Tag: Access to information
Blog
Nauru in hot seat as U.N. decries internet blocking, clampdown on free expression
Today countries around the world urged the small island state of Nauru to restore access to social media and support free expression. Delivered in a session at the United Nations Human Rights Council, the recommendations — presented by official delegations from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Timor Leste, among others — represent a sharp rebuke after Nauru clamped down on free expression over the past year, including blocking Facebook. In a separate action, Access Now delivered a petition to the government of Nauru signed by more than 5,000 people calling on the government to restore full access to the internet.…
3 November 2015
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
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
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
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
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
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