"The statistical study determines that network interferences are more likely to happen at higher rates of expansion of Internet connectivity until a tipping point, suggesting that efforts to extend Internet access in low- and middle-income countries may lead to less overt restrictions. This threshol
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d stands at an annual rate of expansion of about 7 percent. The interviews reveal that individual actors within the digital rights community are seeking more coordinated efforts to resist shutdowns. The interviews are also used to support points made throughout the report. A calculation of the cumulative duration of network disruptions reveals that the Internet and/or social media were disrupted around the world for about 2,500 cumulative days in 2017 alone. Approximately 105 known shutdowns took place that year, surpassing each previous year. The report outlines a broad range of civil and political, as well as economic, cultural, and social rights that are typically impacted by network disruptions, moving beyond the typical focus on freedom of expression, elections, and economic impacts to broaden the arguments and actors discouraging disruptions." (Executive summary)
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"Jugendliche informieren sich heute primär digital. Umso wichtiger ist es, dass sie bei der Nutzung von digitalen Medien in der Lage sind, Nachrichten und Informationsquellen richtig einzuordnen und wahre von falschen Meldungen zu unterscheiden. Dieses Buch gibt kompetent Auskunft zum Thema. Google
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, YouTube und andere Suchmaschinen und Soziale Netzwerke gehören heute ganz selbstverständlich zu unserem Alltag. Man kann sich rund um die Uhr informieren, sich mit seinen Freunden austauschen und eigene Fotos, Erlebnisse und Ideen posten. Bei der Informationsrecherche im Netz sind seriöse Angebote aber oft schwer zu unterscheiden von Werbung, manipulierten oder falschen Beiträgen. Quelle und Herkunft sind oft nicht ausfindig zu machen. Um sich nicht in den Filterblasen von Suchmaschinen und sozialen Netzwerken zu verlieren und nicht auf Fake News, gefakte Profile oder andere Manipulationen hereinzufallen, ist es wichtig, verschiedene Informationsquellen zu nutzen und sich eine eigene, unabhängige Meinung zu bilden. Dieses Buch gibt einen umfassenden Einblick in die vielfältige Welt der Medien und vermittelt Tipps und Hilfestellungen zum richtigen Umgang mit ihnen." (Verlagsbeschreibung Loewe Verlag)
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"La tesis del estudio, y probablemente una de las pocas premisas capaz de generar consenso entre los millennials, es que la tecnología se sitúa como denominador común en todas y cada una de sus actividades: la utilizan para mantener el contacto con sus amigos y crear nuevas relaciones, para apren
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der cosas nuevas, para buscar trabajo, para entretenerse en sus momentos de ocio, para participar en política y defender sus derechos, etc. El ecosistema digital y móvil en el que han crecido es la causa y la explicación de muchas de sus actitudes y comportamientos: la inmediatez les hizo impacientes y ansiosos; las redes les hicieron sociables y abiertos; la descentralización del poder y el acceso a la información les empoderó y les hizo críticos y exigentes. Por ello, preferimos hablar de cultura millennial, en lugar de generación millennial. La cultura millennial no sería exclusiva para los nacidos entre 1982 y 1998, sino que permitiría a personas nacidas en otras fechas sentirse millennial e identificarse con sus características." (Página 108-109)
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"This publication discusses the extent to which digital technology can help tackle poverty and social inequality. Does it increase or restrict the opportunities for social and economic participation open to disadvantaged people? We analyse the history of e-commerce in the light of this question. We
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consider current developments in the world trade regime, because a new dynamic has developed in trade policy almost unnoticed. As the Digital Agenda adopted by the US government in 2000 shows, leading tech companies - principally those from Silicon Valley - are increasingly using commercial law to promote their own interests. This is no longer just about reducing tariffs on digital products such as software, or about uniform standards for telecommunications services. Patents on artificial intelligence and the (non-)regulation of data flows are now elements of commercial regulations and the subject of controversy in the World Trade Organization (WTO). For the countries of the Global South - but not only for them - there is a lot at stake, including the risk of a new, digital colonialism. This publication explores the potentials and limits of digital solutions. It analyses the lessons to be learned from supposedly model projects such as the mobile payment system M-Pesa and the spread of cashless payment in India. We also examine whether the digitalisation of transnational supply chains not only boosts transparency but also increases value creation for workers on the coffee and soya plantations or in factories. The question of how digitalisation can be organised so that it contributes to the welfare of everyone must focus on one issue in particular: how can disadvantaged population groups in the rural parts of Africa or the inhabitants of slums in the megacities obtain better access to work and basic services? What steps must be taken to minimise the risks of the digital transformation for people in Asia and Latin America and enhance its potential? The study therefore concludes with a list of nine ideas that would help make digitalisation fair. Consider them as an invitation to engage in discussion of globally just and humane digitalisation." (Preface)
