"This paper serves as a summary report for the Democracy and Internet Governance Initiative, a two-year joint initiative between Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy. It delves into the rationale a
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nd components of a new risk-centered approach to analyze and address the negative impacts of digital platforms. It also explores the key dimensions that should be considered when assessing platform risk, including mental and physical health, financial security, privacy, social and reputational wellbeing, professional security, sovereignty, and strength of public goods. The paper then underscores the necessity and value of comprehensive disclosure schemes in order to better understand the cause and effect of digital platforms and related products within the scope of a risk framework. Through the establishment of standards setting bodies dedicated to addressing itemized risks, we argue that this is the infrastructure necessary for sustainable regulation and self-governance that is dynamic and public purpose-oriented. Throughout each section, we aim to underline the significance of stakeholder engagement in the governance process. Platforms themselves, civil society organizations, policymakers, researchers, and users all have important perspectives, experiences, and jurisdiction needed to effectively mitigate harms of digital platforms. Engaging all stakeholders in a collaborative manner will enhance the framework's relevance, legitimacy, and practicality." (Executive summary)
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"The Mali Digital Ecosystem Country Assessment (DECA) report presents the findings and recommendations of the Mali DECA. It outlines the key aspects of Mali’s digital ecosystem and provides 11 recommendations for creating a more inclusive, safe, and enabling environment. Guided by 3 USAID/Mali pri
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orities, which include i) improved governance for stronger democratic institution; ii) solidified and deepened development gains in targeted areas; and iii) improved outcomes across the humanitarian, development, and peace nexus to save lives and increase resiliency, the DECA process included desk research, consultations with USAID/Mali technical offices, and 63 key informant interviews with stakeholders from civil society, academia, and the private and public sectors. Key findings include: Mali has made great strides in building out its Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure, but political instability and conflict hinder further investment; the Government of Mali’s commitment to digital development is aspirational, but existing services, policies, and governance are at an early stage; Mali does not have a central policy or regulation guiding the digitization of government services and systems; Mali’s civil society and media have enjoyed historical freedom of expression, but new policies threaten the freedom of the press and increase organizations’ needs for cybersecurity awareness and tools; insurgent groups are accelerating their use of social media for propaganda dissemination and Mali’s broader population needs better tools to counter disinformation; Mali does not have a policy framework for guiding the development of the e-commerce sector; Mali’s tech startup scene lacks true innovation or competition and operates informally in an unfavorable environment." (https://www.usaid.gov/digital-development)
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"As the online space becomes increasingly centre stage in the fight against antisemitism, this guide from ISD and B’nai B’rith International, in partnership with UNESCO, aims to build capacity among civil society to tackle this growing threat. Recognising the enormous capacity for positive actio
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n that the digital space offers, this practical and action-oriented resource aims to consolidate knowledge and provide a wide range of policy and community avenues for action. The guide provides an overview of the online antisemitism threat landscape, a summary of existing policy responses on an international and national level across a range of European contexts, and a broad set of recommendations for civil society engagement with governments, platforms and wider communities to address this challenge." (About this report)
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"[...] Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban has imposed a new media control regime, which has three key features: restriction, gender-discrimination, and repression with impunity. First, the Taliban has passed several media policies, imposing extreme constraints on press freedom and
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media rights. Any sort of critical reporting on topics related to the government or the public is banned. The Taliban regulate the content of publications and broadcasts, imposing broad, vaguely worded prohibitions. For example, under the new regulations, media content that contradicts “Islamic values,” “Afghan values,” and “public interest” is prohibited. No operational definitions have been provided for these terms, nor an objective standard for assessing and determining breach. This has caused uncertainty and confusion about what the media can and cannot publish and broadcast, often resulting in precautionary media self-censorship. The new rules also give the Taliban sweeping powers to directly control the media and news output, barring broadcast and publication of matters and content that has not been officially sanctioned by Taliban official/s. These restrictions and interferences limit the right and ability of the Afghan media to seek, receive and impart information freely and independently.
Second, the Taliban has passed policies specifically targeting Afghan women in the media. These restrictions give the Taliban control over women’s attire and the nature and scope of their involvement in the media, restraining their freedom of expression and movement, as well as their ability to perform their tasks effectively. The general travel restrictions on women and girls make it almost impossible for women to work, in particular, limiting the ability of female journalists from gathering information or contributing to field reporting. The Taliban’s antiwomen media policies and practices are aimed towards excluding Afghan women from the media and public life.
