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New York: Columbia University Global Freedom of Expression (2024)

"Columbia Global Freedom of Expression seeks to strengthen freedom of expression worldwide by advancing the understanding of international and national norms and institutions that best protect the free flow of information and expression in an interconnected global community. We do so by sharing know ... more

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#Hashtag Palestine 2023

Mohammad Qadaan

7amleh – Arab Center for Social Media Advancement (2024), 47 pp.

"Throughout 2023, a wide range of social and political developments both locally and globally, had a profound impact on the digital spHere In 2023, Israel’s constant assaults on Palestinian communities in the West Bank, coupled with unprecedented levels of aggression inflicted on Gaza have led to ... an alarming escalation in human rights violations against Palestinians living in the occupied Palestinian territory and Palestinian citizens of Israel. This rapid deterioration has coincided with a simultaneous targeting of digital rights, not just for Palestinians but also those who advocate for Palestinian human rights. During the same period, Israeli authorities cracked down on digital rights by persecuting Palestinians for simply expressing their views or opinions on various online platforms, through a variety of measures including censorship, surveillance and arrests. Furthermore, Israel persistently and intentionally disrupted communications and internet infrastructure in Gaza. In addition to introducing draconian legislation to restrict freedom of expression and criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza. This included vague and discriminatory legislation such as the ninth amendment to the anti-terrorism law, which refers to the alleged consumption of what Israel deems as terrorist publications. These violations occurred within the broader framework of government policies to expand surveillance and digital repression of Palestinians, including the deployment of mass surveillance tools and mobilization of a vast voluntary movement to report individuals expressing criticism of Israeli policies. Social media platforms played a key role in facilitating Israel’s oppressive measures. While social media companies, especially Meta’s online platforms, have long been accused of restricting Palestinian content, the evidence shows that these policies intensified in 2023, despite prior commitments to address these discriminatory policies. The most notable measures included mass content removals and extensive “shadowbanning” of users criticizing Israel or posting in support of Palestinians. During Israel’s war on Gaza, these content restrictions and removals soared to unprecedented levels. Users of Meta’s platforms, including journalists, activists, media pages and those simply documenting reality on the ground or posting in support of Palestinian rights were subject to account banning, content removal and other restrictive measures. Such policies appeared to explicitly target those in support of Palestinian rights, with the purpose of restricting freedom of information, and censoring the Palestinian narrative." (Executive summary) more

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A Decade of Internet Freedom in Africa: Reflections and Insights from 10 Change Makers

CIPESA (2024), 48 pp.

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Digital Ecosystem Country Assessment (DECA): Ghana

Reyn Anderson, Yaroslav Eferin, Kate Gromova, Vlad Manoil, Victor Teppeh

USAID, Digital Frontiers Project, external version (2024), 149 pp.

"Ghana is among Sub-Saharan Africa’s leaders in digital transformation. Over the past decade, the government has put the key institutions, legislative frameworks, strategies, and policies in place that are necessary to drive change. The Ministry of Communications and Digitalization leads and coord ... inates development and implementation of a core set of policies and strategies that are digitally transforming the government, economy, and society. The ICT for Accelerated Development (ICT4AD) Policy has guided this journey for more than a decade. A new Digital Economy Policy is drafted and under review to drive the next stage of Ghana’s digital development. The National Financial Inclusion and Development Strategy and the National Cyber Security Policy and Strategy have also been key. Ghana adopted an inclusive approach to developing its cybersecurity strategy, which contributed to improved cybersecurity capacity and considered citizens’ online safety and freedoms. However, a clear strategy for protecting critical national infrastructure is missing. Ghana has been a pioneer and champion of digital government transformation in West Africa over the past decade, with funding and support from the World Bank. Important whole-of-government platforms and services have been put in place, including the Government Wide Area Network (GWAN), which provides internet connection to more than 1,000 district assemblies, hospitals, police stations, and post offices across the country; a National Data Center; the Smart workplace suite, which includes email and productivity tools for government employees; and Ghana.gov portal, a one-stop-shop for citizen services. Still, digital government transformation is incomplete. Easy, efficient, online government services are in demand, but the Ghana.gov portal options are limited, and most major government service providers have their own separate online services portals. The national identity Ghana Card could enhance digital service delivery by providing a universally recognized, secure, and easy-to-use means of digital identification and authentication for citizens when accessing both public and private digital services, but the current identification system is not integrated with other government-operated databases, significantly reducing its many potential applications. The Regional Coordinating Councils, and metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies (MMDAs) are just now embarking on the digital transformation journey. The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development coordinates their efforts. Challenges for Ghana’s remaining efforts at digital government transformation include adequate funding to manage and maintain its connectivity and data center infrastructure, affordable internet for regional governments, inadequate digital literacy and skills among mid-level and regional staff, or related national training programs. A big skill gap exists in cybersecurity; Ghana faces a deficit of skilled cybersecurity professionals. The government also needs to improve efforts at stakeholder engagement and awareness-raising when developing new policy proposals." (Executive summary, pages 11-12) more

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Internet Universality: Advancing Inclusive Digital Transformation with ROAM-X Indicators
Key Guidance

Paris: UNESCO (2024), 126 pp.