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"We started by performing fieldwork in five countries, covering the four main SSA regions: the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ghana, Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda. We then conducted 116 interviews across 78 organizations, covering the overall ecosystem: mobile network operators (MNOs), aggreg
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ators, donors, multilateral organizations and nongovernmental organization (NGOs). The following are key findings by mobile channel: SMS volumes are driven by a few players, mostly multilateral agencies; Voice/IVR allows for rich interactions, but impact needs to be documented further. USSD usage by aid and development players appears limited despite promise; Interest in mobile money is high among both supply and demand players; Mobile internet adoption is still limited in potential. In each of the five countries, the 2018 market value of all mobile channels generated by NGOs and multilateral organizations was estimated at between $500,000 and $1 million. Using data from these five countries to extrapolate to all 48 countries in SSA, the total 2018 market is estimated at $15.7 million, with mobile money standing out as the largest channel. This aggregate number for the sector appears low compared to the overall size of the telecommunications market. Market appeal is further reduced by the fact that the mobile sector already perceives the aid and development sector as being difficult to work with, due to uncertainty of demand, long procurement processes and other factors. While price has been cited as a reason for this low aggregate number, the fieldwork suggests that it is driven more by the lack of awareness of many implementing partners, particularly at the country level. These challenges to scale are consistent with qualitative findings obtained from DIAL’s Ecosystem Baseline study in 2018. That said, the market appears bound to grow due to strong underlying trends. Our model predicts three scenarios that show a 2022 market value of between $31.6 million and $61.6 million." (Executive summary, page 4)
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"This study aims to measure the level of digital security awareness of journalists in Turkey who use digital technology in the course of their work. In the study, research questions are answered using data collected by means of an online survey in relation to the digital security risks faced, the ex
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tent to which digital technology is used, the digital security tools employed and the extent of digital security training undertaken. The study reveals that journalists in Turkey are faced with security issues ranging from personal threats to physical and digital attacks and that they rely heavily on digital technology. The study concludes that they lack awareness of digital security risks, and only a small percentage have undertaken safety training to protect themselves and their sources in either the physical or digital worlds." (Abstract)
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"Key principles: 1. Data subjects must own their data – individually and collectively. 2. Our data requires protection from abuse. 3. We need the tools to control our data. 4. Data commons need appropriate governance frameworks. 5. Data protection, sharing and use require new institutions. 6. Data
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-creating work ought to come with data rights. 7. Data should be processed close to the point of its origin. 8. Cross-border data flows must be decided nationally. 9. Techno-structures need to be reclaimed as personal and public spaces. 10. We should own our software and be able to control it. 11. Key digital infrastructures need to be governed as public utilities. 12. Techno-structures must be decentralised for open use, with interoperability. 13. Global digital monopolies should be broken. 14. Societies’ datafication needs to be managed democratically. 15. Digital standards must be developed by public interest bodies. 16. The digital has to be governed in a local-to-global manner." (Pages 2-3)
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"We are at a constitutional moment for the future of the internet. Nation states around the world are launching major new initiatives to regulate the internet, both directly against users and by regulating the companies that provide access to telecommunications infras- tructure and content services.
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The giant technology companies that control the bulk of the commercial internet are themselves under unprecedented scrutiny for the policies they set, the decisions they make, and the choices that go into designing their architecture. In my new book, Lawless, I argue that in this moment of change there is a major opportunity for us all to rethink how the internet should be governed, how power is held to account, and whose values prevail." (Abstract)
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This is the second of two policy briefs on polarisation. The first policy brief, “Polarisation and Peacebuilding Strategy on Digital Media Platforms: The Current Research,” reviewed the research, and concluded by recommending directions for future research. This brief describes interventions: (a
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) interventions currently being attempted by NGOs and other peacebuilders using digital platforms as their medium, and (b) interventions that the platforms themselves have tested and/or put into action. The conclusion of this brief sorts interventions into categories, and provides recommendations for digital media platforms.
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