“Get your skates on!” I sometimes hear, especially from harassed parents trying to speed up apathetic children. I can’t call communication rights advocates apathetic, but we should feel pushed to move faster and harder in response to rapid digital technology developments. It is, of course, fair to...
The lives of many people today have improved immeasurably compared to the past. On average, income and life expectancy have increased, and extreme poverty has declined. Yet, progress has been extremely uneven. In principle, genuine social progress is high on the agenda of civil society worldwide....
The message to end misogyny, sexual harassment and gender-based violence in the digital realm has been iterated and reiterated countless times in as many spaces and languages the world over. Yet, there still lacks global consensus on what constitutes such behaviour. Related to the absence...
My family decided to move to a rural location in northern England. Knowing that my job depends on excellent internet connections, friends expressed concern that by moving away from towns and their services, I wouldn’t be able to access the internet at the same speeds...
For many, digital surveillance is a big “So what?”, the unavoidable risk of using the technology. For others, it can mean obstruction, harassment, detention, unfair trial, and imprisonment. Over 1.2 million international visitors were expected to visit Qatar to watch the FIFA World Cup. Worldwide fervour...
Seems like you can’t fight for recognition of women in discussions about diversity without being drawn into TERF wars. The TERF—trans-exclusionary radical feminist—label is increasingly being applied to disparage voices urging protection of the modest gains for women in the steep road to gender equality,...
Mozilla, the organization/community that built the Firefox browser and now has a Foundation working to ensure the internet remains an open and accessible public resource, has released a 12-minute documentary, “Unknown Influence” The documentary interviews independent researchers and technology experts from the US, Kenya, France, United...
The world’s law enforcement services are in cahoots, sharing detailed data about individuals as well as corporations “in the interest of national security”. In 2021, the Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the United States of America on Access to Electronic Data...
Pursuit of profit and social media algorithms foster and elevate hate into the mainstream. In yet one more example, misogynistic and violent messages made by influencer Andrew Tate, recently banned from social media platforms, were viewed billions of times on TikTok alone. His rise on...
WACC Global and WACC Latin America today urged churches and ecumenical bodies to be part of a "transformative movement" that will work towards creating a digital public sphere that upholds democracy, human rights, mutual accountability, and solidarity. WACC General Secretary Philip Lee and WACC Deputy General...