Tag: Access to information

Blog

Government may have ordered internet shutdown in Congo-Brazzaville

Today, several news outlets reported an internet shutdown in Congo-Brazzaville, where thousands of people are protesting after news surfaced that President Sassou Nguesso is contemplating a proposal to extend presidential term limits. While it’s not clear yet what’s happening in Congo-Brazzaville, we’re very concerned about the safety and security of the people protesting. Internet shutdowns do not restore order, help victims, or protect rights.…

20 October 2015

Blog

Freedom of Expression

Beyond connectivity: building an inclusive U.N. agenda for internet development

On Monday, October 19th, stakeholders in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) process gathered in New York for an interactive summit that represents one of the last few chances for civil society to discuss the WSIS findings and help shape the future of the initiative. Access Now joined a diverse coalition of groups to submit a unified revision of the “zero draft” — the draft of language that will become the resolution for adoption by the U.N. General Assembly in December.…

20 October 2015

Blog

Freedom of Expression

One million deleted tweets archived, but Twitter still won’t bring back Politwoops

This week the Open State Foundation, creator of Politwoops, uploaded more than one million deleted politicians’ tweets to the Internet Archive, preserving the information for the public record. The collection archives the deleted tweets of 10,404 politicians worldwide, which were published before Twitter cut off Open State’s access to its Application Programming Interface, or API. Unfortunately, Twitter still refuses to reinstate access to the API, which means that people in 32 countries can’t see what politicians are deleting right now.…

17 September 2015

Blog

Privacy

Access Now holds apéro on the Future of the Internet

On Tuesday 22 September, Access will hold an apéro on the Future of the Internet where our Brussels team and civil society representatives will meet with Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and their staff.…

8 September 2015

Press Releases

Freedom of Expression

People in Crimea can use Gmail again

Access applauds the recent decision by U.S. government agencies to modify sanctions to allow the export of vital technologies to Crimea once again. …

22 May 2015

Blog

Digital Security

In the Pursuit of Digital Rights: Spotlight on Turkey

The ninth annual UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF) took place in Turkey in early September, placing a global spotlight on the country’s digital rights record. As we have seen in recent years, the UN-mandated forum has a tendency to give rise to complicated and unexpected consequences in its host country.…

6 October 2014

Blog

Freedom of Expression

US must remedy NSA’s 2012 Syrian internet shutdown

In a recent interview, former National Security Agency contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed that the Syrian government was not to blame for a nationwide internet blackout on Nov. 29, 2012, the NSA was. …

15 August 2014

Blog

Net Discrimination

Wikipedia Zero and net neutrality: Wikimedia turns its back on the open internet

Wikipedia’s vision is “a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge.” It’s a value that we at Access share. So we were shocked last week when the Wikimedia Foundation, which supports and hosts Wikipedia, turned its back on the greatest driver of open access to information the world has ever known, the open internet.…

8 August 2014

Blog

Digital Security

Reflections on the WSIS+10 High Level Event

From the 10th to the 13th of June, the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) held the capstone event of its ten year review, the WSIS+10 High Level Event. Two important documents were endorsed at this event, a statement on the implementation of the WSIS Outcomes enshrined in the 2005 Tunis Agenda, and a second document articulating a vision beyond 2015.…

10 July 2014

Blog

Freedom of Expression

Flying the coup: Circumventing censorship in Thailand

Access complied the following list of readily available digital security tools to help internet users in Thailand exercise fundamental freedoms in a safe and secure manner online.…

17 June 2014

Blog

Freedom of Expression

Thai coup threatens freedom of expression online

Access and our partners are alarmed by recent political events in Thailand; less than a week after a military coup took control of civilian institutions, the country is now witnessing a crackdown on free expression online and offline.…

29 May 2014

Blog

Digital Security

What did Africa Get out of NetMundial Internet Governance Discussions?

Our previous analysis of African stakeholders’ contributions to the initial NetMundial open submission process found that stakeholders from Africa emphasized human rights and role of governments in matters of internet governance.…

9 May 2014