Networking Session #74 Mapping and Addressing Digital Rights Capacities and Threats

Summary

This networking session at the Internet Governance Forum focused on mapping digital rights capacities and threats in global majority communities, presented by Oxfam’s Recipe Project in partnership with civil society organizations from multiple countries. The discussion aimed to identify current challenges and foster stronger partnerships to ensure inclusive digital governance that leaves no one behind.

Representatives from Vietnam, Bolivia, Cambodia, Somalia, and Palestine shared findings from comprehensive research involving over 1,000 respondents across nine countries. Common themes emerged across all regions, including significant digital literacy gaps, inadequate legal frameworks for digital rights protection, and widespread experiences of digital violence. In Vietnam, despite rapid digitalization, none of the 63 provincial service portals meet accessibility standards, and 44% of people cannot distinguish between accurate and fake information online. Bolivia reported that 77% of respondents experienced digital security incidents, with 62% facing digital violence, particularly affecting human rights defenders and women activists.

Cambodia highlighted that fewer than 30% of citizens possess adequate digital navigation skills, while lacking comprehensive cybersecurity and data protection laws. Somalia found that while 98% have internet access, only 28% understand risks of sharing personal information, and 42% experienced digital violence. Palestine presented the most severe situation, with systematic surveillance, censorship, and discriminatory infrastructure limiting Palestinian access to advanced networks while Israeli settlers enjoy full connectivity.

The panelists emphasized the importance of bottom-up approaches, multi-stakeholder dialogue, and capacity building for marginalized communities. An audience member from Zambia reinforced the need for balanced approaches to cybersecurity that protect both safety and freedom of expression. The session concluded with calls for continued collaboration between technical communities and civil society to address misinformation while preserving digital rights.

Keypoints

## Major Discussion Points:

– **Digital divide and access inequalities**: Multiple speakers highlighted significant gaps in digital access, with rural areas particularly affected (70% in Bolivia, limited infrastructure in Cambodia and Somalia), and the need for meaningful connectivity rather than just basic access.

– **Digital literacy and capacity building challenges**: All countries reported low digital literacy rates (under 30% in Cambodia, widespread gaps in Palestine), emphasizing the need for comprehensive training programs and bottom-up approaches to build digital skills in marginalized communities.

– **Digital violence and security threats**: Speakers documented high rates of digital violence, particularly gender-based (77% in Bolivia experienced digital security incidents, 42% in Somalia faced digital violence), including harassment, hate speech, and threats targeting human rights defenders and activists.

– **Inadequate legal frameworks and governance gaps**: Most countries lack comprehensive digital rights legislation, with laws still in draft form or inadequately protecting citizens from surveillance, data misuse, and online violations, while policy development often excludes marginalized voices.

– **Multi-stakeholder collaboration and advocacy strategies**: Organizations emphasized the importance of building coalitions, creating networks (like Bolivia’s feminist collectives), and engaging in policy dialogue to bridge grassroots communities with policymakers for more inclusive digital governance.

## Overall Purpose:

The discussion aimed to map current digital rights capacities and threats in Global Majority communities through the RECIPE project, share research findings from nine countries, and foster partnerships between civil society organizations to address digital inequalities and promote human rights in the digital age.

## Overall Tone:

The discussion maintained a professional, collaborative, and solution-oriented tone throughout. While speakers acknowledged serious challenges and violations, they balanced concern with optimism by highlighting ongoing efforts and practical solutions. The tone remained constructive and forward-looking, emphasizing collective action and shared learning rather than dwelling on problems alone.

Speakers

– **Mia Marzotto** – Digital Rights Advocacy Lead at Oxfam

– **Online moderator** – (Role/title not specified, appears to be Luan Mendez based on context)

– **Audience** – Enes Mafuta from Zambia, Standards Engineer

– **Khadeja Ibrahim** – International Advocacy Officer at the Palestinian NGO, Miftah

– **Cristian Leon** – Executive Director of Fundacion Internet Bolivia.org

– **Tran Thi Tuyet** – Program Manager for the Institute for Policy Studies and Media Development in Vietnam (also referred to as “Snow”)

– **Mohamed Aded Ali** – Executive Director of Somalia Non-State Actors (SONSA)

– **Theary Luy** – Head of Program at the Cooperation Committee for Cambodia

**Additional speakers:**

– **Luan Mendez** – Project Coordinator of the Centro SOS Digital at Fundacion Internet Bolivia (mentioned as online moderator but appears to be the same as “Online moderator”)