Third, the Taliban treats the Afghan media and media-related affairs as a security threat. The Taliban security and intelligence agencies are increasingly involved in controlling media affairs. Taliban operatives use repressive measures against members of the Afghan media in claiming to enforce the new regulations. Afghan journalists and other members of the media have been subjected to heavy surveillance, intimidation, and arbitrary arrest and detention. Cases of beatings, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings have also taken place." (Executive summary, pages 1-2)
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"Russia and China have created and amplified disinformation and propaganda about COVID-19 worldwide to sow distrust and confusion and to reduce social cohesion among targeted audiences. The United States government, the European Union, and multinational organizations have developed a series of inter
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ventions in response. These include exposing disinformation, providing credible and authoritative public health information, imposing sanctions, investing in democratic resilience measures, setting up COVID-19 disinformation task forces, addressing disinformation through regulatory measures, countering emerging threat narratives from Russia and China, and addressing the vulnerabilities in the information and media environment. Digital platforms, including Twitter, Meta, YouTube, and TikTok, have stepped up to counter COVID-19 disinformation and misinformation via policy procedures, takedowns of inauthentic content, addition of new product features, and partner with civil society and multinational organizations to provide credible and reliable information to global audiences. In addition, digital platforms are addressing COVID-19-related disinformation and misinformation stemming from a variety of state and non-state actors, including China and Russia. Several of these initiatives have proven to be effective, including cross-sectoral collaboration to facilitate identification of the threat; enforcement actions between civil society, governments, and digital platforms; and investment in resilience mechanisms, including media literacy and online games to address disinformation. Despite some meaningful progress, gaps in countering COVID-19 disinformation and propaganda stemming from Russia and China and unintentional misinformation spread by everyday citizens still exist. Closing these gaps will require gaining a deeper understanding of how adversaries think; aligning and refining transatlantic regulatory approaches; building coordination and whole-of- society information-sharing mechanisms; expanding the use of sanctions to counter disinformation; localizing and contextualizing programs and technological solutions; strengthening societal resilience through media, digital literacy, and by addressing digital authoritarianism; and building and rebuilding trust in democratic institutions." (Executive summary)
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"GFMD's core mandate, as agreed in our Strategic Plan (2021-2025), is to promote policies, programmes, strategies and opportunities for the work of the journalism and media support sector to enhance journalism as a public good. To this end our members support small and medium-sized independent publi
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c interest media, with a special focus and priority given to media in the “Global South”. This digital strategy, therefore, focuses on advocacy opportunities and objectives that will address the urgent need to improve “the capacity of our sector to have its voice heard and successfully impact policy changes.” Digital policy is made by governments as well as the private sector, so this strategy prioritises issues that target key governmental and intergovernmental actors and technology companies, as well as participation and visibility of all global actors and perspectives in policy debates." (Page 2)
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"Access Rules mounts a strong and hopeful argument for how informational tools at present in the hands of a few could instead become empowering machines for everyone. By forcing data-hoarding companies to open access to their data, we can reinvigorate both our economy and our society. Authors Viktor
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Mayer-Schönberger and Thomas Ramge contend that if we disrupt monopoly power and create a level playing field, digital innovations can emerge to benefit us all. Over the last twenty years, Big Tech has managed to centralize the most relevant data on their servers, and data has become the most important raw material for innovation. Dominant oligopolists like Facebook, Amazon, and Google, contrary to their reputation as digital pioneers, are in fact slowing down innovation and progress for the benefit of their shareholders--and at the expense of customers, the economy, and society. As Access Rules compellingly argues, ultimately it is up to us to force information giants, wherever they are located, to share their treasure troves of data with others. In order for us to limit global warming, contain a virus like COVID-19, or successfully fight poverty, everyone must have access to data - citizens and scientists, start-ups and established companies, as well as the public sector and NGOs. When everyone has access to the informational riches of the data age, the nature of digital power will change. Information technology will find its way back to its original purpose: empowering all of us to use information so we can thrive as individuals and as societies." (Publisher description)
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"Between January 2019 and May 2022, Amnesty International recorded at least 328 physical and/or digital attacks directed against civil society, resulting in a total of at least 834 victims. The victims include human rights defenders (HRDs), activists, journalists, environmental defenders, students,
