Life Interrupted: the Impacts of Internet Shutdowns
The Promise Institute for Human Rights and Institute for Technology, Law and Policy at UCLA School of Law present a series on Global Digital Rights Challenges.
Alternating Thursdays: June 17, 2021 – August 12, 2021
July 15, 10am PT Session: Life Interrupted: The Impacts of Internet Shutdowns
Internet shutdowns are a persistent threat to human rights, whose impacts have grown even more severe as more and more aspects of daily life migrate online. In this session, Tomiwa Ilori will present a recent report he authored for the Global Network Initiative, which documents the debilitating social harms of network disruptions in 11 African countries. In addition to the rights to freedom of expression, association, and political participation, Tomiwa’s report considers the damage flowing from years-long disruptions of access to healthcare and educational resources in regions which are already desperately underserved. Likewise, there are substantial economic impacts, as populations may find it difficult to work or seek advancement. The session will also discuss recommendations for different stakeholders involved with network disruptions, in order to mitigate their harm.
- Speaker: Tomiwa Ilori, Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria
- Moderator: Mark Verstraete, Institute for Technology, Law & Policy
Register at globaldigitalrightschallenges.eventbrite.com
About the series:
Around the world, repressive governments are seeking new and innovative ways to port censorship to the online space, while private sector tech companies increasingly find themselves responsible for making policy on the counters of global speech. Here at home, digital technologies have also become the latest front for debates on systemic racism, and the potential for new technologies to entrench patterns of discrimination. This series, which features global activists on the frontlines of these debates, will examine the pressing digital rights challenges manifesting around the world.