# Comprehensive Report: Mapping Digital Rights Capacities and Threats in Global Majority Communities

## Executive Summary

This networking session at the Internet Governance Forum presented findings from Oxfam’s Recipe Project, a comprehensive initiative examining digital rights capacities and threats across global majority communities. The discussion brought together civil society representatives from Vietnam, Bolivia, Cambodia, Somalia, and Palestine to share research findings from nine countries involving over 1,000 respondents. The session revealed concerning patterns of digital rights violations, infrastructure inequalities, and governance gaps while highlighting innovative community-driven solutions and advocacy strategies.

## Research Methodology and Scope

Mia Marzotto, Digital Rights Advocacy Lead at Oxfam, introduced the Recipe Project as a multi-country research initiative co-funded by the European Union. The project examined four critical dimensions: digital literacy levels, internet access quality, experiences of digital violence, and existing prevention measures. The research methodology emphasized bottom-up approaches, engaging directly with marginalized communities to understand their lived experiences of digital rights challenges.

The comprehensive scope of the research spanned nine countries with over 1,000 respondents, though five countries were presented in detail during this session. This approach enabled the identification of common patterns while respecting regional specificities across diverse geographical and political contexts.

## Country-Specific Findings and Challenges

### Vietnam: Policy Development Gaps

Snow from the Institute for Policy Studies and Media Development in Vietnam presented findings highlighting significant gaps in digital policy development. Despite government-led digitalization efforts, fundamental accessibility problems persist, with none of Vietnam’s 63 provincial public service portals meeting user-friendliness standards.

The research revealed that 44% of Vietnamese respondents cannot distinguish between accurate and fake information online, indicating significant digital literacy gaps. More concerning is the systematic exclusion of marginalized communities from policy development processes. As Snow explained, digital policies remain largely developed through top-down approaches led by state agencies, with consultation processes that are “often formalistic and lack meaningful engagement.”

Snow presented four fundamental lessons from Vietnam’s experience: the need for meaningful participation of marginalized communities in policy development, the importance of addressing digital literacy gaps, the requirement for user-friendly digital infrastructure, and the necessity of moving beyond formalistic consultation to genuine engagement.

### Bolivia: High Rates of Digital Violence

The Bolivian findings, presented by online moderator Luan Mendez, revealed alarming statistics. An overwhelming 77% of respondents experienced digital security incidents, while 62% faced digital violence. Most significantly, 77% of those experiencing digital violence identified a specific relationship between these attacks and their status as human rights defenders.

Bolivia faces severe connectivity challenges, with a 30% digital divide in urban areas expanding to 70% in rural regions. These infrastructure gaps compound the vulnerability of already marginalized communities to digital rights violations.

However, Bolivia also demonstrated innovative civil society responses, including the creation of feminist collective networks providing digital security support through peer-to-peer methodologies. These networks represent a community-driven approach to building digital rights capacity.

### Cambodia: Capacity Building Through Networks

Theary Luy from the Cooperation Committee for Cambodia (CCC) presented findings showing that fewer than 30% of Cambodian citizens possess adequate skills to navigate the digital world safely. This digital literacy gap particularly affects rural youth and grassroots organizations.

CCC represents 200 NGOs and collaborates with over 400 provincial NGOs, providing a broad network for capacity building. Cambodia’s legal framework remains incomplete, lacking comprehensive cybersecurity, cybercrime, and personal data protection laws despite having digital government policies.

The Cambodian response emphasizes peer-to-peer capacity building, with grassroots organizations trained to become trainers themselves. As Theary explained, their multi-stakeholder policy dialogue serves as “not a consultation, but it’s a way to build trust” and ensure genuine community voice consideration in policy development.

### Somalia: Connectivity Without Protection

Mohamed Aded Ali from Somalia Non-State Actors (SONSA) presented a paradoxical situation where 98% of the population has internet connectivity, yet significant protection gaps persist. Only 28% of users understand the risks of sharing personal information online, while 42% experience digital violence, with 37% reporting gender-based incidents.

Somalia’s regulatory landscape includes various bodies such as the Digital Rights Authority (DBA) and National Identification and Registration Authority (NERA), but has limited legislative framework, with policies remaining in draft form or under cabinet review.

