Measuring internet activity: a (selective) review of methods and metrics

Two Decades after the birth of the World Wide Web, more than two billion people around the world are Internet users. The digital landscape is littered with hints that the affordances of digital communications are being leveraged to transform life in profound and important ways. The reach and influence of digitally mediated activity grow by the day and touch upon all aspects of life, from health, education, and commerce to religion and governance. This trend demands that we seek answers to the biggest questions about how digitally mediated communication changes society and the role of different policies in helping or hindering the beneficial aspects of these changes. Yet despite the profusion of data the digital age has brought upon us—we now have access to a flood of information about the movements, relationships, purchasing decisions, interests, and intimate thoughts of people around the world—the distance between the great questions of the digital age and our understanding of the impact of digital communications on society remains large. A number of ongoing policy questions have emerged that beg for better empirical data and analyses upon which to base wider and more insightful perspectives on the mechanics of social, economic, and political life online. This paper seeks to describe the conceptual and practical impediments to measuring and understanding digital activity and highlights a sample of the many efforts to fill the gap between our incomplete understanding of digital life and the formidable policy questions related to developing a vibrant and healthy Internet that serves the public interest and contributes to human wellbeing. Our primary focus is on efforts to measure Internet activity, as we believe obtaining robust, accurate data is a necessary and valuable first step that will lead us closer to answering the vitally important questions of the digital realm. Even this step is challenging: the Internet is difficult to measure and monitor, and there is no simple aggregate measure of Internet activity—no GDP, no HDI. In the following section we present a framework for assessing efforts to document digital activity. The next three sections offer a summary and description of many of the ongoing projects that document digital activity, with two final sections devoted to discussion and conclusions

Freedom of the Press 2014

Global press freedom fell to its lowest level in over a decade in 2013, as hopes raised by the Arab Spring were further dashed by major regression in Egypt, Libya, and Jordan, and marked setbacks also occurred in Turkey, Ukraine, and a number of countries in East Africa. In another key development, media freedom in the United States deteriorated due primarily to attempts by the government to inhibit reporting on national security issues.Meanwhile, as a result of declines in democratic settings over the past several years, the share of the world's population that enjoys a Free press remained at 14 percent, meaning only one in seven people live in countries where coverage of political news is robust, the safety of journalists is guaranteed, state intrusion in media affairs is minimal, and the press is not subject to onerous legal or economic pressures.These are the most significant findings of this report, the latest edition of an annual report published by Freedom House since 1980. While there were positive developments in a number of countries, most notably in sub-Saharan Africa, the dominant trends were reflected in setbacks in a range of settings.The year's declines were driven by the desire of governments -- particularly in authoritarian states or polarized political environments -- to control news content, whether through the physical harassment of journalists covering protest movements or other sensitive news stories; restrictions on foreign reporters; or tightened constraints on online news outlets and social media. In addition, press freedom in a number of countries was threatened by private owners -- especially those with close connections to governments or ruling parties -- who altered editorial lines or dismissed key staff after acquiring previously independent outlets.These factors were behind the majority of the status downgrades for 2013, including the shifts from Partly Free to Not Free in Libya, South Sudan, Turkey, Ukraine, and Zambia. Significant declines also occurred in the Central African Republic, Egypt, Greece, Jordan, Kenya, Montenegro, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda.Separately, influential authoritarian powers such as China and Russia continued to maintain a tight grip on locally based print and broadcast media, while also attempting to control the more independent views provided either in the blogosphere or by foreign news sources. Both countries introduced additional legal measures to penalize online speech in 2013. And while China focused on suppressing dissent on popular microblogging services and obstructing the foreign press, the Russian government closed RIA Novosti, a long-established news service, replacing it with an organization more openly under direct Kremlin control. Conditions in Eurasia remain bleak, with 97 percent of the region's population living in Not Free media environments.Even more open media environments are not immune to pressure on press freedom. The year featured the most significant decline of the past decade in one of the world's largest democracies, the United States, due to government attempts to control official information flows, particularly concerning national security -- related issues; the legal harassment of journalists with regard to protection of sources; and revelations of surveillance that included both the bulk collection of communications data by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the targeted wiretapping of media outlets. Disclosures that surveillance was being conducted by a range of governments -- many of them democratic -- against ordinary citizens as well as key political figures intensified concerns on a global level about the ability of journalists and others who gather and disseminate news and information to protect sources and maintain their digital privacy

Online Censorship in the Middle East and North Africa

Today, the Internet is used by more than a quarter of the world's population, yet access is quite uneven globally. The thesis aims to explore the issue of online censorship in Egypt and Tunisia, focusing on the role of authoritarian regimes in shaping Internet freedom in these countries. The thesis argues that while the Internet has the potential to be a tool for democracy and freedom of expression, it can also be used by authoritarian regimes to exert control over their populations. The thesis uses a research design that is exploratory, descriptive, and analytical, with qualitative research methods such as interviews, to provide a more nuanced understanding of Internet censorship and gender differences in Internet usage. The research aims to contribute to a better understanding of the potential for online activism and free expression in the context of authoritarianism, and the thesis addresses the main research question: How has the Internet become a tool for control in authoritarian regimes? Overall, the thesis intends to provide insights into the complex landscape of Internet rights and censorship in Egypt and Tunisia and to inform policy and practice aimed at promoting Internet freedom and gender equality in the region.Today, the Internet is used by more than a quarter of the world's population, yet access is quite uneven globally. The thesis aims to explore the issue of online censorship in Egypt and Tunisia, focusing on the role of authoritarian regimes in shaping Internet freedom in these countries. The thesis argues that while the Internet has the potential to be a tool for democracy and freedom of expression, it can also be used by authoritarian regimes to exert control over their populations. The thesis uses a research design that is exploratory, descriptive, and analytical, with qualitative research methods such as interviews, to provide a more nuanced understanding of Internet censorship and gender differences in Internet usage. The research aims to contribute to a better understanding of the potential for online activism and free expression in the context of authoritarianism, and the thesis addresses the main research question: How has the Internet become a tool for control in authoritarian regimes? Overall, the thesis intends to provide insights into the complex landscape of Internet rights and censorship in Egypt and Tunisia and to inform policy and practice aimed at promoting Internet freedom and gender equality in the region

