs of both the environment and communities, and where technology itself becomes a challenge to a sustainable future.
This edition of Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) provides a perspective from the global South on the application of AI to our everyday lives. It includes 40 country reports from countries as diverse as Benin, Argentina, India, Russia and Ukraine, as well as three regional reports. These are framed by eight thematic reports dealing with topics such as data governance, food sovereignty, AI in the workplace, and so-called “killer robots”.
While pointing to the positive use of AI to enable rights in ways that were not easily possible before, this edition of GISWatch highlights the real threats that we need to pay attention to if we are going to build an AI-embedded future that enables human dignity.
A total of 54 reports on NRIs are gathered in this year's Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch). These include 40 country reports from contexts as diverse as the United States, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Pakistan, the Republic of Korea and Colombia.
The country reports are rich in approach and style and highlight several challenges faced by activists organising and participating in national IGFs, including broadening stakeholder participation, capacity building, the unsettled role of governments, and impact.
Seven regional reports analyse the impact of regional IGFs, their evolution and challenges, and the risks they still need to take to shift governance to the next level, while seven thematic reports offer critical perspectives on NRIs as well as mapping initiatives globally.
The report also includes an overview of the methodology adapted for the purposes of the country research, as well as an identification of the international standards on online freedom of expression and the regional trends to be found across the six states that are part of the study.
This is followed by the country reports, which expound on the state of online freedom of expression in their respective states. With this report, we hope to expand this research to other states in Asia and to make available a resource that civil society, internet policy experts and lawyers can use to understand the legal framework domestically and to reference other jurisdictions.
This year, APC has taken the initiative to compile two editions of Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) focused on the work of NRIs. While the main 2017 GISWatch annual report provides independent and analytical perspectives on the role of NRIs in internet governance broadly, the present companion edition, Internet governance from the edges: National and regional IGFs in their own words, aims to give voice and visibility to the stories of each NRI, share their experiences and achievements, and highlight their perspectives on internet governance
Ten thematic reports frame the country reports. These deal both with overarching concerns when it comes to ESCRs and the internet – such as institutional frameworks and policy considerations – as well as more specific issues that impact on our rights: the legal justification for online education resources, the plight of migrant domestic workers, the use of digital databases to protect traditional knowledge from biopiracy, digital archiving, and the impact of multilateral trade deals on the international human rights framework.
The reports highlight the institutional and country-level possibilities and challenges that civil society faces in using the internet to enable ESCRs. They also suggest that in a number of instances, individuals, groups and communities are using the internet to enact their socioeconomic and cultural rights in the face of disinterest, inaction or censure by the state.
GLOBAL INFORMATION SOCIETY WATCH has three interrelated goals:
• survey the state of the field of ICT policy at the local and global levels
• encourage critical debate, and
• strengthen networking and advocacy for a just, inclusive information society.
The report discusses the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) process and a range of international institutions, regulatory agencies and monitoring instruments.
It also includes a collection of country reports which examine issues of access and participation within a variety of national contexts.
GLOBAL INFORMATION SOCIETY WATCH is a joint initiative of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and the Third World Institute (ITeM), and follows up on our long-term interest in the impact of civil society on governance processes and our efforts to enhance public participation in national and international forums.
Global Information Society Watch or GISWatch has three interrelated goals:
• Surveying the state of information and communications technology (ICT) policy at the local and global levels
• Encouraging critical debate
• Strengthening networking and advocacy for a just, inclusive information society.
Each year the report focuses on a particular theme. GISWatch 2008 focuses on access to infrastructure and includes several thematic reports dealing with key access issues, an analysis of where global institutions stand on the access debate, a report looking at the state of indicators and access, six regional reports and 38 country reports.
GISWatch 2008 is a joint initiative of the Association for Progressive
Communications (APC), the Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing
Countries (Hivos) and the Third World Institute (ITeM).
Written from a civil society perspective, GISWatch 2010 covers some 50 countries and six regions, with the key issues of ICTs and environmental sustainability, including climate change response and electronic waste (e‑waste), explored in seven expert thematic reports. It also contains an institutional
overview and a consideration of green indicators, as well as a mapping section offering a comparative analysis of “green” media spheres on the web.