The Somali response includes establishing a digital task force committee comprising decision makers, civil society organizations, and technology companies, representing a multi-stakeholder approach to addressing digital rights challenges.

### Palestine: Systematic Digital Discrimination

Khadeja Ibrahim from the Palestinian NGO Miftah presented findings documenting systematic digital rights violations including surveillance, censorship, and discriminatory infrastructure access. Palestinians use 3G networks while Israeli settlers in the West Bank have access to 4G and 5G networks, creating stark technological inequality.

Khadeja mentioned specific AI tools being used including Blue Wolf, Lavender, and Where’s Daddy, as well as the impact of Facebook law and anti-terrorism legislation. Palestinian civil society organizations face additional challenges, with 72% unaware of local digital rights legislation and 75% lacking technological resources.

Despite these constraints, Palestinian organizations participate in the Palestinian Digital Rights Initiative Coalition, maintaining coordination and knowledge sharing to build collective capacity under extremely difficult circumstances.

## Common Challenges and Themes

### Digital Literacy Gaps

All speakers identified digital literacy gaps as a fundamental barrier to digital rights protection. The consistency of this challenge across diverse contexts—from Vietnam’s 44% unable to identify misinformation to Cambodia’s under-30% digital navigation skills—demonstrates this as a universal challenge requiring coordinated responses.

### Widespread Digital Violence

The research documented high rates of digital violence across all regions, with particular targeting of human rights defenders and gender-based violence. Bolivia’s finding that 77% of digital violence victims linked attacks to their human rights defender status demonstrates how digital spaces are weaponized to silence advocacy and activism.

### Inadequate Legal Frameworks

All countries face significant gaps in legal frameworks for digital rights protection. Laws are either missing entirely, remain in draft form, or lack meaningful stakeholder participation in development. This regulatory vacuum leaves citizens without recourse when digital rights violations occur.

### Infrastructure Inequalities

The research revealed how digital infrastructure serves as a mechanism of exclusion. Palestine’s discriminatory network access and Bolivia’s 70% rural digital divide demonstrate how unequal access reinforces existing inequalities.

## Civil Society Responses and Innovation

Despite significant challenges, civil society organizations across all regions developed innovative capacity-building strategies sharing common characteristics: peer-to-peer learning, community ownership of solutions, and network-based approaches.

Bolivia’s feminist collective networks, Cambodia’s train-the-trainer models, and Vietnam’s grassroots consultation advocacy all demonstrate community-driven approaches. These methods recognize that communities possess knowledge about their own needs and can develop contextually appropriate solutions.

Multi-stakeholder collaboration emerged as important but requiring genuine participation rather than tokenistic consultation. Cambodia’s policy dialogue platform and Somalia’s digital task force committee represent attempts to create meaningful engagement across sectors.

## Areas of Consensus and Tension

Strong consensus emerged regarding fundamental challenges: digital literacy gaps, inadequate legal frameworks, high rates of digital violence, and the need for bottom-up approaches. This consensus across diverse contexts suggests these are universal challenges in digital rights implementation.

However, tensions remain around balancing security and rights. Audience member Enes Mafuta from Zambia highlighted how cybersecurity laws enacted without transparency can create public backlash and restrict legitimate activities, reflecting broader challenges in digital governance where security concerns can justify restrictions on rights.

## Key Insights and Future Directions

The research demonstrates that digital rights violations follow systematic patterns reflecting broader inequalities and governance failures. This systemic nature requires comprehensive responses addressing root causes rather than individual incidents.

The success of peer-to-peer capacity building approaches suggests need for sustained investment in these methodologies. Supporting organizations to become trainers and knowledge sharers multiplies impact while building local ownership and sustainable capacity.

The Recipe Project demonstrates the value of sustained collaboration between civil society organizations across different contexts, enabling ongoing learning and mutual support while respecting local autonomy.

## Conclusion

This networking session successfully demonstrated both the universal nature of digital rights challenges and the innovative capacity of civil society organizations to develop contextually appropriate responses. The research findings reveal concerning patterns requiring urgent attention, while also highlighting remarkable innovation in community-driven capacity building and advocacy strategies.

The strong consensus among speakers on both challenges and solutions suggests significant potential for coordinated action and mutual learning. Moving forward, the digital rights community must build on these foundations while addressing ongoing challenges around resources, legal frameworks, and coordination mechanisms.

