Global Information Society Watch reports

2014 – Special report on Turkey | This report presents an up-to-date assessment of internet rights in Turkey, and was prepared to coincide with the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2014 hosted by Turkey in Istanbul from 2–5 September 2014.
2014 – Communications Surveillance in the Digital Age | This Global Information Society Watch tracks the state of communications surveillance in 57 countries across the world. Some analyse legal frameworks that allow surveillance, others the role of businesses in collecting data (including marketing data on children), the potential of biometrics to violate rights, or the privacy challenges when implementing a centralised universal health system. The perspectives from long-time internet activists on surveillance are also recorded. Using the 13 International Principles on the Application of Human Rights to Communications Surveillance as a starting point, eight thematic reports frame the key issues at stake. These include discussions on what we mean by digital surveillance, the implications for a human rights agenda on surveillance, the “Five Eyes” inter-government surveillance network led by the US, cyber security, and the role of intermediaries.
2013 – Women’s Rights, Gender and ICTs | This edition of GISWatch explores women’s rights and gender through the lens of information and communications technologies (ICTs). It includes a series of expert thematic reports on issues such as access to infrastructure, participation, online disobedience, and sexuality online, as well as 46 country reports on topics like the rights of domestic workers, trafficking in women, participation in governance, child brides, and the right to abortion.
2012 – The internet and corruption | GISWatch 2012 explores how the internet is being used to ensure transparency and accountability, the challenges that civil society activists face in fighting corruption, and when the internet fails as an enabler of a transparent and fair society.
2011 – Update 1: Internet Rights and Democratisation | The reports gathered here offer an in-depth account of the human rights challenges faced online in six countries: Argentina, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa.
2011 – Update 2: Internet Rights and Democratisation | This publication is a follow-up to GISWatch 2011. This follow-up report maps themes and trends that emerged in the 2011 publication, and also follows up on the action steps suggested in the country reports to see how relevant they still are one year later. There are five chapters here, focusing on the themes of collaborative advocacy networks; how activists are working for greater public participation in both internet governance and governance more broadly; research for advocacy and awareness; threats to internet freedom and security; and emerging issues in policy advocacy for internet rights.
2011 – Internet Rights and Democratisation | GISWatch 2011 investigates how governments and internet and mobile phone companies are trying to restrict freedom online – and how citizens are responding to this using the very same technologies.
2010 – ICTs and Environmental Sustainability | GISWatch 2010 is a rallying cry to electronics producers and consumers, policy makers and development organisations to pay urgent attention to the sustainability of the environment. It spells out the impact that the production, consumption and disposal of computers, mobile phones and other technology are having on the earth’s natural resources, on political conflict and social rights, and the massive global carbon footprint produced.
2009 – Access to Online Information and Knowledge | GISWatch 2009 focuses on access to online information and knowledge – advancing human rights and democracy. It includes several thematic reports dealing with key issues in the field, as well as an institutional overview and a reflection on indicators that track access to information and knowledge. There is also an innovative section on visual mapping of global rights and political crises.
2008 – Access to Infrastructure | GISWatch 2008 focuses on access to infrastructure and includes several thematic reports dealing with key access issues, an analysis of where global institutions stand on the access debate, a report looking at the state of indicators and access, six regional reports and 38 country reports.
2007 – Participation | Global Information Society Watch monitors the implementation and follow-up of key international agreements about ICTpolicies and their relationship to development, including WSIS and other information and communication policy processes at international, regional and national level. This first report in the GISWatch series focuses on Participation. The GISWatch 2007 Report is the first in a series of yearly reports covering the state of the information society from the perspectives of civil society and stakeholders in the global South. The report also offers an institutional overview and a reflection on ICT indicators for advocacy and online and 26 country reports available for individual download.