Digital communication is growing rapidly. Policymakers in many countries are developing digital infrastructure and governance models of the future. It is critical to move beyond the issue of access in order to address structural and rights issues.
WACC applauds the UN Agenda 2030’s focus on access to information and communications technology (ICTs) and Internet services. But we must address questions about ownership, regulation, privacy, and illegal surveillance of civil society actors when talking about ICTs in development. Access alone will not contribute to sustainable development.
And the digital communication sphere is challenged by disinformation, hate speech and growing media monopolies. That means we need to apply existing rights to ensure freedom of expression, linguistic rights, gender equality, media diversity and more in the digital space.
WACC is partnering with the Just Net Coalition and other organizations to increase digital media literacy and promote a more democratic approach to today’s digital transformation.
We’re also engaging with practitioners, academics, media and other partners to reflect critically on the fundamental issues of accessibility, affordability, accountability, participation, equality/equity, diversity and connectedness. We’re working to see that digital tools are developed and promoted in such a way that oft-excluded communities can participate more fully. And we’re advocating for governments to implement public policies that contribute to greater equity and inclusion.
The use of digital platforms must occur within a framework of rights that help generate genuine opportunities for free and informed participation to promote true sustainable development. This is crucial amid the alarming trend of shrinking space for civil society, which often manifests itself online, as well in the form of online surveillance and Internet shutdowns.
A webinar on 3 December organised by WACC and the World Council of Churches (WCC) aims to help faith communities and individuals be more effective in preventing and mitigating the spread of misinformation and disinformation. The event “Religion and Disinformation: How to be a trusted...
The practical and ethical uses of AI and ways to raise awareness of WACC’s expertise and resources on communication rights were key topics when the regional executive committee (REC) of WACC Europe met last week in Wroclaw, Poland. The REC announced that the region will...
“A Global Vision of Digital Justice,” the most recent issue of WACC’s journal Media Development, delves deeper into the question of how democratic and inclusive governance frameworks can be designed for today’s digital information society. The United Nations Summit of the Future in September...
When it comes to generative artificial intelligence, I am a sceptic. Is it just another Big Tech tool for collecting our personal data? Will it just magnify misinformation in a volatile political climate? Will it perpetuate racist, sexist and cultural stereotypes? Will it seem “smarter”...
Some 25 of WACC’s grassroots partners in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East will explore the communication rights implications of the newly adopted United Nations Global Digital Compact and develop a joint plan of action for advocacy when they meet on 22–25 October in Kathmandu,...
In one part of the world, in Nairobi, Kenya, street vendors are doing booming business with “art” generated by artificial intelligence whose pricing matches or is even higher than real art. What constitutes “art” may be in the eyes of the beholder, but it seems...
“Summit of the Future” sounds a bit like an Avengers movie. It is in fact a much-anticipated (and much-hyped) United Nations event on 22–23 September that aims to address the critical issues that are increasingly transforming lives – issues such as climate change, digital governance,...
WACC and the World Council of Churches (WCC) have launched a key resource to address tech-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) and are inviting individuals and groups to become part of a global movement taking action for gender justice online. “Taking Action Against Tech-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence,” a...
A WACC-supported project run by Ideosync Media Combine is enhancing digital inclusion of the Soliga Indigenous communities in the Biligiri Rangan Hills of southwestern India’s Karnataka state. The Soliga tribal communities, with 60,000 members, have faced decades of disenfranchisement. They have been advocating over the...
Ecumenical partners today are launching “Big Issues in Small Bytes,” the first module of “Just Digital,” a fun, self-directed online course aiming to help individuals and groups navigate wisely online and advocate effectively. The e-learning course has been created by the World Association for Christian...
WACC’s Annual Report 2023 “Communication Justice for All” showcases the organization’s collective work last year to speak up for and advance just, inclusive, and community-led communication worldwide. “WACC believes in communication that builds and shapes community, enhances participation, and promotes freedom. Communication that demands accountability,...
A New Gender Deal should be included as part of the outcomes of the 20-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+20) if our digital future is to be an inclusive and empowering one for women and girls, panelists stressed at a...
By Philip Lee, WACC general secretary Winding up the WSIS+20 Forum High-Level Event (Geneva, May 27–31), International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin said, “This week has shown, with the AI for Good Global Summit happening in parallel, that we are well on our way...
With the aim to reimagine the digital landscape through a gender-just lens, WACC and the Global Alliance on Media and Gender (GAMAG) are organizing a session at the World Summit on the Information Society – WSIS+20 Forum High-Level Event in Geneva. Themed “Gender Equality and...
WACC is relaunching its successful webinar series “AI, You, and Your Organization” from early 2024 as a self-paced online course. “In an era where artificial intelligence is increasingly integrated into various aspects of our lives, understanding its ethical implications and harnessing its potential responsibly is...
