7 March
Internet Shutdowns in International Law
Internet Shutdowns in International Law
Can a government ban total access to the Internet? While access to the internet has been recognized as an enabler of human rights in several decisions from domestic and regional courts, States find reasons to introduce internet shutdowns in the name of public interests to protect national security and public order. Shutdowns are barriers to the universal access to the internet and to sustainable development, they undermine freedom of expression and the right of access to information. In this first panel of this series, Joan Barata, Senior Fellow at Justitia’s Future Free Speech project and Fellow at the Stanford Cyber Policy Center presented the Special Collection paper he authored on Internet Shutdowns and International law. Felicia Anthonio, #KeepItOn Campaign Manager at Access Now, discussed the nature and impact of internet shutdowns in West Africa and in Africa more broadly. Aisha Dabo, Co-founder and Coordinator of AfricTivistes moderated a discussion with the panelists on the international and regional standards pertaining to internet shutdowns and the implications of this threat to freedom of expression and the whole palette of human rights.
The French language database and this webinar were made possible with the support of UNESCO Multi-Donor Programme on Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists (MDP), and the Cyrilla Collaborative, with funding from The Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law (CIPIT) at Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya.
CGFoE is thankful to ARTICLE 19 Senegal and other colleagues in West Africa and Europe for supporting this webinar.
Speakers:
- Joan Barata, Senior Legal Fellow at Justitia’s Future Free Speech project.
- Felicia Anthonio, #KeepItOn Campaign Manager at Access Now.
Presentation:
- Anderson Javiel Dirocie De León, Legal and Program Consultant at Global Freedom of Expression.
Moderator:
- Aisha Dabo, Co-founder and Coordinator of AfricTivistes.
The PowerPoint presentation is available here:
#KeepItOn_ Coupures d’Internet en Afrique – ColumbiaGFoE_Article19WA
Presentation: Anderson Javiel Dirocie De León, Legal and Program Consultant at Global Freedom of Expression
He is an international lawyer specialized in Public International Law and Human Rights. He has worked in several international courts and bodies, including the International Criminal Court, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. In addition, he worked in the Electoral High Court of the Dominican Republic and in various NGOs. He holds an LL.M. from Harvard Law School (2023), an LLM in Advanced Studies in Public International Law from Leiden University (2018), and an LL.B. Summa Cum Laude from the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM) (2017). Within the framework of these latter studies, he did her research work on International Law and the Internet, in particular, the extension of human rights protection on social media platforms with a case study on the Oversight Board.
Moderator: Aisha Dabo, Co-founder and Coordinator of AfricTivistes
Aisha Dabo is co-founder and Coordinator of AfricTivistes, a Pan-African organisation bringing together bloggers, web activists and change actors to promote democratic values, human rights and good governance on the continent through digital tools. She worked as the Outreach and Communications Officer for USAID Senegal, Digital Communication Specialist for UNFPA West and Central Africa region, Translation Desk manager, and then News Editor for APAnews, while running non for profit pro-democracy campaigns for sociopolitical change around the continent. Her work always revolves around participatory democracy, transparency and access to information, with the belief that informed citizens can shape a just and equitable democratic society. She has written extensively on women’s rights, digital rights, social movements and democracy.
Joan Barata, Senior Legal Fellow at Justitias Future Free Speech project
Joan Barata works on freedom of expression, media regulation, and intermediary liability issues. He is a Senior Fellow at Justitias Future Free Speech project. He is a Fellow of the Program on Platform Regulation at the Stanford Cyber Policy Center. He has published a large number of articles and books on these subjects, both in academic and popular press. His work has taken him in most regions of the world, and he is regularly involved in projects with international organizations such as UNESCO, the Council of Europe, the Organization of American States or the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, where he was the principal advisor to the Representative on Media Freedom. Joan Barata also has experience as a regulator, as he held the position of Secretary General of the Audiovisual Council of Catalonia in Spain and was member of the Permanent Secretariat of the Mediterranean Network of Regulatory Authorities.
Felicia Anthonio, #KeepItOn Campaign Manager at Access Now
Felicia Anthonio is #KeepItOn Campaign Manager at Access Now, a global campaign of over 300 organizations that fights against internet shutdowns. She has authored and co-authored several publications on internet shutdowns featured on Access Now, Yale University, CIPESA and Bloomsbury Collections websites. Felicia hosted The Kill Switch podcast and was featured on The Shutdown documentary by BBC World Service. Felicia is an Advisory Council member of the US-based Open Technology Fund’s (OTF) and a board member of the World Expression Forum (WEXFO), in Norway. Before joining Access Now, Felicia worked as Programme Associate, press freedom and free speech advocate, at the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) where she coordinated the African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX). She is a member of the African Digital Rights Network and a 2019 Fellow of the African Internet Governance School (AfriSIG). She holds a Master’s Degree in Lettres, Langues et Affaires Internationales from l’ Université d’Orléans, France and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in French and Psychology from the University of Ghana.
- CGFoE’s Special Collection Paper on “Internet shutdowns in international law”