Global Taskforce to Counter Digital Authoritarianism
From internet shutdowns and social media censorship to AI surveillance, spyware, and foreign influence campaigns, authoritarian and illiberal governments use new technologies to suppress human rights and erode democracy at home and abroad. China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran as well as Myanmar, Turkey, and India have emerged as key players in this field, using a multitude of practices to shape the information ecosystem and hold on to power. While governments, policymakers, academics, and research institutes have acknowledged the problem, initiatives remain largely uncoordinated, to the detriment of our fight against digital authoritarianism.
To fill this gap and build on its ongoing work on Digital Authoritarianism, MIGS seeks to create the Global Digital Authoritarianism Atlas (GDAA), a centralized platform bringing together existing and future global digital authoritarianism measurement data from 100+ countries. The platform will serve as a trustworthy source of information for activists, journalists, policy actors, and researchers.
The objectives of the Global Task Force on Digital Authoritarianism are as follows:
- Conduct comprehensive research
- Policy development and advocacy
- Awareness and capacity building
- Collaborative partnerships
MIGS has assembled a task force of experts with expertise in the field of human rights and technology for consultations on emerging global trends in relations to digital authoritarianism, and to help advise the GDAA’s funding and operational strategy.
The Task Force members are:
- Margaret McCuaig-Johnston (Senior Fellow in the Institute for Science, Society and Policy at the University of Ottawa)
- Charles Mok (Visiting Scholar, Stanford Cyber Policy Center)
- Chris Meserole (Director, Brookings Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology Initiative, Brookings)
- Steven Feldstein (Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace),
- Rafael Zanatta (Executive Director of Data Privacy Brasil Research Association)
- Elizabeth Donkervoort (American Bar Association)
- Yinka Adegoke (Editor, Semafor Africa)
- Branka Panic (Founder and Executive Director, AI for PEACE)
- Jesus Melendez Vicente (Senior Technical Advisor, Data and Digital Development at IRE)
- Eric Meerkamper (MIGS Fellow, Fellow at the CyberPeace Insitute, and Co-founder Centre for Social Innovation)
MIGS' Kyle Matthews, Marie Lamensch, Tim Zøllner, and Tayif Ahmed are also important contributers to this Task Force.