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Challenges and Perspectives of Hate Speech Research
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Christian Strippel, Sünje Paasch-Colberg, Martin Emmer, Joachim Trebbe (eds.)

Berlin: Freie Universität Berlin, Institute for Media and Communication Studies (2023), 482 pp.

"This book is the result of a conference that could not take place. It is a collection of 26 texts that address and discuss the latest developments in international hate speech research from a wide range of disciplinary perspectives. This includes case studies from Brazil, Lebanon, Poland, Nigeria, ... more

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Civil Society in the Digital Age in Africa: Identifying Threats and Mounting Pushbacks

Hlengiwe Dube, Maristella A. Simiyu, Tomiwa Ilori

Pretoria; Kampala: Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria;CIPESA (2020), 78 pp.

"The report documents the threats to civil society in the digital age by examining the legislative and regulatory framework in four countries in Africa: Egypt, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zambia. These countries were selected from the four main geographic regions of Africa, in order to provide a sense ... more

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The Impact of COVID-19 on Digital Rights in Africa

African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms Coalition (2020), 297 pp.

"This publication is a compilation of 19 articles by African researchers, academics, journalists and human and digital rights activists on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on digital rights in Africa. The articles were commissioned by the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms (AfDec ... ) Coalition as part of its project on “Securing human rights online in Africa through a strong and active ‘African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms’ network”. The AfDec Coalition is a pan-African initiative which promotes human rights standards and principles of openness in internet policy formulation and implementation on the continent, guided by the 13 principles established in the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms. At the time that the papers were commissioned, in June 2020, African states had either invoked existing policies or adopted new policies for prevention of spread, containment and treatment of the virus that had an impact on the enjoyment of digital rights. For example, most governments employed the use of contact tracing applications to track and trace citizens’ movements and put in place measures criminalising free speech when it contained false information about the pandemic. These two examples had the potential to be abused, particularly the latter, which was used to silence journalists and government critics. The pandemic also moved most citizens’ communication, education, work, trade and access to basic services from physical interactions to primilary online interactions. However, the continent is still largely made up of informal economies, has a low internet penetration rate of 28.2% (far below the global average of around 53%), and has seen an increase in reports of digital rights violations resulting from repressive cyberlaws, making the efforts to address the pandemic inadequate and inequitable. These articles offer reflective analyses on government efforts to curb the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of the AfDec principles, with a focus on a number of the principles including privacy and personal data protection, gender equality, freedom of expression, internet access and affordability, and the right to development and access to knowledge." (Introduction) more

Challenges and Perspectives of Hate Speech Research Top Insights

Civil Society in the Digital Age in Africa: Identifying Threats and Mounting Pushbacks

The Impact of COVID-19 on Digital Rights in Africa

Challenges and Perspectives of Hate Speech Research
Top Insights