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and protestors, while the alleged perpetrators of the attacks and intimidation include both state and non-state actors. This report highlights recent repressive tendencies in Indonesia with reference to some of the cases recorded by Amnesty International between January 2019 and May 2022. The report is based on 52 interviews carried out with HRDs, activists, students, lawyers and journalists, as well as media reports and case files. The report exposes how the space for civil society in Indonesia has shrunk during this period as a result of an ongoing assault on the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, association, personal security and freedom from arbitrary detention." (Executive summary)
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"This document looks into the human rights violations committed against two specific groups who play important roles for the enjoyment of the right to peaceful assembly. The first group – public assembly monitors – performs a watchdog function by recording how rigorously the authorities observe
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their human rights obligations in the context of public assemblies. The other group – media workers – ensures that society is informed about public assemblies and concerns that have brought people to the streets, and reports on how the protests have been handled by the authorities. The report documents a pattern of unlawful obstruction of journalists’ and monitors’ work during street protests, and severe reprisals against them including arbitrary arrests, use of unlawful force, detention and heavy fines." (Back cover)
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"Worldwide, the revenue base for journalism has been disrupted by digital innovation and the dominance of technology platforms in the audience and advertiser-facing markets. Revenue models relied upon by news and information services have collapsed, and credible journalism and its social function ar
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e at risk. Future-proofing the viability and sustainability of public interest journalism in Africa must encourage platforms to pay fair value for the benefit derived. This will require trust and collaboration between governments, the news and information services that produce public interest journalism, and civil society. To achieve this, three pillars grounded in the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa are proposed, namely: i) designation of public interest journalism as a public good, ii) incorporation of national public media funds to resource the supply of public interest journalism and safeguard its public value, and iii) draw revenue for these funds from a collective fee mechanism paid by digital indexing and publishing platforms." (Page 1)
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"Transnational repression is strategically employed by autocrats, enabled by underprepared host governments, and spreading rapidly around the world. This report aims to assess the strengths and weaknesses in the global understanding of and responses to transnational repression, so that governments,
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private companies, and civil society organizations can better equip themselves to defend human rights. Transnational repression should be recognized for what it is: a direct threat to fundamental freedoms, state sovereignty, and democracy, and a disturbing physical manifestation of global authoritarianism." (Page 2)
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"This report provides an overview of approaches and business models that are improving the affordability of handsets for various underserved populations in LMICs. It explores some of the nuances among these groups, considerations for meeting their different needs and variations between markets in Su
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b-Saharan Africa and South Asia. It also provides practical recommendations for stakeholders to make internet-enabled devices more affordable and an analysis of how the policy environment can contribute." (Executive summary, page 3)
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"Digital transformation must be made more inclusive if it is to contribute to realizing the SDGs. Deeper, fairer and inclusive digital transformation means that countries will enjoy important economic and social benefits, thus unlocking new opportunities, supporting economic growth, reducing poverty
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, improving public service delivery, and accelerating social protection programmes. This policy brief has offered inspiration from around the world. But ultimately, each country must take its own path. And while governments can act as stewards of digital transformation, all parts of society must collaborate for the greatest chance of success. Accelerating inclusive digital transformation demands a portfolio of interventions, and a holistic, whole-of-society approach to delivering them. This brief has outlined ten good practices that, when leveraged effectively, can set digital transformation efforts up for success. These practices should be selected carefully based on each country’s context - it is just as important for countries to decide what they will not focus on, because if everything is a priority then nothing is." (Conclusion, page 29)
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"This book has compiled the tech policy debate into a toolkit for policy makers, legal experts, and academics seeking to address platform dominance and its impact on society today. It discusses the global consensus around technology regulation with recommendations of cutting-edge policy innovations
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from around the world. It also explores the proposed policy toolkit through comprehensive coverage of existing and future policy on data, antitrust, competition, freedom of expression, jurisdiction, fake news, elections, liability, and accountability. The book identifies potential policy impacts on global communication, user rights, public welfare, and economic activity. It outlines a policy framework that address the interlocking challenges of contemporary tech regulation and offer actionable solutions for the technological future." (Publisher description)
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