While supporting the positive role that technology can play in sustaining the environment, many of these reports challenge the perception that ICTs will automatically be a panacea for critical issues such as climate change – and argue that for technology to really benefit everyone, consumption and
production patterns have to change. In order to build a sustainable future, it cannot be “business as usual”.
GISWatch 2010 is a rallying cry to electronics producers and consumers, policy makers and development organisations to pay urgent attention to the sustainability of the environment. It spells out the impact that the production, consumption and disposal of computers, mobile phones and other technology
are having on the earth’s natural resources, on political conflict and social rights, and the massive global carbon footprint produced.
GIsWatch 2010 is the fourth in a series of yearly reports critically covering the state of the information society from the perspectives of civil society organisations across the world.
GISWatch is a joint initiative of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and the Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries (Hivos).
Everyone is familiar with the stories of Egypt and Tunisia. GISWatch authors tell these and other lesser-known stories from over fifty countries including:
PRISON CONDITIONS IN ARGENTINA Prisoners are using the internet protest living conditions and demand respect for their rights.
TORTURE IN INDONESIA The torture of two West Papuan farmers was recorded on a mobile phone and leaked to the internet. The video spread to well-known human rights sites sparking public outrage and a formal investigation by the authorities.
THE TSUNAMI IN JAPAN Citizens used social media to share actionable information during the devastating tsunami, and in the aftermath online discussions contradicted misleading reports coming from state authorities. Other countries include China, Iran, Lebanon and Pakistan.
“Written by internationally-renowned experts, the report brings its readers easy-to-read and yet comprehensive articles, many with policy proposals, on the most important challenges protecting human rights on the internet is facing today,” says lawyer Matthias C. Kettemann, co-chair of the Internet Rights and Principles Coalition. “The report's country studies –which are in turn saddening, moving, uplifting-- shed light on how the internet can truly be a catalyst for change – and how it can be misused.”
In his preface to the report Frank La Rue, UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression says “GISWatch 2011 offers timely commentary on the future of the internet as an open and shared platform that everyone has the right to access.”
GISWatch 2011 also includes expert reports from:
Egyptian blogger Ramy Raoof on the the role of the internet in the wave of recent social resistance in North Africa
Alex Comninos on revolutions and cyber crackdowns in the Middle East and North Africa
Ron Deibert (Open Net Initiative) on cyberwarfare and counter-terrorism: implications for an open and free internet
Joe McNamee (EDRI) on internet intermediaries - the border control guards who get to monitor and censor your content simply because they host your information
Ben Wagner on Who profits from restricting speech?
Global Information Society Watch 2011 Internet rights and democratisation - Focus on freedom of expression and association online | Published by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and Hivos
The Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) is a space for collaborative monitoring of implementation of international (and national) commitments made by governments towards the creation of an inclusive information society.
It focuses on monitoring progress made towards implementing the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) action agenda and other international and national commitments related to information and communications. It also provides analytical overviews of institutions involved in implementation. GISWatch aims to make governments and international organisations accountable for meeting the commitments they make through contributing to building a strong and sustainable global civil society policy advocacy network.
The GISWatch Reports are a series of yearly reports covering the state of the information society from the perspectives of civil society.
GISWatch is not only a publication, it is a process. The long term goal of the project is to build policy analysis skills and ‘habits’ into the work of civil society organisations that work in the areas of ICT for development, democracy and social justice.
GISWatch 2011 looked at internet rights and democratisation, with a focus on freedom of expression and association online. This Special Edition picks up where GISWatch 2011 left off, analysing more than 60 country and thematic reports in order to better reveal and build understanding of the broad range of practical actions and strategies that activists are developing.
Five clear themes emerge. The first is a strong emphasis on the need for collaborative networking, online and offline, to build multi-stakeholder engagement that can contribute to protection of internet-related human rights. Key ingredients include building a collaborative network structure, effective engagement with internet rights issues, network diversity, open network infrastructure, clear roles and responsibilities, and connection to offline mobilisation.
