"Liberal democracies must continue to consistently stand up for internet freedom, democracy and human rights. Germany and the European Union are regarded as role models. It is imperative therefore that they refrain from presenting legislative initiatives themselves that restrict the human right to p
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rivacy. In addition to gas, the dependency on imported chips has become apparent following the Russian war against Ukraine and the COVID pandemic. A comprehensive and regular stress test for digital and technological dependencies can minimise risks and strengthen Germany’s and Europe’s sovereignty. Undersea cables that transmit data from continent to continent are currently insufficiently protected; indeed, they have come increasingly under the sway of Chinese and American big tech companies. Satellite internet especially can currently only be provided by private companies. To prevent the danger of sabotage and dependency, strategic measures must be taken and capacity built up. Political engagement in space is no game: it is a geopolitical imperative. Only in this way can the required infrastructure be provided in case of armed conflict or environmental catastrophes such as the Ahrtal floods of 2021. With a strategy for international digital policy, Germany is called upon to reconfirm the fact that it has understood the importance of this topic and wishes to work as an important actor in the future. To this end, the Federal Government should develop an ambitious, cross-ministerial strategy with the involvement of civil society. In parallel, existing global partnerships should be strengthened and new ones set up. This relates both to allies such as the USA, with the Trade and Technology Council, and partners like India and Brazil. The “partnership of equals” must be more than an empty phrase to Africa and elsewhere in the Global South. For agreement in international committees such as the ITU, a strong democratic foundation is required." (Executive summary, page 4)
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"1. Aus dem nationalen Verfassungsrecht ist ein Recht auf Verschlüsselung ableitbar.
2. Aus dem europäischen Verfassungsrecht ist ein Recht auf Verschlüsselung ableitbar.
3. Ein Recht auf Verschlüsselung ergibt sich zwar nicht als solches aus den nationalen und europäischen verfassungsrechtlich
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en Gewährleistungen. Es kann aber aus der Zusammenschau verschiedener Grundrechte abgeleitet werden. Relevant sind die Grundrechtspositionen, die die digitale Datenverarbeitung und -übermittlung zum Gegenstand haben [...]
4. Bei einer Ableitung eines Rechts auf Verschlüsselung aus verschiedenen verfassungsrechtlichen Gewährleistungen auf nationaler und europäischer Ebene ergibt sich im chronologischen Kommunikationsablauf ein nahezu lückenloser Grundrechtsschutz [...]
5. Ein Recht auf Verschlüsselung besteht aus einer aktiven sowie aus einer passiven Dimension. Damit ist es nicht nur Abwehrrecht gegenüber staatlichem Handeln umfasst, sondern kann für den Staat auch (weit gefasste) Handlungspflichten auslösen, um der Umsetzung von Datenverschlüsselung als Methode zur Ausübung effektiven Grundrechtsschutzes gerecht zu werden." (Executive summary)
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"Democracies must say no to the technologies, platforms, standards, and frameworks shrewdly proposed by China in various international fora and technical or standards bodies in order to make our Internet more like the one in China. Internet governance must be kept open and participatory for all stak
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eholders, not just governments. Research into and the development of privacy-preserving and anti-censorship technologies must be supported. A vision for a free and open global Internet must be integrated into future foreign policy formulation, not only because it should be, but also because China has already begun to integrate its own contrary vision." (Executive summary)
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"Over the past few years, India has taken decisive steps to reduce its dependence on Chinese technology and investments. This was triggered by border skirmishes with China in 2020, but built on longstanding national security concerns about China, given the history of conflict between the two countri
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es. India has banned hundreds of Chinese apps like TikTok and UC Browser, restricted Chinese investments in Indian companies, and mandated that telecom infrastructure be from “trusted sources”, and tried to reduce the import of products from China. These actions have come along with active support and development of regulations in favour of domestic companies and innovation, a push for manufacturing in India, and global alliances to ensure that China doesn’t dominate emerging technologies. Not all of these moves have been successful: it hasn’t been able to address its trade gap with China, Chinese technology is still implemented in Indian telecom networks, and Indian alternatives to Chinese applications haven’t successfully replaced TikTok. India has, however, been opportunistic, and demonstrated agility in leveraging geopolitical developments to further its goals: there is a clear sense of direction in its approach. Its actions underscore striking a balance between economic gains and strategic interests. Thus far, the anti-China measures instituted by the Indian government haven’t gravely harmed India. They have benefitted a few Indian companies, and American companies even more so. The impact on trade has been minimal so far. It is, however, probably still too early to understand the full impact of these policies as the efforts are part of a long-term approach, but an approach that so far looks promising." (Executive summary)
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"Over the past twelve months, the world’s digital behaviours have shown some of the most profound changes we’ve seen in years, even compared with “the pandemic years”. And in fact, our top story in this year’s report doesn’t relate to digital growth, but to an overall decline in the amou
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nt of time that each individual spends using the internet. It’s important to stress that this decline doesn’t indicate that the internet is becoming less important in our lives, however. Rather, it suggests that people are becoming more purposeful in their use of digital technologies, and are prioritising the quality of their connected experiences over the quantity. Despite the decline in overall time spent, however, people are actually spending more time than ever using social media, and in stark contradiction to the endless click-bait foretelling an imminent “demise” of social media, global user numbers continue to grow." (Page 3)
