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The Unfreedom Monitor: Kenya Country Report

Chepkoech Rotich

Amsterdam: Global Voices Advox (2023), 21 pp.

"This report provides an overview of the most prolific instances of digital authoritarianism in Kenya. The report will debrief the most relevant actions and decisions taken by the Kenyan government in recent years that leverage the internet and technology in order to achieve certain political goals. ... more

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The Unfreedom Monitor: Ecuador Country Report

Amsterdam: Global Voices Advox (2023), 22 pp.

"Under the government of Rafael Correa, punitive measures were used systematically against the privately-owned press, and there were even emblematic prosecution cases that were later dealt with by international courts such as the El Universo case. However, Fundamedios and Fundación Periodistas Sin ... more

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The Unfreedom Monitor: El Salvador Country Report

Amsterdam: Global Voices Advox (2023), 24 pp.

"This report analyses two major incidents: the disclosure that Pegasus spyware has been used against journalists from independent media outlets and representa tives of civil society, and Bukele’s legal advisor’s threats against two women journalists for not revealing anonymous sources included i ... more

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The Unfreedom Monitor: Hungary Country Report

Amsterdam: Global Voices Advox (2023), 32 pp.

"Incidents that illustrate how digital authoritarianism works in Hungary can be grouped into three categories: gaining control over critical digital infrastructure, silencing and intimidation of dissenting voices, and the use of law to undermine people’s rights. The report demonstrates how these d ... more

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The Unfreedom Monitor: Observatory Report

Amsterdam: Global Voices Advox (2023), 62 pp.

"Authoritarian practices are not strictly limited to authoritarian states; they are employed by regimes that span the political spectrum. The research approach argues for expanding the understanding of key authoritarian strategies to include persuasion alongside coercion and cooptation, which are id ... more

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The Unfreedom Monitor: Venezuela Country Report

Amsterdam: Global Voices Advox (2023), 23 pp.

"With the crackdown on radio, TV, and newspapers since 2007, the Venezuelan population is largely dependent on digital spaces: social media is generally the main source of information across the country, and digital media has taken over other types of press and completely changed the media ecosystem ... more

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Mapping the supply of surveillance technologies to Africa: Case studies from Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco, Malawi, and Zambia

Tony Roberts, Judy Gitahi, Patrick Allam et al.

Brighton: Institute of Development Studies (IDS) (2023), 167 pp.

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Dictatorship and Information: Authoritarian Regime Resilience in Communist Europe and China

Martin K. Dimitrov

New York: Oxford University Press (2023), xix, 470 pp.

"This study offers a systematic theory of the institutional solutions to the dictator’s dilemma, which arises from the incapacity to calibrate repression and concessions due to the lack of information about elite and popular discontent. Empirically, the book presents a detailed discussion of the t ... more

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Digital China: Überwachungsdiktatur und technologische Avantgarde

Kristin Shi-Kupfer

München: Beck (2023), 190 pp.

"Mit parteistaatlicher Unterstützung avancierten die großen IT-Unternehmen Chinas seit Ende der 1990er Jahre schnell zu den Motoren der am dynamischsten wachsenden Digitalwirtschaft der Welt. Sie adaptierten zunächst Produkte und Geschäftsmodelle aus dem Ausland, gingen danach aber eigene Wege. ... more

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Threats to Journalists from the Consumer Internet of Things

Anjuli R. K. Shere, Jason R. C. Nurse, Andrew Martin

In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Cybersecurity, Situational Awareness and Social Media

Cyril Onwubiko; Pierangelo Rosati; Aunshul Rege; Arnau Erola; Xavier Bellekens; Hanan Hindy; Martin Gilje Jaatun (eds.)

Singapore: Springer (2023), pp. 303–326

"Threats associated with the consumer Internet of Things (IoT) may particularly inhibit the work and wellbeing of journalists, especially because of the danger of technological surveillance and the imperative to protect confidential sources. These issues may have knock-on effects on societal stabili ... more

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Unruly Speech: Displacement and the Politics of Transgression

Saskia Witteborn

Minneapolis: Stanford University Press (2023), 252 pp.

"Unruly Speech explores how Uyghurs in China and in the diaspora transgress sociopolitical limits with "unruly" communication practices in a quest for change. Drawing on research in China, the United States, and Germany, Saskia Witteborn situates her study against the backdrop of displacement and sh ... more

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Arab authorities use digital surveillance to control press freedom: Journalists’ perceptions

Miral Sabry AlAshry

Digital Policy, Regulation and Governance, volume 25, issue 3 (2023), pp. 250-266

"The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent of digital surveillance by Arab authorities, which face risks and threats of surveillance, and how journalists seek to press freedom by using tools and techniques to communicate securely. Design/methodology/approach: The study used focus group ... more

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The Routledge Companion to Media Anthropology
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Elisabetta Costa, Patricia G. Lange, Nell Haynes, Jolynna Sinanan (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2023), xxv, 617 pp.

