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The Unfreedom Monitor: Russia Country Report

Amsterdam: Global Voices Advox (2022), 28 pp.

"The internet gained centrality as a space of public opinion and political activity that became important for the Russian state to co-opt and control as part of the broader push for control of political elites and public perceptions as Putin and his ruling party pushed to eliminate any functioning o ... more

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The Unfreedom Monitor: Zimbabwe Country Report

Kudzai Chimhangwa

Amsterdam: Global Voices Advox (2022), 28 pp.

"The government of Zimbabwe and the ruling ZANU PF party are bent on ensuring that the status quo is preserved at all costs. As evidenced by findings in the Civic Media Observatory, the digital sphere has been identified as a threat to the country’s national security, insofar as deposing the curre ... more

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Privacy Imperilled: Analysis of Surveillance, Encryption and Data Localisation Laws in Africa

CIPESA (2022), 67 pp.

"In the past few years, many countries across the continent have enacted various laws that permit surveillance, mandate telecommunication intermediaries to facilitate the interception of communication, stipulate the mandatory collection of biometric data, limit the use of encryption, require the loc ... more

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State of Internet Freedom in Africa 2022: The Rise of Biometric Surveillance

CIPESA (2022), 43 pp.

"This report documents the emerging and current trends in biometric data collection and processing in Africa. It focuses on the deployment of national biometric technology-based programmes on the continent, and the associated challenges, gaps and risks that are posed to data protection and privacy." ... more

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Digitalisation and Civic Space: Chances and Challenges

Kai Schächtele, Ingo Dachwitz, Felix Zimmermann, Chris Köver, Christine Meissler, Martina Hahn, Sven Hilbig

Berlin: Brot für die Welt (2022), 58 pp.

"Multifaceted, uncensored, promoting democracy - that is the internet, many people had long hoped. But from today's perspective, this is not true - or only partially. Because the big digital platforms and the world wide web are both: media of freedom and control. In many places, they support civil s ... more

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Atlas der Zivilgesellschaft. Freiheitsrechte unter Druck: Schwerpunkt Digitalisierung

Kai Schächtele, Ingo Dachwitz, Felix Zimmermann, Chris Köver, Christine Meissler, Martina Hahn, Sven Hilbig

München; Berlin: oekom Verlag;Brot für die Welt (2022), 86 pp.

"Vielfaltig, unzensiert, demokratiefördernd - das ist das Internet, hofften viele Menschen lange. Doch diese Attribute passen aus heutiger Sicht nicht - oder nur teilweise. Denn die großen digitalen Plattformen und das World Wide Web sind beides: Medien der Freiheit und der Kontrolle. Sie helfen d ... more

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The Unfreedom Monitor: Data Governance

Amsterdam: Global Voices Advox (2022), 11 pp.

"Data governance is an integral aspect of digital authoritarianism because it incorporates any type of control, authority, and manipulation of data […]. Within the context of digital authoritarianism, data governance may incorporate both states and non-state actors that collaborate with states to ... more

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New Perspectives in Critical Data Studies: The Ambivalences of Data Power

Andreas Hepp, Juliane Jarke, Leif Kramp (eds.)

Cham: Palgrave Macmillan (2022), xxv, 473 pp.

"This Open Access book examines the ambivalences of data power. Firstly, the ambivalences between global infrastructures and local invisibilities challenge the grand narrative of the ephemeral nature of a global data infrastructure. They make visible local working and living conditions, and the reso ... more

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The State of Press Freedom in Southern Africa 2020-2021

Nashilongo Gervasius-Nakale, Kholwani Nyathi, Reyhana Masters (eds.)

Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) (2022), 75 pp.

"Privacy is necessary for journalists to communicate freely with sources, receive confidential information, investigate corruption, and guarantee their safety and that of their sources. Therefore, it is worrying that governments and big corporations are working to undermine the right to privacy by a ... more

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Facial recognition in Latin America: Trends in the implementation of a perverse technology

Jamila Venturini, Vladimir Garay

AlSur (2022), 24 pp.

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Cyber security, surveillance and journalism in Scotland

Angela Daly, Elaine Robinson, David McMenemy

Dundee: Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Sciences (2022), 21 pp.

"The report is the output of a RSE-funded project on how journalists in Scotland undertake their work in the digital age from the point of view of cyber security and surveillance impacts. This research interviewed ten journalists from Scotland, from various beats, locations, and employment backgroun ... more

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Securing Australian Journalism from Surveillance

Diarmaid Harkin, Monique Mann

Deakin University;Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation (ADI) (2022), 31 pp.