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Freedom on the Net 2024: The Struggle for Trust Online

Allie Funk, Kian Vesteinsson, Grant Baker

Washington, DC: Freedom House (2024), 43 pp.

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Navigating Freedom: Making Sense of Lebanon's Digital Discourse on Free Expression

Jad Safwan

Metn: Samir Kassir Foundation (2023), 13 pp.

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Digital Ecosystem Country Assessment (DECA): Bangladesh

Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman, Raiyan Kabir, Connor Mackenzie, Olga Morawczynski

USAID, Digital Frontiers Project (2023), 116 pp.

"The Bangladesh Digital Ecosystem Country Assessment (DECA) report presents the findings and recommendations of the Bangladesh DECA. It outlines the key aspects of Bangladesh's digital ecosystem and provides 10 recommendations for creating a more inclusive, safe, and enabling environment. Guided by ... three USAID/Bangladesh priorities, which include i ) improved democratic systems that promote transparency, accountability, and integrity; ii) enhanced opportunities for an inclusive, healthy, educated society, and a robust economy; and iii) strengthened resilience to shocks and stressors, the DECA process included desk research, consultations with USAID/Bangladesh technical offices, and 81 key informant interviews with stakeholders from civil society, academia, and the private and public sectors. Key findings include: Bangladesh’s digital ecosystem has steadily evolved over the last decade; the Government of Bangladesh (GoB)'s Vision 2021 and Vision 2041 underscore the importance of Digital Bangladesh and have been drivers for digital transformation across the country. However, undefined roadmaps and uneven knowledge of digitalization among government officials undermine GoB’s efforts; limited digital literacy is a key barrier across all aspects of the ecosystem; connectivity is affected by poor quality of services and lack of affordable data; a growing ecosystem of locally relevant content is key to closing the usage gap; barriers in terms of funding and understanding user needs remain; Bangladesh ranks Number One in South Asia on the e-government academy’s National Cybersecurity Index (NCSI) in terms of the availability of necessary laws and policy, but there is significant room for improvement when it comes to the strength of implementation across the ecosystem; misinformation and disinformation are widespread in the digital sphere; mobile financial services are expansive in Bangladesh and increasingly inclusive; e-commerce and the tech startup environment have grown quickly due to an increase in international and domestic investments and an active private sector; an expansive digital talent pool exists, but they are not trained to their fullest potential, hindering their income potential and Bangladesh’s growth trajectory." (https://www.usaid.gov/digital-development) more

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Assessing the Level of Respect of the Internet Rights and Freedoms in Africa: Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Chad Study Cases

Protege QV (2023), 6 pp.

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Digital Ecosystem Country Assessment (DECA): Guatemala

Liliana Fernandez, Julio Herrera, Sergio Martinez, Susannah Horton

USAID, Digital Frontiers Project (2023), 112 pp.

"The Guatemala DECA report presents the findings and recommendations of the Guatemala DECA. It outlines the key aspects of Guatemala’s digital ecosystem and provides nine recommendations for creating a more inclusive, safe, and enabling environment. Guided by USAID/Guatemala priorities: i) partner ... more

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Digital Ecosystem Country Assessment (DECA): El Salvador

Raiyan Kabir, Iris Palma, Peter Johnson

USAID, Digital Frontiers Project (2023), 90 pp.

"The El Salvador Digital Ecosystem Country Assessment (DECA) report presents the findings and recommendations of the El Salvador DECA. It outlines the key aspects of El Salvador’s digital ecosystem and provides 10 recommendations for creating a more inclusive, safe, and enabling environment. Guide ... more

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Internet Freedoms in Malaysia: Regulating Online Discourse on Race, Religion, and Royalty

Bangkok: Asia Centre (2023), 49 pp.

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Rapport sur les libertés numériques dans les pays francophones d’Afrique

Olivier Alais, Erik Da Silva, Gabriel Fonlladosa et al.

Paris: Agence Française de Développement (AFD) (2023), 91 pp.

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Data Governance in Zimbabwe: Opportunities and Challenges

Scott Timcke, Hanani Hlomani

Cape Town: Research ICT Africa (2023), 12 pp.

"Recent legislation on data linking national security and cybersecurity undermines the creation of a trustworthy data environment. Restrictions on information flows have immediate and medium-term costs to digital economic activity, which in turn have knock-on effects for the prospect of any subseque ... more

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Greater Internet Freedom: Performance Evaluation

Anna Solovyeva, Catherine Coyer, Jessica Wallach, Samantha Austin

Washington, DC; Chicago: USAID;University of Chicago, NORC (2023), vi, 106 pp.

"This performance evaluation assesses selected thematic areas of the Greater Internet Freedom (GIF) project, a global activity designed to enhance digital security for civil society and media and increase citizen engagement in governing the Internet. The evaluation uses a mixed-methods approach incl ... more