As Mia concluded, the session emphasized the need for continued collaboration between technical communities and civil society to address challenges like misinformation while preserving digital rights. This collaborative approach, grounded in community knowledge and meaningful participation, offers a promising path toward more inclusive digital governance.

Mia Marzotto: Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for this networking session titled Mapping and Addressing Digital Rights Capacities and Threats. My name is Mia Marzotto, and I’m the Digital Rights Advocacy Lead at Oxfam. This week at the IGF, we heard many times how the deployment of digital technologies in more areas of our daily lives and the rapid rise of artificial intelligence increases the urgency with which human rights in a digital age must be prioritized. So with this session, we want to focus on what the current landscape looks like in terms of digital rights capacities and threats in global majority communities and encourage new or stronger partnerships and connections between progressive actors in the digital governance space so that we can collectively ensure that we turn the critical commitment of leaving no one behind into reality. With Oxfam, we believe that effective digital governance should advocate for and protect the rights and interests of all people and that their needs and experiences should really determine the future course of the digital age. Our mission is to end inequality, and this includes tackling the issue of digital inequality as we see a growing concerning gap between those who benefit from digital technologies and those who don’t. This is why in mid-2024, we launched Recipe, a multi-year project co-funded by the European Union that aims to promote fundamental rights in the digital age in partnership with with civil society organizations from 10 countries, working with some of the most vulnerable people in society for whom the risks as well as the opportunities related to digital technologies are the greatest. So this session will proceed as follows. First, we’ll hear from five representatives from the civil society organizations involved in the Recipe Project, who will present key information extracted from primary research and analysis recently conducted, providing sort of like a snapshot of the current situation of digital rights capacities and threats in a diverse set of global majority countries. And then we will move into a discussion and of course encourage reflections and questions from the audience, both in the room and online. So without further ado, let me quickly introduce my panel here of distinguished speakers, starting with Mohamed Aded Ali. He’s the Executive Director of Somalia Non-State Actors. To my right here, Tran Thi Tuyet, Program Manager for the Institute for Policy Studies and Media Development in Vietnam. Theary Luy, Head of Program at the Cooperation Committee for Cambodia. And at the end of the table, Christian Leon, Executive Director of Fundacion Internet Bolivia.org. Joining us online, we also have Khadeja Ibrahim, who’s the International Advocacy Officer at the Palestinian NGO, Mifta. And Luan Mendez, Project Coordinator of the Centro SOS Digital at Fundacion Internet Bolivia, who will also be our online moderator. So before focusing on the countries, I just wanna make a quick few remarks on the overall methodology and demographics. and Theary Luy. So, this is a summary of the demographics of the multi-country assessment we conducted under the Recipe Project to map the digital landscape threats and opportunities. So this was an assessment that included a comprehensive set of questions related to four main topics, digital literacy and internet access, digital violence and safety, and current measures to prevent digital violence, as well as perceptions on the further action needed to prevent digital rights violations. We had over a thousand respondents across nine countries, representing a range of groups, including community members, activists, journalists, and members of civil society organizations. And of course, we also looked at existing literature and other relevant studies, and importantly validated the findings through workshops with the groups involved. So I will now pass it on to our panel to present key findings from each country, as well as provide an overview of ongoing efforts and lessons learned in their work to promote digital rights and accountable internet governance in their respective contexts. Snow, would you like to start?