Read all about it : the free press, the public sphere and democracy in Iraq

Despite a wealth of recent research which has detailed the impact that new media outlets and technologies have had on the Middle East&rsquo;s nascent public sphere and its role in promoting democracy, there has been little investigation into the re-emergence of the free press in Iraq following the toppling of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and the corresponding end to his tight control over the nation&rsquo;s media sector. This paper begins by reviewing Iraq&rsquo;s long relationship with the written word and its corresponding public sphere. It traces the introduction of the printing press to Iraq by the Ottomans and details those periods when the Iraqi press was truly free, fostering the emergence of a civil society and democratic reforms (such as under the Young Turks, the early Hashemite era and following the Second World War). It also examines those periods when the Iraqi media was most restricted and did little else than praise the regime at hand (such as under Ottoman rule and most recently under the Ba&dagger;th regime, especially under Saddam Hussein). Following on, this article reviews the developments since the fall of Saddam Hussein and, despite the extensive interference in Iraq&rsquo;s media sector from governmental entities both outside and inside Iraq, it concludes by arguing that these papers have been central to the re-emergence of an Iraqi public sphere which has openly debated and discussed the issues pertinent to post-Saddam Iraq.<br /

Freedom on the Net 2014 - Tightening the Net: Governments Expand Online Controls (Summary)

Internet freedom around the world has declined for the fourth consecutive year, with a growing number of countries introducing online censorship and monitoring practices that are simultaneously more aggressive and more sophisticated in their targeting of individual users. This booklet is a summary of findings for the 2014 edition of "Freedom on the Net.

ICT and the Democratization Process in North Africa: Tool of Freedom or Instrument of Oppression?

The events of the Arab Spring sent a wave of revolutions, followed by the start of an early democratization process, through many countries of the Middle East and North Africa. What stood out was the extensive use of ICT, which played a crucial role during the uprisings. Tunisia, the place where it all began, is no exception to this as ICT played a key role during the uprisings of the “jasmine revolution”, whose outcome has led to the early and fragile stages of a democratization process. This thesis investigates the impact the use of ICT has had on the democratization process in Tunisia during the Arab Spring and onwards. It uses Larry Diamond’s book “Developing Democracy: Towards Consolidation” (1999) and what he outlines as the ten components of a liberal democracy as the main theoretical framework that guides the analysis. The empirical material will be analyzed within a case study design. This thesis concludes that ICT has had both positive and negative impacts on Tunisia’s democratization process. However, the positive impacts seem to largely outweigh the negative ones thus far and it could be speculated that ICT will continue being a tool that is mostly conducive towards democracy

Mass Surveillance and the Militarization of Cyberspace in Post-Coup Thailand

Post-coup Thailand has witnessed a troubling shift toward censorship, surveillance, and suppression in cyberspace. With cyber security ranking prominently on the military’s agenda and the expansion of the military’s cyber intervention, the country’s online infrastructure has undergone politicization, securitization, and militarization. This paper argues that the militarization of cyberspace in Thailand represents the process in which cyber warfare capabilities have been integrated with other military forces and with support from the masses. This process has been effective through at least three significant mechanisms, including mass surveillance, surveillance by the masses, and normalization of surveillance. Social media have been turned into an absolute digital panopticon. Cyber dystopia, created by the 2014 coup and supported by the masses, has served to sustain a ‘state of exception’ not only within the territorial borders of the state, but also more importantly, within the virtual space of civil society. Cyber surveillance by the military and the masses has continued to jeopardize the already vulnerable Thai democracy

Politics gone viral : social media and political mobilization : in what respects are social media effective tools for initiating political mobilization and stimulating political change in order to challenge authoritarian regimes?

Includes bibliographical references.The rise of new media has continued to have a profound effect on the global political system. Social media in particular have seen an exponential increase in penetration globally. The recent Arab uprisings that began in 2010 across the MENA region have challenged authoritarian resilience, which has been a prominent feature of the region for several decades. This project examines the rise of social media and their effects on the political system, specifically the role played by social media in undermining the power of authoritarian regimes. Traditionally authoritarian regimes have used many methods in order to maintain power. These have included: maintaining a strong coercive apparatus, the strategic introduction of certain institutions and the role of traditional legitimacy, and/or charismatic or personalistic leadership. This dissertation considers whether the use of social media has changed the balance of power within states enabling citizens to overthrow their authoritarian leaders. Two case studies; Tunisia and Syria are analysed to show the effects of social media on the political uprisings in both nations

Hard times and rough rides: the legal and ethical impossibilities of researching 'shock' pornographies

This article explores the various ethical and legal limitations faced by researchers studying extreme or ‘ shock’ pornographies, beginning with generic and disciplinary contexts, and focusing specifically upon the assumption that textual analysis unproblematically justifies certain pornographies, while legal contexts utilize a prohibitive gaze. Are our academic freedoms of speech endangered by legislations that restrict our access to non-mainstream images, forcing them further into taboo locales? If so, is the ideological normalization of sexuality inextricable from our research methodologies? Simultaneously, can we justify researchers being allowed access to materials that are not deemed suitable for general consumption, which may further bolster normalized hierarchies of class-privilege and cultural capital