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"The study assesses the extent to which Taliban 2.0 utilised social media as a political mobilisation strategy and provides a response through discourse analysis and a literature review. The study results indicate that the tactical use of social media was more apparent in 2021 when they were promoti
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ng the notion of their impending return to power and advancing their territorial gains on social media. The Taliban 2.0's utilisation of social media underscores their strategies for comprehending public narratives to present themselves as the legitimate authorities of Afghanistan. The research reveals that the Taliban's utilisation of social media tools enabled them to regain control of Afghanistan by shaping public narratives in their favour. The study is unequivocal in its assertion that Taliban 2.0 must evolve into a political institution that is significantly more democratic and responsive. It is sufficient for it to relinquish the dynastic and undemocratic principles upon which it currently operates. Not only to enhance Afghanistan's governance in general but also to allow for a more favourable opportunity to capture the hearts and minds of the Afghan public. The Taliban 2.0 must transcend their identities to alter the ethnic narrative and eliminate inequalities. For the democratic system to progress in the appropriate direction, the nation requires a genuine and democratic opposition party or parties. The Afghan youth are the primary decision-makers in determining whether Afghanistan's democracy will continue to progress towards impactful growth or vice versa, as long as the Afghan public, particularly the youth and strong regional parties, fails to collaborate and present the electorate with viable and credible strategies against misgovernance and economic reforms that generate employment. This study suggests that young Afghans should be encouraged to develop critical thinking skills to use social media to advocate for their rights and convey dissent, as a means of communicating with the current government." (Abstract)
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"An urgent finding of this first Fairwork Mexico report was impact platform work has on the physical and mental health of workers. Indeed, in megacities like Mexico City, and in urban environments marked by traffic congestion, pollution and fast-paced city life, workers’ bodies are being reduced t
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o an extension of the algorithm. Almost half of the workers we interviewed for this report reported that working for digital labour platforms affects them physically or mentally." (Editorial)
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"KI verschlingt viele Ressourcen und hat oft negative Folgen für unsere Gesellschaft und unsere Umwelt. Um KI nachhaltig und sinnvoll einzusetzen, sind wir alle gefragt: Wir sollten gemeinsam entscheiden, wozu wir KI brauchen – und wozu nicht. Ob in Zukunft KI-Systeme entwickelt werden, die uns a
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llen dienen, hängt auch von den richtigen politischen Rahmenbedingungen ab. Erste europaweit geltende Verpflichtungen, KI-Produkte nachhaltiger zu gestalten, könnten bald mit der KI-Verordnung der Europäischen Union eingeführt werden. Allerdings scheinen die nationalen Regierungen wenig Interesse daran zu haben, in der Verordnung zu verankern, dass Umweltauswirkungen von KI-Technologien gemessen werden müssen. Sie handeln damit fahrlässig und werden ihrer politischen Verantwortung nicht gerecht. Wir werden erst wissen, wie umweltschädlich diese Technologien sind, wenn umfassende Messwerte dazu vorhanden sind. Das Problem verschwindet nicht einfach, wenn wir es ignorieren. Mit aussagekräftigen Daten würden wir das Problem besser verstehen und mehr Druck auf die politischen Entscheidungsträger*innen ausüben können. Aus diesem Grund brauchen wir mehr davon. Wir sollten also einfach mit dem Messen anfangen. Dieses Magazin lädt dazu ein, mehr über konkrete Möglichkeiten nachzudenken, wie die Entwicklung und der Einsatz von KI-Technologien besser reguliert werden könnten: über mehr Transparenz bei ihrem Energie- und Wasserverbrauch, über Verbote schädlicher Anwendungen oder über stärkere Anreize, sie effizienter zu machen." (Editorial, Seite 3)
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"Hidden information, double meanings, double-crossing, and the constant processes of encoding and decoding messages have always been important techniques in negotiating social and political power dynamics. Yet these tools, "cryptopolitics," are transformed when used within digital media. Focusing on
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African societies, Cryptopolitics brings together empirically grounded studies of digital media to consider public culture, sociality, and power in all its forms, illustrating the analytical potential of cryptopolitics to elucidate intimate relationships, political protest, and economic strategies in the digital age." (Publisher description)
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"This paper establishes dialogs between theories on the popular and critical studies on algorithms and datafication. In doing so, it contributes to reversing the analytical tendency to assume that algorithms have universal effects and that conclusions about “algorithmic power” in the Global Nort
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h apply unproblematically everywhere else. We begin by clarifying how Latin American scholars and other research traditions have theorized the popular (“lo popular”). We then develop four dimensions of lo popular to implement these ideas in the case of algorithms: playful cultural practices, imagination, resistance, and “in-betweenness.” We argue that this dialogue can generate different ways of thinking about the problems inherent to algorithmic mediation by drawing attention to the remixes of cultural practices, imaginative solutions to everyday problems, “cyborg” forms of resistance, and ambiguous forms of agency that are central to the operations of algorithmic assemblages nowadays." (Abstract)
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