Tran Thi Tuyet: Hello, everyone, and it’s nice to meet you all here. I’m Snow from the Institute for Policy Study and Media Development of Think Tank based in Vietnam, focusing on digital technology policies. And it’s my honor to be here, and thank you so much, MIA and Osmar Malan, for giving us this opportunity to share here. And without further delay, I will start my presentation now. In Vietnam, digital transformation, or truyền đổi sổ, has been a national priority in recent years, with the government recognizing that digitalization is a comprehensive socioeconomic shift. The government leaves no one behind commitment aimed to guarantee that all citizens can benefit from and participate in the digital era. The cornerstone of this vision is to ensure digital rights for everyone. But despite notable progress, the reality for many is still marked by the barrier to digital access and participation. So our challenge and opportunity is to ensure that digital rights are not just a slogan, but a reality for all. In Vietnam, more and more people are using digital services. Each day, between three to six million log into this platform. This is three to four times more than just a year ago. Nearly half of all government services are now fully online. This number reflects the country’s strong push for digitalization. But the real question is, do this positive number actually means everyone can access to these services? While official reports show promising figures, significant challenges remain in digital infrastructure, digital skills, and digital access. According to our research in mid-2024, none of Vietnam’s 63 provincial public service portals fully meet standards for user-friendliness or accessibility, even though these portals are the main gateway for government services. So for marginalized communities, such as the migrant workers, getting access to these services is even more critical, since it is a necessity for them for claiming the entitlement under essential social protection policies. As digital services become a part of daily life in Vietnam, concern about data protection and online safety are growing, and Vietnam has also started building legal frameworks such as the personal data protection decree and a new law, but challenges still remain. Personal data protection leak and the buying and selling of personal info without the identification still happen. And misinformation in the online digital environment is common as 44% of people in our recent research Research also say that they cannot clarify the information they saw was accurate or fake. So this confusion makes it easier for the scammers, especially among people with limited digital skills, like the marginalized community. A survey by the National Cyber Security Association found that one in every 220 smartphone users in Vietnam has fallen victim to online scams. These challenges stem from several core issues that our analysis has identified. Digital policy in Vietnam are still largely developed through a top-down approach led by state agencies with consultation processes that are often formalistic and lack of meaningful engagement. There remains an absence of participation from the marginalized communities and their representative organizations during both the design and implementation of digital policies. Furthermore, there is a lack of robust coordination mechanism between the public sector, the private sector, the civil society, and relevant stakeholders that advocate for digital rights. So from the perspective of a policy research organization, we observe both remarkable and persistent challenges. Hence, our policy recommendations aim to provide a strategic roadmap that integrates both the policy, the technical, and the cooperative dimensions. So we would like to highlight four fundamental lessons. The first one is digital transformation as a multi-component ecosystem requiring synchronization between policy, technology, and people. The second one, inclusive policy design with a tentative participation mechanism and grassroots support institution is necessary. The third one, ensuring digital rights as a prerequisite for greater public participation in the transformation process. especially for marginalised groups. And the fourth one established multi-level, multi-layer and multilateral cooperation mechanism to strengthen the capacity, voice and policy influence of social organisation and disadvantaged community. So before I conclude my presentation, I would like to invite you to explore our research on this topic. Our detailed recommendations are available via the QR code on the screen. And we hope that Vietnam’s experience and lesson learned can contribute to the global conversation on digital rights for all. Thanks for your attention.

Mia Marzotto: Thank you, Snow, very much. From Vietnam to Bolivia. Christian, please.

Cristian Leon: Sure. Thank you, Mia. Good morning to all the wonderful panellists and the friends participating on site and online. So I represent an organisation called Internet Bolivia Foundation that is a digital rights organisation established in 2018. We work to generate digital inclusion, protection of digital rights and the fostering of capacities for the most vulnerable populations, especially in the fight against digital gender violence. We do this in a context in which three things are combined. The first one is a digital divide that still affects 30% of the population in urban areas and almost 70% in the rural areas. So we are really far from achieving a meaningful connectivity. The second thing is a strong perspective from the government and legislators to push forward a digital transformation, but the digital transformation more motivated in digital technosolutionism than in real necessities. And this is exposing people to potential abuses to their rights, such as privacy, freedom of speech, participation, among others, and see a very hostile environment. for Human Rights Defenders, for Women Activists, for LGBTQIA populations, all the vulnerable populations. So they are connected but without any safeguards to their participation. That is why most of our work has been focused on fostering the capacities of these populations and advocating for the respect of our rights. And that is why we are working with the RECIPE group to join forces together with other organizations from the Global South and the Global North for achieving these objectives. So we made a mapping of the current threats. And my colleague Luan, she’s connected. She will explain to you a little more about our results. So Luan, please.

Online moderator: Thank you very much. Hi, everyone in the session. Good morning. Well, about the key findings, we saw that 77% suffered a digital security incident and 62% experienced some type of digital violence in the last year. Another important result was that 77% said that the actions of digital violence affect them may have a specific relationship with their status as human rights defenders. That is a very important result. And another thing that the four main threats identified were harassment, hate speech, physical or sexual threats, and public defamation. So in order to respond to that, one way of responding to the previous result was the creation of a network of feminist collectives. Some of the objectives of this network are to generate support for digital security among and others. The first thing was the methodologies with pedagogical and practical dynamics were identified such as awareness-raising sessions, space for horizontal reflection, and articulation for advocacy in public policies in the political arena. This network seeks to provide support to victims and carry out collective prevention actions. It’s important to mention that this network is composed for a very large feminist collective in Bolivia that now are working in strategies and creating horizontal pedagogical methodologies in order to improve their skills in digital security.

