GISWatch print editions now available on-demand
Two of the most recent print editions of Global Information Society Watch are now available for on-demand ordering. Activists, academics and policy makers are encouraged to order copies of “Internet rights and democratisation” and “The internet and corruption” through a new, online service.
New: Update on freedom of expression progress for 10 countries
The 2012 update on action steps for selected countries of GISWatch 2011 looks back at progress in freedom of expression and association for 10 countries: Jamaica, Rwanda, Lebanon, Romania, Indonesia, Cameroon, Argentina, Brazil, India and Nigeria.
The internet and corruption: Inhibitor or enabler to a fair society?
While hidden cameras can document and flag human rights abuses by authoritarian governments, these same videos can then be used to identify dissidents who are later detained and tortured, explains David Sasaki in his introduction to this year’s Global Information Society Watch, which focuses on transparency and accountability online.
Exposing delusions of power: The art of using visual evidence to expose corruption
Organization
with research by Francesca Recchia
Exposing delusions of power: The art of using visual evidence to expose corruption1
Who is doing what when it comes to technology for transparency, accountability and anti-corruption
Organization
Fighting corruption is a responsibility that all global institutions, funders and NGOs have to take seriously. Institutions are engaged with the fight against corruption on a number of fronts. Firstly, for those institutions such as the World Bank that distribute funds or loans, there is a responsibility to address potential corruption in their own project portfolios through accessible and well-equipped review and inspection mechanisms.
Preface
Organization
The theme for this year’s GISWatch – “transparency and accountability with a focus on corruption” – is for some a difficult one. At least two country report authors withdrew from participating in this year’s publication because of the consequences they could face locally from singling out specific acts of corruption in their countries. This is telling. It suggests that to consider ICTs and corruption directly is to put the spotlight more narrowly on what governments or businesses or state authorities are actually doing – and this can, as some authors contend, be risky.
Introduction: The new omnipresence
Organization
A tale of two bribes
The first time I paid a bribe in Mexico City I was caught by surprise. Admittedly, I had broken the law. In 1989 the Mexico City government passed legislation 1 which required that on every second Saturday of the month all vehicles with licence plates ending in 7 were not allowed to circulate. And here I was, a newcomer to the city, a licence plate ending with 7, and driving in unintended defiance of the law.
2012 GISWatch on “the internet and corruption” launched during the IGF
The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and the Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries (Hivos) launched the 2012 edition of the Global Information Society Watch during the second day of the Internet Governance Forum that took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, in a joint presentation with the International Institute for Sustainable Development and the Internet & Society Co:llaboratory.