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SPEAKING UP FOR DIGITAL FREEDOMS WORLDWIDE
Imagine being locked down during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the entire
world was glued to the net, without any internet at all. No access to news
or doctors, no chats with family and friends, and no entertainment online.
For millions of people, this wasn't an imaginary scenario: during the first
18 months of the pandemic, India’s government deprived nearly 12 million
people of internet access.
Covid-19 highlighted how, in our 21st century, internet access is a
fundamental enabler of our rights: from health to education to quality
information. In 2024, when billions of people will go to the polls,
internet access is also essential to making an informed decision about how
to vote.
Yet power-hungry governments are going to huge lengths to control what
people see, hear, and say online. Authoritarians continue to silence debate
and dissent – but democratic leaders, too, are increasingly stifling the
voices of people who try to hold them accountable.
INDIA’S government, which commands huge power over the tech companies
based in the country, holds the dubious record of shutting down the
internet more than any other country in the world. These shutdowns affect
people who are elderly, disabled, or poor the most [3]. In the run-up to
the 2024 election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata
Party have ramped up internet censorship, closing down 2 news sites [4] in
6 days and spreading disinformation to sway voters.
CHINA’S infamous censorship regime [5] is ever-expanding, with users of
platforms like Weibo and Weixin (WeChat) facing constant surveillance and
content removals. For people living in exile with large followings, having
an overseas social media account offers protection from the blockages that
befall these platforms. Yet recently [6], when it found itself unable to
censor or silence these influencers, Beijing relied on old-fashioned
thuggery to wage a war of harassment against their followers in China,
including intimidation and arbitrary imprisonment.
In RUSSIA, Putin’s government wields enormous control over online spaces,
harsh ‘anti-extremism’ legislation [7] allows for extrajudicial
blocking of websites, and access to information of public interest –
essential during elections – is severely restricted. The authorities have
blocked or banned thousands of websites and social media platforms,
international media, and domestic media perceived as critical of the
regime.
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_TECHTONIC_: INTERNET SHUTDOWNS AS A TOOL OF CONTROL
Internet shutdowns are now the first page of the dictator’s playbook:
control communication and you can control the populace.
In this episode of ARTICLE 19’s podcast _Techtonic [8]_, DOUG MADORY of
internet infrastructure analysts group, Kentik, talks to host CHRIS
STOKEL-WALKER about how internet shutdowns affect us all.
LISTEN TO _TECHTONIC_ [8]
SPEAKING UP FOR DIGITAL FREEDOMS WORLDWIDE
In the context of ever-increasing online control, ARTICLE 19 is working to
protect and extend people’s digital freedoms worldwide.
GLOBALLY, ARTICLE 19 is one of very few civil society organisations with a
seat at the UN International Telecommunications Union’s table, where we
push for human rights to be at the heart of all their decisions – from
assigning satellite orbits to improving infrastructure in the Global South.
Our advocacy [9] there has resulted in positive action on community
networks: small, nonprofit operators that are vital to getting rural and
remote communities online.
In CENTRAL ASIA, ARTICLE 19 is advocating for robust protection of free
expression online. Our research [10] exposes how governments in the region
routinely block independent media outlets and other online resources, as
well as using vague legal provisions to bring legal action against
journalists and to jail individuals for as little as a social media post.
We also support the brave activists resisting repression on the ground in
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
And in IRAN, where internet shutdowns [11] – especially during protests
– provide cover for the authorities to murder and maim with impunity,
ARTICLE 19 works with our networks on the ground to develop tech that
enables people to evade censorship and get online. In 2023, we provided
emergency support to 1,200 PEOPLE, including protesters, ethnic religious
minorities, and LGBTQI+ people.
Like the woman who lost 4 family members on flight PS752, which Iran’s
Revolutionary Guard shot down on 8 January 2020, killing all 176 on board.
She was one of dozens arrested at the funeral of 17-year-old schoolgirl
Armita Garawand [12], who died after being assaulted by Iran’s
‘morality police’ for wearing ‘improper hijab’. We secured her
social accounts – including group messages between the families of flight
PS752 victims – when she was being transported to a detainment centre, so
that the authorities could not access them. As a result, she was released 3
days later, and the families’ privacy was protected.
THIS WEEK, AS WE MARK WORLD DAY AGAINST CYBER CENSORSHIP, WILL YOU HELP
PROTECT FREE EXPRESSION ONLINE AND MAKE CYBER CENSORSHIP A THING OF THE
PAST?
INVEST IN A FREE AND OPEN INTERNET TODAY
Copyright © 2024 ARTICLE 19, All rights reserved.
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