"Comprising 41 chapters by a team of international contributors, the companion is divided into three parts: histories; approaches; thematic considerations. The chapters offer wide-ranging explorations of how forms of mediation influence communication, social relationships, cultural practices, partic ... more

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Digital Dissidence and Social Media Censorship in Africa

Farooq A. Kperogi (ed.)

London; New York: Routledge (2023), 292 pp.

"Drawing on cases from across the continent, contributors explore the form and nature of social media and government censorship, often via antisocial media laws, or less overt tactics such as state cybersurveillance, spyware attacks on social media activists, or the artful deployment of the rhetoric ... more

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Digital Rights Are Human Rights: An Introduction to the State of Affairs and Challenges in Africa

Hendrik Bussiek

Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) (2022), 7 pp.

"In sub-Saharan Africa, 495 million people (46 percent of the population) subscribed to mobile phones in 2020, however, the cost of accessing the internet is very high and many African Governments are renowned for restricting access to the internet to limit critics and their opposition through inter ... more

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Cyber security, surveillance and journalism in Scotland

Angela Daly, Elaine Robinson, David McMenemy

Dundee: Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Sciences (2022), 21 pp.

"The report is the output of a RSE-funded project on how journalists in Scotland undertake their work in the digital age from the point of view of cyber security and surveillance impacts. This research interviewed ten journalists from Scotland, from various beats, locations, and employment backgroun ... more

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Securing Australian Journalism from Surveillance

Diarmaid Harkin, Monique Mann

Deakin University;Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation (ADI) (2022), 31 pp.

"In Australia, the Data Retention Act (2015), the Assistance and Access Act (2018), the Identify and Disrupt Act (2021), and the International Production Orders Act (2020) have significantly increased the surveillance powers of law enforcement and intelligence agencies with implications for journali ... sts and the free press. This report draws on interviews with 19 journalists and 2 media-lawyers in Australia. The interviews were conducted between May and November 2021. The aim of the interviews was to gauge (a) the level of preparedness amongst journalists in Australia concerning surveillance, and (b) the impacts of increased surveillance powers on journalistic practices. There was wide variation in information security understanding and applied skill among media organisations and journalists. Some expressed “very low confidence” (Journalist F) that journalists were adequately prepared for the threats of electronic surveillance and a number conceded that they were not thinking about it “enough” (Journalist Q) or were just “learning on the job but could know more” (Journalist I). Some media organisations do not offer support in terms of education and training, policies and procedures, or formal guidance, and even among the most active and equipped organisations, support for cyber security concerns was described as “probably too far down the list of considerations” (Journalist D). In most instances, journalists were self-educating as “it is up to the individual journalist to make sure they are secure” (Journalist A). The 2019 AFP raids on the ABC and Annika Smethurst were described as a “holy shit” moment (Journalist P) that raised awareness of government surveillance of journalists. These raids resulted in many journalists and media organisations raising their efforts to protect their digital communications. Subsequently, over the past 2 to 3 years many journalists have migrated to encrypted communication applications such as Signal and Protonmail, while several media organisations have implemented SecureDrop for whistle-blowers to provide anonymity and security. Journalists suggested media organisations could do more to provide “formalised training” and “organisational support” (Journalist P) and invest more in their employees to provide confidence to potential sources that “journalists are good at this” (Journalist J)." (Executive summary) more

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How Big Data Can Bolster Autocratic Legitimacy (Via the Rhetoric of Safety and Convenience)

Prithvi Subramani Iyer

Tokyo: Toda Peace Institute (2022), 14 pp.

"This Policy Brief examines the different ways in which big data collection serves autocratic agendas by hiding the oppressive potential of heightened surveillance through promises of enhanced safety, convenience, and modernisation. Political actors with autocratic agendas can package their governan ... more

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Facial recognition in Latin America: Trends in the implementation of a perverse technology

Jamila Venturini, Vladimir Garay

AlSur (2022), 24 pp.

External Link (9)

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A battle of two pandemics: Coronavirus and digital authoritarianism in the Arab World

Sahar Khamis

In: Cyber War & Cyber Peace: Digital Conflict in the Middle East

Eliza Campbell; Michael Sexton (eds.)

London; New York: Tauris (2022), pp. 161-178

"This chapter explores the current wave of coronavirus-related digital crackdowns in the Arab region, which are unfolding in multiple forms, and analyzes its causes, contexts, and consequences. It explores why and how the stifling of media freedom and freedom of speech online in the Arab region has ... more

The Routledge Companion to Media Anthropology Top Insights

The Routledge Companion to Media Anthropology
Top Insights