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Consultation Paper on AI Regulation: Emerging Approaches Across the World

Juan David Gutiérrez

Paris: UNESCO (2024), 49 pp.

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The Nexus of Digital Authoritarianism and Religious Populism

Ihsam Yilmaz

Religions, volume 14, issue 747 (2024), 19 pp.

"This paper delves into the intricate relationship between religious populism and the legitimization of digital authoritarianism in Turkey. Specifically, it investigates how the ruling party, AKP, has strategically linked Islamist values to state policies as a means of justifying its repressive cont ... more

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Challenges and opportunities for using universal service funds to bridge the digital divide

Geneva: ITU (2024), 10 pp.

"This document presents the joint interim (annual) deliverable for Question 4/1, “Economic aspects of national telecommunications/ICTs”, and Question 5/1, “Telecommunications/ICTs for rural and remote areas”. It concerns the challenges and opportunities associated with using universal servic ... more

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25 estándares para una internet más transparente en Colombia

Observacom; El Veinte; UNESCO (2024), 9 pp.

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Online Content Regulation in the Asia-Pacific: Limiting Civil Society’s Capacity to Hold Governments Accountable

Bangkog: Asia Centre (2024), v, 37 pp.

"Governments have updated penal codes and national security laws, enacted fake news and cybersecurity laws as well as laws that govern internet service providers and technology companies. These laws have widely been used to block and remove online content that call out blind spots in government poli ... cies and to intimidate and prosecute these content creators through hefty fines and jail time. Efforts to hold political office holders and government officials accountable for their policies are increasingly penalised. These government actions have significantly impacted civil society actors in numerous ways. First, individuals and organisations utilising the online sphere to hold government officials and policies accountable have come under intense scrutiny, resulting in the criminalisation of critics and the blocking and removal of online content deemed sensitive by state authorities. Second, the effectiveness of civil society in holding governments accountable is compromised, as state authorities routinely direct internet service providers and technology companies to block or remove online content considered sensitive or illegal. Consequently, individuals and organisations increasingly find their digital content at risk of being blocked or removed, succumbing to government directives to internet service providers and technology companies. This diminishes civil society’s calls for accountability. Third, on several instances, governments have imposed internet shutdowns - particularly during elections and politically sensitive periods - to disrupt the information flow. Ultimately, this has limited civil society’s ability to send and receive communications effectively to mobilise people to hold governments publicly accountable during politically important instances. Fourth, troll ng has surfaced as a mainstream strategy to harass and intimidate individuals and organisations who seek to hold governments accountable. Typically orchestrated by organised groups or cybertroopers, these digital attacks increasingly involve online hate speech directed at women who call out blindspots in government policies. Fifth, the ways of working of INGOs and CSOs have changed, leading many organisations to restrict the scope and assertiveness of their communications to shield themselves from government retribution and trolling. Some entities have opted to remove the visibility of their organisations, incorporating measures such as disallowing the use of their logos or the publishing of videos, photos and text by local partners in order to distance themselves from particular activities and contents of knowledge products. Given these developments, the principal recommendation is that key stakeholders, including international organisations, governments, ISPs and technology companies, and civil society actors, should recognise that criticism of government policies and officials is a legitimate activity and a vital form of expression for civil society. Hence, any measures, whether legal or non-legal, that interfere with or criminalise this legitimate activity should be rescinded or disallowed. Instead, measures should be put in place to ensure that civil society is empowered to call out the blind spots in government policies." (Executive summary) more

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Contesting personalized recommender systems: A cross-country analysis of user preferences

Christopher Starke, Ljubisa Metikos, Natali Helberger, Claes de Vreese

Information, Communication & Society (2024), 20 pp.

"Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube wield substantial influence over digital information flows using sophisticated algorithmic recommender systems (RS). As these systems curate personalized content, concerns have emerged about their propensity to amplify polar ... more

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Measuring the Emissions & Energy Footprint of the ICT Sector: Implications for Climate Action

Washington, DC; Geneva: World Bank; ITU (2024), vi, 45 pp.

"The objective of this report is two-fold. First, the report breaks down the energy and emissions profile of the sector and assesses the 30 highest emitting countries for telecommunications while providing global estimates for other ICT sector segments. The report uses a key framework for categorizi ... more

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Media freedom and journalist safety in the UK Online Safety Act

Ricki-Lee Gerbrandt

Journal of Media Law, volume 15, issue 2 (2024), pp. 179-212

"In the digital era, journalists are targeted with online abuse including serious threats of violence. These censorship tactics are a direct threat to media freedom. Although the UK Government intended to tackle online abuse of journalists in the Online Safety Act 2023, provisions fit for that purpo ... more

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Contestations of Internet Governance and Digital Authoritarianism in Pakistan

Zahid Shahab Ahmed, Ihsan Yilmaz, Akbarzadeh, Sharam, Galib Bashirov

International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society (2024), 23 pp.

"The existing literature on Internet governance offers important insights on the relationship between state and society in China and the West. It is important to explore this relationship in the developing world. This study focuses on Pakistan, exploring the role of relevant legal frameworks, politi ... more

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Digital Skills Toolkit

Chris Coward, Charles Bugre

Geneva: ITU (2024), vi, 49 pp.

