Netzpolitik

With foreign owners leaving the market, Central European oligarchs are buying whatever they can get their hands on. The region is an object lesson in how vested interests can create a quasi-media monopoly on information.

Digital, online and social-media avenues undoubtedly offer an alternative or complementary channel for news, because of the inherent difficulty in censoring these spaces. Their wide reach and levels of engagement have saved lives during disasters or emergencies.

Journalists sued for espionage in Cambodia, and for using drones or supposedly violating the official secrets act in Myanmar. News outlets faced with financial penalties steep enough to cause them to go under, as it did in Cambodia. Media organizations in the Philippines repeatedly described as ‘fake news’ outlets by government officials chafing at critical reporting.

China suffers from draconian internet regulations, but enjoys a prosperous marketplace; it attracts IT giants from the United States and Europe, but it has also expelled some of them.

For decades, Myanmar was among the most isolated countries in the world. Although the process of democratization and the internet have changed things, people still cannot express themselves freely.

While the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act aims to counter rampant online harassment and terrorist content, it drew criticism for severely impacting citizens’ rights to expression and privacy.

Social media has played a critical role in influencing change in Afghanistan. The potential anonymity of the internet offers great opportunities for women.

The Indian national identity system, Aadhaar, was set up to empower disadvantaged groups and enable digital innovation. However, it has sparked protests.

Women in Pakistan face sexual harassment in public spaces and in the digital sphere. We talked with Nighat Dad, founder of the Digital Rights Foundation, about women’s experiences and how virtual abuse can be countered.

Violent communication has relevant effects on queer feminist internet activism. This article focuses on options and necessities of regulating such forms of violent anti-feminist and racist communication. How to prevent or to stop violent online-communication?

Intelligence services collect metadata on the communication of all citizens. Politicians would have us believe that this data doesn’t say all that much. A guy from the Netherlands put this to the test and demonstrated otherwise: metadata reveals a lot more about your life than you think.

The seventh annual International Summit for Community Wireless Networks took place in Berlin, Germany from October 2 – 4, 2013.

The British government is considering new Internet surveillance laws, which would allow investigation authorities to monitor users’ email traffic, visited websites, phone calls and text messages in real time and without court authorization. Civil rights activists fear a far-reaching intrusion into the privacy of British citizens. Heinrich Böll Foundation has talked to Nick Pickles, director of the privacy and civil liberties organisation Big Brother Watch, about the proposal.  

Due to political conflicts in Thailand over the last few years, new media have been widely used as tools in public discussions. The Heinrich Böll Stiftung Southeast Asia Regional Office organized a public discussion forum to stimulate discussion between representatives of different groups about the protection of freedom of expression and access to information.