IGF 2020 WS #263 What's trust got to do with it? Feminist digital insights

Information

Session

Thematic Track:

Organizer 1: Civil Society, African Group
Organizer 2: Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group

Speaker 1: Neema Iyer, Private Sector, African Group
Speaker 2: Lim Serene, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 3: Tandon Ambika, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 4: Horacio Sívori, Civil Society, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)

Format:

Round Table - Circle - 60 Min

Description:

Title: What's trust got to do with it? Feminist insights on digital Security, Safety, Stability & Resilience Policy advocacy on digital Security, Safety, Stability & Resilience has to address both the need for protecting users’ human rights, especially women, LGBTIQA, and other marginalized or vulnerable communities, as well as growing concerns raised by internet rights groups in relation to online gender-based violence (GBV), censorship, misinformation, and online surveillance. These contradictions and complex challenges make relying on technology-based solutions naïve and unrealistic. Yet this is the approach taken by most companies that are managing social media platforms. The research findings by FIRN partners - POLLICY (Kenya, South Africa and Senegal), KRYSS (Malaysia), CIS (India), and CLAM (Brazil) - provide a shift in perspective to balance conversations that are often technology-driven, by centring the lived experiences and narratives of research participants from various Global South locations. The research findings show that while governments often express the aspiration and intention to prioritize digital privacy, security and safety for users, the policy outcomes adopted at the national and regional levels seem to remain as a "paper right,” rather than a tangible reality that can be materialized in systemic technological and regulatory infrastructures. This panel, crafted upon a diversity of conceptual frameworks, is an opportunity to focus and advocate for actionable policy, based on data-driven empirical findings.

Issues:

Issues that are going to be addressed by the four presenters: CLAM's research focuses on anti-feminist and anti-LGBT discourse networks in the Brazilian social media sphere. The research explores modes of digital engagement with anti- and pro-rights feminism and sexual politics issue spaces. Earlier findings indicates that anti-rights heavy reliance on algorithmization, but CLAM's analysis nuances the usual monocausal interpretation of technology or algorithms as the single cause of the spread of hate speech and the creation of echo chambers, by also exploring the power of feminist and LGBT counter-discourse and resistance strategies. The research done by KRYSS Networks shows multiple threat on Freedom of Expression with mixture of online GBV in Malaysia. The research result debunk two dangerous assumptions that tend to obscure diverse of voices and inevitably trivialize the cost of online feminist activism. These assumptions are: (1) access to exercise of freedom of opinion and expression (FoE) are equal for all; and (2) the social media platforms are inherently emancipatory. The research provide an insight on feminist resistance strategies and counter-discourse based on the lived experiences of research participants. CIS-India research focuses on various operational logics and design of digital platforms that are increasingly mediating domestic work. The research asks "what are the ways in which relations of inequality that characterize domestic work get reinforced or challenged in the digital application?". One of the research findings of this research shows that regulation is not only related to content, but with labour and workspace. The gig-economy platforms explored in this research are designed to organize labour in exploitative forms and undermine the rights of workers. Consequently, domestic workers often experience an intersection of vulnerabilities related with social categorization (gender, class, ethnicity) that increases the risk of harm. The study done by POLLICY indicates increase in online GBV in South Africa, Senegal, and Kenya as larger number of people come online, especially women. This raises questions about the safety and security of women online, what recourses and redressal mechanisms they have within mechanisms offered by the company and by the state. The research shows that implementation of existing laws and formulation of new laws, internal mechanisms for takedown of content etc. to address the problem are some of the solutions that are being proposed, but their effectiveness can be debated.

Policy Question(s):

2) Security, stability and resilience of the Internet infrastructure, systems and devices Topics : human rights, Feminist internet, gig-economy, Freedom of Expression, algorithmization, online gender-based violence (GBV), censorship, misinformation, online surveillance Question: How to address both the need for protecting users’ human rights, especially women, LGBTIQA, and other marginalised or vulnerable communities, as well as the growing concerns raised by digital rights groups in relation to online gender-based violence (GBV), censorship, misinformation, and online surveillance?

Expected Outcomes:

This panel, crafted upon a diversity of conceptual frameworks, is an opportunity to focus and advocate for actionable policy, based on data-driven empirical findings.

Relevance to Internet Governance: Effective governance of the internet requires 1. data-based research findings that guide discussions aroudn governance 2. feminist approach that highlights the experience of women, and people of diverse sexualities and gender who are usually not considered central to governance, but are in fact deeply impacted by internet governance in terms of their rights to expression and privacy, their well being and safety.

Relevance to Theme: The pane provides a shift in perspective to balance conversations that are often technology-driven, by centring the lived experiences and narratives of research participants from various Global South locations.

Discussion Facilitation:

we plan to create a feminist circle where FIRN partners are provided 10 minutes of time each to present the reflections of their research findings, we will then open up the floor for questions and discussions we will also prepare prompting questions that are going to facilitate further engagement

Online Participation:

Usage of IGF Official Tool.

SDGs:

GOAL 5: Gender Equality
GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
GOAL 10: Reduced Inequalities

Reference Document