Stories about Tech Industry
Moderate globally, impact locally: A series on content moderation in the Global South
''Even as the platforms have grown and spread around the world, the center of gravity of these debates continues to revolve around D.C. and San Francisco.''
New Facebook Oversight Board must remove content of notorious Sudan militia
“Despite the harrowing violations, the RSF maintains a presence on social media, most notably Facebook, which has been the main platform for this militia to spread its messages …”
Tech giants halt data requests as Hong Kong national security law casts long shadow
Local demand for circumvention tools is surging amid fears that a China-style "Great Firewall" is in the offing.
Silicon Valley tech giants race to build Africa's internet infrastructure. Should Africa worry?
Google and Facebook are building undersea internet cables for Africans with access to high-speed internet — but 33 nations in Africa still don't have comprehensive data privacy laws.
How COVID-19 is intensifying content moderation’s flaws
Internet platforms have always struggled with free expression, misinformation, and hate speech. But the COVID crisis has elevated those problems to a new level
How identity-driven conflicts fuel Ethiopia's incendiary social media rhetoric
Unity Park aimed to tell the story of all Ethiopians and celebrate the country’s diversity. But social media revealed politicized, nationalistic reactions along ethnic lines: Amhara and Oromo.
How Chinese social media platforms control information on COVID-19
At the initial stage of the outbreak of COVID-19 in China, censors curbed public alerts on the threat. Later, censorship was broadened to include criticism of leaders and policies.
Chinese censorship demonstrates it can afford the cost of ‘the death of media’
A massive number of groups and user accounts were removed by platforms following the death of Dr. Li Wenliang, which set social media on fire.
Pakistan's draconian rules on social media take activists by surprise
The new rules require social media companies to hand over user information and remove content deemed unlawful when requested by the authorities.
US tech companies should push to remove sanctions on Sudan
With a nearly 12 million-strong community of young internet users and innovators, Sudan presents a ready and dynamic market for U.S. tech companies—but first economic sanctions must be lifted.
‘Suspension won’t silence me’: Teen speaks out after embedding message about Xinjiang Uyghurs in TikTok makeup tutorial
Feroza Aziz used a makeup tutorial as a disguise to criticise China's treatment of Uyghurs on Tiktok.
Netizen Report: Domestic worker abuses in the Gulf expose tech companies’ failures to protect human rights
Tech companies grapple with abuses against domestic workers, Iraqis face another internet shutdown, and Russia gets ready for a 'sovereign internet.'
Despite ban, Telegram survives in Russia — but for how long?
Most users still have access, but the authorities aren't giving up on attempts to block the instant messaging and voice app.
Google removes Hong Kong protester role-playing game from its Play Store
The mobile game, entitled "The Revolution of Our Times", provides details on the political context leading up to the protests with a map on key protest sites in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Reddit-like LIHKG faces unprecedented DDoS attacks redirected from Chinese Internet companies
Massive web traffics are redirected through two Chinese companies to pro-democracy web forum LIHKG from all over the world.
A web comic from Colombia discusses surveillance and gender in Latin America—to the rhythm of salsa
''Beyond the joke that "every breath you take" seems like it could be written by the NSA, we realized that this is about a man that spies on a woman.''
Indian government asks Twitter to remove accounts ‘spreading rumours’ about Kashmir
With the communication blackout inside Kashmir, netizens elsewhere resorted to Twitter to speak out against India's revocation of the region's autonomous status.
Withheld in Turkey: How the government exploits removal requests to silence critical and independent voices
For years, Turkey has been exploiting tools offered by social media platforms to restrict illegal content in a particular jurisdiction, to silence critical voices.
China’s censored histories: The struggle to carry memories of the Tiananmen Massacre into the future
Chinese internet users circumvent censorship on 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre with artworks, music and memes.
Netizen Report: Preventing bias or protecting extremism? Debunking the new US Senate proposal for Silicon Valley
Cuba bans citizens from using foreign web hosts, Iran's internet falters and The Guardian shows that even tourists are subject to targeted surveillance in western China.