Tech-for-development – an app galore to solve the refugee crisis

This series of articles elucidates the consequences of what limited access to information and the ever-growing spread of misinformation have on the most vulnerable groups of the society. In this final blog post I will bring together the topics of my previous four blog posts. I will explore the concepts …

ICT4Bad: A Reflection on Critical ICT4D Discourse

According to Richard Heeks in Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D), in ICT4D, technology “is used to help deliver on the international development agenda” (Heeks, 2017:18).  Such technologies, could provide added benefits or affordances to developing societies such as digital information and new forms of communication as well as …

Aadhaar India: When well-intentioned innovation marginalizes

This is the third article in a critical series on when well-intended ICTs and online platforms miss the mark in transforming society. This article discusses the case of India’s biometric ID system, Aadhaar, and it linkages to social services assistance delivery and data injustice.

Risky Networks Weekly Review – 18 October

This week, Elli addressed the topic of cancel culture on social media as a way to counter behavior contributing to inequalities and Richaela brought up a recent ICT failure as Uganda imposed a compulsory license for online publishing in addition to the existing tax for social media use.  Cancel Culture …

Uganda, Internet Death and Taxes

This is the second article in a critical series on when well-intended ICTs and online platforms miss the mark. It discusses a recent public notice in Uganda, which requires citizens to obtain “a license to post online,” which coupled with social media taxes further violates freedom of expression and access to information.

Risky Networks Weekly Review – 11 October 2020

This week Elli delved into the issues faced by social enterprises in social media marketing, Richaela presented an African feminist perspective on online gender-based violence, and Anna discussed the role of Facebook in pro-democracy protests in Thailand.   In Social enterprises – Balancing between target audiences and stakeholders, Elli considered …

A catalyst for good? – How Thai pro-democracy activists struggle with and benefit from Facebook

If you travel to Thailand as a tourist, you should know some basic rules. The probably most famous one: Don’t do or say anything that might seem to criticize the monarchy. The strict lèse-majesté law affects peoples’ lives and political changes in Thailand. And it affects the way people can communicate via Facebook.