Connected to this theme is the finding that although the internet is increasingly used as a space for dialogue and debate, democratic participation has not yet been fully realised and many groups remain marginalised both offline and online. There is a need to link online and offline democratic networks to build more meaningful and effective participation and to generate better internet-related public policy.
A third theme is that advocacy efforts are most effective when based on robust evidence and research, but that there are research and information gaps in many areas, which may hinder activists’ advocacy campaigns and drive the need for innovative awareness-raising strategies.
The continuing emergence and evolution of threats to internet freedoms is a major theme from the 2011 GISWatch reports, particularly around intellectual property laws, content filtering, cyber crime laws and anonymity. Strategies to resist these threats vary widely, but share a common element of being grounded in human rights and the use of rights to fight for wider social justice issues such as the need for the rule of law, affordable quality internet access, and freedom of expression. New forms of resistance are also emerging – for example, developing strategies for secure online communication to protect freedom of expression and freedom of association, including anonymity, particularly for women’s human rights defenders.
The fifth theme that arose out of the 2011 GISWatch reports was that in many countries, internet rights advocates have clear, positive policy programmes.
They seek to advance their objectives through concrete proposals in national and global policy spaces and through a mix of both online and offline strategies and actions. The policy proposals developed by local internet rights advocates are shaped by social, economic, environmental, political and other factors, but share commonalities.
These include an emphasis on multi-stakeholder internet policy-making processes; coherence; a balanced approach to internet policy that responds to national contexts while also linking to global policy issues; and an emphasis on innovation in remedies for internet rights violations.
The GISWatch 2011 reports highlighted a wide array of internet rights issues. We hope that this Special Edition will assist activists, civil society groups, human rights defenders, women’s human rights defenders and others, as well as the donors who fund them, to better understand the most effective strategies for practical resistance to threats to internet freedoms and the steps being taken to develop a positive internet rights and public policy agenda.
GISWatch 2011 looked at internet rights and democratisation, with a focus on freedom of expression and association online. This Special Edition picks up where GISWatch 2011 left off, analysing more than 60 country and thematic reports in order to better reveal and build understanding of the broad range of practical actions and strategies that activists are developing.
Five clear themes emerge. The first is a strong emphasis on the need for collaborative networking, online and offline, to build multi-stakeholder engagement that can contribute to protection of internet-related human rights. Key ingredients include building a collaborative network structure, effective engagement with internet rights issues, network diversity, open network infrastructure, clear roles and responsibilities, and connection to offline mobilisation.
Connected to this theme is the finding that although the internet is increasingly used as a space for dialogue and debate, democratic participation has not yet been fully realised and many groups remain marginalised both offline and online. There is a need to link online and offline democratic networks to build more meaningful and effective participation and to generate better internet-related public policy.
A third theme is that advocacy efforts are most effective when based on robust evidence and research, but that there are research and information gaps in many areas, which may hinder activists’ advocacy campaigns and drive the need for innovative awareness-raising strategies.
The continuing emergence and evolution of threats to internet freedoms is a major theme from the 2011 GISWatch reports, particularly around intellectual property laws, content filtering, cyber crime laws and anonymity. Strategies to resist these threats vary widely, but share a common element of being grounded in human rights and the use of rights to fight for wider social justice issues such as the need for the rule of law, affordable quality internet access, and freedom of expression. New forms of resistance are also emerging – for example, developing strategies for secure online communication to protect freedom of expression and freedom of association, including anonymity, particularly for women’s human rights defenders.
The fifth theme that arose out of the 2011 GISWatch reports was that in many countries, internet rights advocates have clear, positive policy programmes.
They seek to advance their objectives through concrete proposals in national and global policy spaces and through a mix of both online and offline strategies and actions. The policy proposals developed by local internet rights advocates are shaped by social, economic, environmental, political and other factors, but share commonalities.
These include an emphasis on multi-stakeholder internet policy-making processes; coherence; a balanced approach to internet policy that responds to national contexts while also linking to global policy issues; and an emphasis on innovation in remedies for internet rights violations.