"The Digital Skills Toolkit is a guide for governments to develop national digital skills strategies. The aim is to provide governments with step-by-step guidelines and multiple examples that cover a wide range of contexts to draw upon from around the world. The toolkit is for all countries - those ... more

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Collaborative digital regulation country review: South Africa’s digital transformation and collaborative regulation

Janet Hernandez, Jeff Bernstein

Geneva: ITU (2024), vii, 43 pp.

"As South Africa adopts reforms to further strengthen its economy across multiple sectors, this country review presents the policy, legislative, and governance frameworks that are enabling South Africa’s digital transformation. It includes a review of key institutions and collaborative digital reg ... more

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Charter of Feminist Demands from the Global South: A Global Digital Compact for Gender Equality

Anita Gurumurthy, Nandini Chami

Berlin: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) (2023), 12 pp.

"This Charter outlines normative directions and an action agenda for a feminist approach to digital transformation, based on wide-ranging consultations with nearly 100 participants from the Global South. It calls for key principles of digital governance – openness, freedom and security – to serv ... more

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Gender equality in digital policy in Ethiopia

Geneva: ITU (2023), vi, 26 pp.

"This country report provides an overview of the extent to which gender is addressed in Ethiopia’s digital policies, strategies, and regulations, divided into categories such as international development instruments, national digital policies and strategies, and digital sector-related laws and reg ... more

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Connecting every school in Indonesia to the Internet: Policy landscape assessment

Arif Wismadi

Geneva: ITU (2023), ix, 30 pp.

"Indonesia is in the lowest category on the Global Connectivity Index 2020 in terms of ICT investment, ICT maturity and digital economic performance. It should close the Internet connectivity gap in every educational facility so as to ensure educational opportunities, a productive knowledge-based ec ... onomy and, ultimately, graduation to a higher category. Internet service affordability is another factor contributing to the urban–rural digital divide, which has widened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite national spending by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology, 40 per cent of students and teachers remain unconnected for reasons related to affordability. Although Indonesia has reached target prices for mobile Internet service of 1.17 (pre-paid) and 1.40 per cent (post-paid), the requirement to study and teach from home has led to a surge in demand at the same time as it has highlighted the high cost of Internet use in education. The way in which the Internet has been used to study during the pandemic makes it unaffordable for teachers and students [...] Despite the best efforts of the digital/telecommunication and education sectors, the residual gaps are indicative of a critical policy issue, as revealed by further analyses. Without proper policy intervention, the education sector will continue to suffer the severe impact of connectivity affordability and accessibility gaps. The following policy interventions are recommended to address these gaps: • Option 1: Issue a new presidential decree expanding BAKTI’s programme for school connectivity beyond the current 3T areas; Option 2: Expand the current Internet access programme beyond the 3T areas to connect schools that are most in need, targeting schools in underserved areas. Option 3: To enhance affordability, have BAKTI focus on coverage programmes (e.g. subsidized base transceiver stations), not only in 3T areas, but also where students and teachers live, and the schools become the universal connectivity target. Option 4: If BAKTI has implemented all supply-side interventions, but affordability remains an issue, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology could consider providing demand-side subsidies for underprivileged groups of students and teachers." (Executive summary, pages 27-28) more

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Big Tech muss weg! Die Digitalkonzerne zerstören Demokratie und Wirtschaft. Wir werden sie stoppen

Martin Andree

Frankfurt; New York: Campus Verlag (2023), 287 pp.

"Digitale Monopole bringen immer größere Teile unserer Lebenswelt unter ihre Kontrolle. Die Plattformen dominieren zunehmend die politische Meinungsbildung und schaffen zugleich unsere freie Marktwirtschaft ab. Man fragt sich: Ist das überhaupt noch legal? Warum sollten wir uns das noch länger g ... more

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Die Stärkung von Kinderrechten durch den Digital Services Act (DSA): Wege zu Best-Practice-Ansätzen

Ingrid Stapf, Stefan Dreyer, Laura Schelenz et al.

Sicherheit für Kinder in der digitalen Welt (SIKID) (2023), 18 pp.

"Das vorliegende Papier soll die Umsetzung des neuen Digital Services Act (DSA) konstruktiv aus einer kinderrechtlichen Perspektive begleiten. Dabei wird gezeigt, welche Potenziale sich aus dem DSA ergeben, um Kinderrechte im Digitalen zu stärken. Im Fokus stehen Anbietermaßnahmen sowie auch Präv ... more

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Regulation of Digital Platforms for a Socially-Just Gig Economy in Kenya

Tom Kwanya, Kutoma J. Wakunuma

Berlin: Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) (2023), 99 pp.

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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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Applying the ‘CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance’ to ecology and biodiversity research

Lydia Jennings, Talia Anderson, Martinez, Andrew, Rogena Sterling, Dominique David Chavez et al.

Nature Ecology & Evolution, volume 7, issue 10 (2023), pp. 1547-1551

"Indigenous Peoples are increasingly being sought out for research partnerships that incorporate Indigenous Knowledges into ecology research. In such research partnerships, it is essential that Indigenous data are cared for ethically and responsibly. Here we outline how the ‘CARE Principles for In ... more

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Social Media Platforms and Challenges for Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights

Beatriz Botero Arcila, Rachel Griffin

Brussels: European Parliament, Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs (2023), 151 pp.

"This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the LIBE Committee, examines risks that contemporary social media - focusing in particular on the most widely-used platforms - present for democracy, the rul ... more