Civil society organizations need to be active participants in multi-stakeholder dialogues to find solutions to current global challenges and to shape a just digital future, WACC expert Sarah Macharia urged the United Nations Civil Society Conference last week in Nairobi. Recent analyses clearly show that...
The WSIS+20 Forum High-Level Event to be held in Geneva 27-31 May 2024 will mark twenty years of progress made in the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society, which took place in two phases – Geneva in 2003 and...
WACC is partnering with the Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) to spur economic empowerment among people living in the slums of Nairobi’s Mathare Valley through dependable and cost-effective community-run internet. Founded in 2005, KICTANet is a multi-stakeholder forum for individuals and organizations working on ICT...
A WACC-supported project run by the Woman of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) is strengthening community-based connectivity in the rural North of the country, with a particular focus on bridging the digital gender gap. WOUGNET, which brings together women-led Ugandan civil society organizations, was established in 2000...
The event “Digital Communication Rights: Empowering women for the digital age” on 12 March at the NGO CSW Forum 68 offered civil society advocates, academics, and media professionals tools to advance a gender-just digital world. The Forum is a civil society gathering held annually in...
Apple has been fined €1.8bn by the European Commission for breaking competition laws over music streaming. The EU Competition Commissioner said that Apple had restricted “developers from informing consumers about alternative, cheaper music services available outside of the Apple ecosystem.” Although Apple says it will...
WACC and partner organizations are aiming to equip gender justice advocates to advance women’s digital communication rights with an event during the NGO CSW Forum 68 in New York on 11–24 March. The Forum is a civil society gathering held in parallel to the annual...
Civil society advocates are concerned that governments, security services, and Big Tech may misuse digital technologies to suppress, control, and profit from ordinary people, says Philip Lee, Media Development editor, in the 1/2024 issue of WACC’s quarterly journal. The authors in “Towards Democratic Governance of...
Three years after the Myanmar military seized power in a violent coup, the junta is still carrying out brutal attacks against those resisting its authority. It also uses Internet shutdowns, surveillance, and disappearances to hide its atrocities and to maintain its grip on power. In...
Videos of Elon Musk promoting dubious investments. Popular news anchors advertising all manner of products. Seemingly plausible news articles bearing bylines of known journalists. Welcome to the world of AI-enabled misinformation and disinformation that has rapidly spiraled into the new normal. Over 11,000 business leaders...
In Britain over 20 years ago a large group of local postmasters were prosecuted for fraud. Many were convicted, some jailed, most lost jobs and incomes. Why? Because the Horizon computer system, used to manage their financial accounts was thought incapable of error. Only later,...
An entrenched digital colonialism is shrinking public space and violating communication rights. The global ecumenical movement is called to respond with digital justice, WACC General Secretary Philip Lee told communicators from the Council for World Mission (CWM) gathered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 16–18 January....
Substack is the latest digital communication platform to set off a freedom of expression debate after the co-founder Hamish McKenzie stated that the platform would not demonetize those posting extremist content on the newsletter platform — namely Nazi and white supremacists. The comments sparked both...
WACC has launched the webinar series “AI, You, and Your Organization” to offer social justice advocates an ethics-based approach to the use of artificial intelligence. “Artificial intelligence has been headline news since the launch of ChatGPT over a year ago, with many claiming that it...
At a recent workshop on digital gender justice organized by WACC and the World Council of Churches (WCC), Lucina Di Meco, co-founder of #ShePersisted, shared research on gendered disinformation and online abuse against women in politics. She also shared suggestions for action during her presentation,...
A dynamic cohort of young church leaders have committed to tackling tech-facilitated gender-based violence following a digital gender-justice workshop led by staff from WACC and the World Council of Churches on December 11–14 at the Ecumenical Institute of Bossey (Switzerland). Technology-facilitated gender-based violence, or TFGBV,...
A recent webinar co-organized by WACC and the World Council of Churches on the churches’ role in misinformation and disinformation highlighted the dilemmas all of us face to effectively challenge lies online, whether deliberately created or inadvertently shared. Fact-checking has become one of the essential...
A workshop being held 11–14 December is engaging young church leaders in preventing gender inequities and advocating for gender justice in social media and other online spaces. Together, participants in the event “Taking Action Against Online Sexual and Gender-Based Violence” will review community standards on...
The need to prioritize education and build community was highlighted during a webinar on 5 December that explored how churches have been involved in disinformation or misinformation, and what they can do to prevent this in the future. Hosted by WACC and the World Council...