"In Australia, the Data Retention Act (2015), the Assistance and Access Act (2018), the Identify and Disrupt Act (2021), and the International Production Orders Act (2020) have significantly increased the surveillance powers of law enforcement and intelligence agencies with implications for journali ... sts and the free press. This report draws on interviews with 19 journalists and 2 media-lawyers in Australia. The interviews were conducted between May and November 2021. The aim of the interviews was to gauge (a) the level of preparedness amongst journalists in Australia concerning surveillance, and (b) the impacts of increased surveillance powers on journalistic practices. There was wide variation in information security understanding and applied skill among media organisations and journalists. Some expressed “very low confidence” (Journalist F) that journalists were adequately prepared for the threats of electronic surveillance and a number conceded that they were not thinking about it “enough” (Journalist Q) or were just “learning on the job but could know more” (Journalist I). Some media organisations do not offer support in terms of education and training, policies and procedures, or formal guidance, and even among the most active and equipped organisations, support for cyber security concerns was described as “probably too far down the list of considerations” (Journalist D). In most instances, journalists were self-educating as “it is up to the individual journalist to make sure they are secure” (Journalist A). The 2019 AFP raids on the ABC and Annika Smethurst were described as a “holy shit” moment (Journalist P) that raised awareness of government surveillance of journalists. These raids resulted in many journalists and media organisations raising their efforts to protect their digital communications. Subsequently, over the past 2 to 3 years many journalists have migrated to encrypted communication applications such as Signal and Protonmail, while several media organisations have implemented SecureDrop for whistle-blowers to provide anonymity and security. Journalists suggested media organisations could do more to provide “formalised training” and “organisational support” (Journalist P) and invest more in their employees to provide confidence to potential sources that “journalists are good at this” (Journalist J)." (Executive summary) more

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How Big Data Can Bolster Autocratic Legitimacy (Via the Rhetoric of Safety and Convenience)

Prithvi Subramani Iyer

Tokyo: Toda Peace Institute (2022), 14 pp.

"This Policy Brief examines the different ways in which big data collection serves autocratic agendas by hiding the oppressive potential of heightened surveillance through promises of enhanced safety, convenience, and modernisation. Political actors with autocratic agendas can package their governan ... more

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A battle of two pandemics: Coronavirus and digital authoritarianism in the Arab World

Sahar Khamis

In: Cyber War & Cyber Peace: Digital Conflict in the Middle East

Eliza Campbell; Michael Sexton (eds.)

London; New York: Tauris (2022), pp. 161-178

"This chapter explores the current wave of coronavirus-related digital crackdowns in the Arab region, which are unfolding in multiple forms, and analyzes its causes, contexts, and consequences. It explores why and how the stifling of media freedom and freedom of speech online in the Arab region has ... more

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Project Torogoz: Extensive Hacking of Media & Civil Society in El Salvador with Pegasus Spyware

John Scott-Railton, Bill Marczak, Paolo Nigro Herrero, Bahr Abdul Razzak, Noura Al-Jizawi, Salvatore Solimano, Ron Deibert

Toronto: Citizen Lab;Access Now (2022)

"The Citizen Lab and Access Now have conducted a joint investigation into Pegasus hacking in El Salvador in collaboration with Frontline Defenders, SocialTIC, and Fundación Acceso. We confirmed 35 cases of journalists and members of civil society whose phones were successfully infected with NSO’s ... more

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Understanding Digital Conflict Drivers

Helena Puig Larrauri, Maude Morrison

In: Fundamental Challenges to Global Peace and Security

H. Mahmoudi et al. (eds.)

Cham: Springer (2022), pp. 169-200

"This chapter explores digital drivers of conflict. We examine how technologies are affecting conflict dynamics and what peacebuilders can do to mitigate these effects. We argue that because digital technologies are fundamentally altering the human experience, they are by extension fundamentally alt ... more

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The State of Media Freedom and Safety of Journalists in Africa
Top Insights

CIPESA (2022), 57 pp.

"This report seeks to serve two purposes. The first is to research and document the state of media freedom and safety of journalists in Africa and to provide specific and evidence-based recommendations to guide policy makers, media development organisations and other media freedom and human rights a ... more

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Digital Justice: A Study and Action Guide
Quick Overview

Key Guidance

Erin Green

Toronto; Geneva: World Association for Christian Communication (WACC);World Council of Churches (WCC) (2022), 51 pp.

"This compact, accessible guide unpacks a number of key digital justice issues and looks at how digital communication impacts marginalized peoples and groups. Case studies, facts and figures, discussion questions, and suggested readings offer tools for reflection and action. For use by individuals o ... more

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Digital Rights Are Human Rights: An Introduction to the State of Affairs and Challenges in Africa

Hendrik Bussiek

Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) (2022), 7 pp.

"In sub-Saharan Africa, 495 million people (46 percent of the population) subscribed to mobile phones in 2020, however, the cost of accessing the internet is very high and many African Governments are renowned for restricting access to the internet to limit critics and their opposition through inter ... more

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Journalist Safety and Self-Censorship
Top Insights

Ingrid Fadnes, Anna Grøndahl Larsen, Roy Krøvel (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2021), viii, 210 pp.

"This book explores the relationship between the safety of journalists and self-censorship practices around the world, including local case studies and regional and international perspectives. Bringing together scholars and practitioners from around the globe, Journalist Safety and Self-Censorship p ... more

The State of Media Freedom and Safety of Journalists in Africa Top Insights

Digital Justice: A Study and Action Guide Quick Overview Key Guidance

Journalist Safety and Self-Censorship Top Insights

The State of Media Freedom and Safety of Journalists in Africa
Top Insights

Digital Justice: A Study and Action Guide
Quick Overview

Key Guidance

Journalist Safety and Self-Censorship
Top Insights