The GISWatch 2011 reports highlighted a wide array of internet rights issues. We hope that this Special Edition will assist activists, civil society groups, human rights defenders, women’s human rights defenders and others, as well as the donors who fund them, to better understand the most effective strategies for practical resistance to threats to internet freedoms and the steps being taken to develop a positive internet rights and public policy agenda.
The eight thematic reports and 48 country reports published ask provocative questions such as: Is a surveillance society necessarily a bad thing if it fights corruption? and how successful have e-government programmes been in fighting corruption? They explore options for activism by youth and musicians online, as well as the art of using visual evidence to expose delusions of power.
By focusing on individual cases or stories of corruption, the country reports take a practical look at the role of the internet in combating corruption at all levels.
GISWatch is published annually and is a joint initiative by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and the Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries (Hivos).
“The idea of multi-stakeholder engagement was very present at WSIS. It seems the idea that you can’t govern the internet without the inclusion of the voice of civil society was established [there].” —- Susana George, Philippines
“How much freedom of expression citizens have in practice differs greatly depending on the context. Governments like the economic potential of freedom of expression, but not the side effects.” —- Tapani Tarvainen, Electronic Frontier Finland
“In the post WSIS-era multi-stakeholderism is being used as a synonym for democracy, and is treated as an end in itself, rather than a means to an end. Civil society is expected to respond to any introduction of ‘multi-stakeholder participation’ with a sense of grateful victory, even when it makes no difference to existing power dynamics. What it should be, and can be, is a mechanism to help make policy processes more democratic and inclusive, but it does not constitute democratisation of decision-making processes on its own, nor can it be a substitute for such democratisation and inclusion.” —- Anriette Esterhuysen, Association for Progressive Communications, South Africa
“Generally things have gotten much more difficult, specifically with civil society organisations. Back in 2003, the WSIS Declaration sounded almost ‘of course’ – but today it sounds radical. It didn’t sound too radical 10 years ago – this is a sign for alarm.” —- Norbert Bellow, Internet Governance Forum Civil Society Caucus co-coordinator, Switzerland
GISWatch 2013 shows that gains in women’s rights made online are not always certain or stable. While access to the internet for women has increased their participation in the social, economic and governance spheres, there is there is another side to these opportunities: online harassment, cyberstalking, and violence against women online all of which are on the increase globally. This GISWatch is a call to action, to the increased participation of women in all forms of technological governance and development, and to a reaffirmation and strengthening of their rights online.
GISWatch is published annually and is a joint initiative by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and the Humanist Institute for Development Cooperation (Hivos).
[1] The framework was developed by the Association for Progressive Communications and is based on the work of the former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression Frank La Rue. It is available online at: http://www.apc.org/en/system/files/APC_FLRFramework_20140620.pdf
This Global Information Society Watch tracks the state of communications surveillance in 57 countries across the world – countries as diverse as Hungary, India, Argentina, The Gambia, Lebanon and the United Kingdom. Each country report approaches the issue from a different perspective. Some analyse legal frameworks that allow surveillance, others the role of businesses in collecting data (including marketing data on children), the potential of biometrics to violate rights, or the privacy challenges when implementing a centralised universal health system. The perspectives from long-time internet activists on surveillance are also recorded.
Using the 13 International Principles on the Application of Human Rights to Communications Surveillance as a starting point, eight thematic reports frame the key issues at stake. These include discussions on what we mean by digital surveillance, the implications for a human rights agenda on surveillance, the “Five Eyes” inter-government surveillance network led by the US, cyber security, and the role of intermediaries.
These reports are published at a critical time: they show how rampant government surveillance is across the world, and how business is often complicit in this. They suggest action steps that civil society can take to push for a human rights framework for internet governance – and to expose what until now has remained hidden.
GISWatch is published annually and is a joint initiative by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and the Humanist Institute for Development Cooperation (Hivos).
Feminist internet research network (FIRN) by Association for Progressive Communications (APC)