A webinar co-organized by WACC and the World Council of Churches (WCC) on 5 December will explore how churches can seek and serve the truth in the age of social media and digital communication. The virtual event “Seeking and serving the truth? What role do...
Gender-based violence on and through digital communication technologies is arguably the most pervasive human rights violation on the Internet. It is clear that technology — once considered an agent for gender equality — has become a serious threat to women’s rights. Sexual harassment. Rape threats....
Regulation of digital media may be understood as a means for expanding the space for freedom of expression. There is however a spectrum of reasons for opposition to such regulation, from concerns about potential for abuse by authoritarian States to global big tech’s interest to...
WACC partners advanced a vision for just, inclusive, and community-led digital communication at the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2023 last week in Kyoto, Japan. “The Internet We Want — Empowering All People” was the theme of this year’s meeting of the IGF, a UN mechanism...
The latest report to warn about the societal risks of artificial Intelligence (AI) documents extensive research of human rights online. Freedom on the Net 2023: The Repressive Power of Artificial Intelligence assesses internet freedom in 70 countries, accounting for almost 90 percent of global internet...
“Digital Justice: A Study and Action Guide” is newly available in French and Spanish, widening access for even more people who want to learn more about being a digital advocate and bridging the digital divide. The guide, co-published by WACC and the World Council of...
Young people in Georgia are being equipped to create a safer and more secure digital environment for all through a WACC-supported project with partner organization Helping Hand. Georgia has no internet regulation, a situation which heightens risks of cyberbullying, online harassment, and the spread of...
WACC is partnering with the Computer Professionals’ Union (CPU) in the Philippines to uphold people’s rights to access communication, to privacy, to security, and to free speech. In late 2022 the Filipino government began enacting a law requiring all SIM card users in the country...
Gender integration — through inclusive policies and practical initiatives — is urgently needed in digital spaces, panelists concluded during a session on digitalization and intersectionality at the WACC partner consultation “Communication Rights: Towards a Digital Justice Agenda” in Nairobi, Kenya, in early August. Gender inclusion...
A number of recent research reports investigate the impact social media has on mental health, social well-being – and political polarization. One study, supported by Meta, involved collaboration with a number of US universities to examine the impact of social media – specifically Facebook and...
WACC project partners from 17 countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East have outlined a vision for a process of digital transformation rooted in justice and focused on the common good as the international community moves towards the 20-year review of the World Summit...
WACC project partners Africa, Asia, and the Middle East will focus on advancing digital justice in a world in digital transformation when they meet for a learning, exchange, and networking consultation on 1–3 August in Nairobi, Kenya. The gathering “Communication Rights: Towards a Digital Justice...
WACC has launched a new quiz as a fun way for people to test their knowledge of justice issues related to digital technology. WACC Deputy General Secretary Sara Speicher and WACC Europe President Ralf Peter Reimann, together with WACC partner the Association of Protestant Churches...
A lot of talk about fake news and chatbots like ChatGBT-4, Bing AI, Jasper, Bard and FreedomGPT. One concern is what threats they pose to the integrity of professional journalism. “This tool is going to be the most powerful tool for spreading misinformation that has...
“AI, AI, AI!” — Is this how you feel about artificial intelligence? An online seminar on April 26 hosted by the WACC regional association in Europe offered rich perspectives for those struggling with the implications of digital transformation, for those seeking digital justice — and...
“For the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change”– Audre Lorde Audre Lorde’s admonition that the tools of oppression cannot be...
Churches and civil society group must focus on questions of power around artificial intelligence (AI)—be that tech, political, gender, or racial power—and examine who is being included and excluded, concluded speakers at a 9 March webinar at the NGO CSW67 Forum running parallel to the...
“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,...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
To help amplify the voices of women and girls in marginalized communities, WACC is supporting a project that will establish digital media literacy schools and produce media literacy modules in local languages in India. Ideosync Media Combine, a communication for social change organization in New...
The Philippines is getting left behind in digitalization and ICT development, compared to its ASEAN neighbours who were on the same level in the past years, according to a recent study conducted by the Computer Professionals’ Union (CPU-P) a WACC partner. The study, General Overview...
WACC is supporting a new project in Malawi that aims to contribute to a conducive policy and regulatory environment for establishing and developing Community Networks to help address the connectivity gap in the country. Only 13.1% of Malawi’s population of 17.1 million have access to...
About 40 young Palestinian women in the Aqbet Jaber refugee camp, located on the edge of Jericho, and Jazalone refugee camp, north of Ramallah, will be trained on the safe use of social media and provided with skills that will allow them to use digital...
WACC announces its support for a project in Georgia that aims to empower disadvantaged youth from 25 secondary schools and universities by helping them acquire and develop digital skills that will increase their capacity to address social challenges faced by their communities. The Digital Solutions...