In IGF 2019, the DC GIG session was used as a learning space where research on data, bodies, gender, and surveillance through a feminist lens was shared and discussed in relation to internet governance and policies. Seeing the very positive reception of the session, and the high degree of engagement, we will be using the DC GIG session as a learning space this year too.
Since the 2019 IGF, the world has changed drastically with the COVID-19 pandemic. Several governments and companies have put out apps and used technology to track and monitor the spread of the disease in attempts to control the same. When this is done in the name of stopping the pandemic, the amount of data collected and surveillance involved is done with little or no policies and provisions to protect user privacy. With few exceptions, most apps do not have clear guidelines and regulations on data collection and retention.
This session, Future Unclear, is titled us for this very reason, that we do not know what the future of data and surveillance looks like in the post-pandemic world. It is essential that this is understood and discussed in the internet governance and tech policy context to ensure that we can advocate for stringent national, regional, and global policies on the same. And this needs to be done with a strong gender and sexuality perspective and a feminist lens as women, queer and trans persons, sex workers, and those belonging to oppressed communities are the most affected by increased data collection and surveillance. The session also aims to understand the impact of using apps and data collection through these apps keeping in mind the wide digital gender gap that exists globally and the politics of meaningful access. A study by OECD in 2018 found that on an average women are 26% less likely than men to own a smartphone, and this gap is wider in South Asia and Africa. In this scenario, policies and relief measures based on data from these apps will leave out huge chunks of the population. Any policies discussed and advocated for needs to take this into cognizance.
The session will be in the form of a roundtable. Speakers who are researchers on data and body, online surveillance, and gender and technology will present briefly on their findings from the COVID-19 apps, privacy policies around the same, and the concerns around human rights. A significant part of the session will be dedicated to hearing comments and inputs from the room to ensure that there is knowledge sharing and learning.