Mia Marzotto: Thank you very much to you both. Theary, do you want to talk to us about Cambodia?

Theary Luy: Yes, thank you, Mia, and good morning all. I’m honored to speak with you on behalf of the Cooperation Committee for Cambodia, CCC. CCC, we are a membership-based organization in Cambodia that works in the inclusive partnership to promote good governance, enabling environment, and sustainability for civil society organizations in Cambodia. Currently, we have 200 NGOs as a member, including the local and international NGOs. Besides that, we also have the collaboration with the provincial-based NGOs that work at the ground level with their members, more than 400 NGOs. And back to the digital context in Cambodia, Cambodia stands as a digital crossroad that over the past… Last decade, we witnessed the rapid growth of the Internet and the transformative power of the social media in how our people communicate, engage, and access to the information. However, this digital growth has not come without challenges. So I would like to highlight the challenges based on the key findings of the research. First is about the digital literacy remain alarmingly low in Cambodia. Based on the research, fewer than 30% of Cambodians, especially rural youth and grassroots civil society organizations, posted the skill needed to navigate the digital world safely and effectively. This digital divide is not just about the access to technology, but it’s about the access to the opportunity to participation and to the protection. And second, our legal framework is still catching up. Cambodians have a digital government policy 2022 to 2035, which focuses on the three pillars that I mentioned about the digital government, digital economy, and the digital citizen. However, Cambodia lacks comprehensive law. Several laws are in the draft form. They are in process. This law includes cybersecurity law, cybercrime law, and personal data protection law. And the last one, the third, the absence of the clear and the right-based legislation make the citizen vulnerable to surveillance, misinformation, and data misuse. This leads to the growing of the stress in the digital platform due to the online scam, online gaming. There are a lot of things that we must urgently reveal. However, there is a hope and there is an action. At CCC, we are working with the provincial NGO network to promote the digital awareness and security. These local organizations are not only receiving training, but they are becoming trainers themselves to transfer the knowledge to their members and also their communities. And we are also engaging the youth and the social influencers to lead the public campaigns that make digital rights relevant. Another thing is about the main importance of our work in the policy dialogue. In Cambodia, we believe in the multi-stakeholder approach and the inclusive dialogue. We are bringing together the government, civil society, development partners, and also the private sector to raise awareness of the digital law and policy and to ensure the voice of the civil society are heard and shaping them. So for us, this multi-stakeholder dialogue is not a consultation, but it’s a way to build trust among key stakeholders. So from this effort, we learned that the local ownership, inclusive dialogue, and the youth engagement are the key building the digital future that is safe and equitable and empowering for the Cambodian citizens and also the world. Thank you.

Mia Marzotto: Thank you, Thierry. Mohamed?

Mohamed Aded Ali: Thank you very much. My name is Mohamed Aded Ali. I’m the Executive Director of Somali Civil Society Network, namely SONSA. SONSA is a multisectoral platform of the civil society organization dedicated to promoting I would like to thank the panelists as well as the IGF community and IGF Norway particular secretariat that organized this significant event. In general context, in Somalia, media oversight and regulatory barriers are limited digital advocacy in human rights, gender, economic, climate justice, and democracy. But the digital access can help drive equitable development, accountability, governance, gender, equality, climate actions, and human rights that empowers citizens to voice needs and hold leaders accountable. Increasing digital capacity, rights, awareness, and security practices to navigate constituents and maximum impact is critical for Somali civil society organizations. In Somalia, we have different stakeholders that engage in the digital and Internet sector, which is institutional sectors, private sectors, and other civil society organizations, mainly human rights defenders. We have Digital Rights Authority, DBA. We have National Identification and Registration Authority, NERA. We have National Communication Authority, NCA. We have Somali National Telecommunication and Technology Institute, as well as we have touch companies as a private sector actors, as well as we have human rights organizations and defenders. In early 2024, SOMSA conducted mapping and assessment addressing digital rights capacity, and that capacity focuses on Internet access, digital literacy, social media, users, digital rights awareness, digital violence, and digital security. The findings that we found during the assessment is, number one, internet access, 98% of the population connected primary networks from their home, workplace, use internet cafes, public services, and friendly networks. In terms of digital literacy, 98% reported that digital literacy is very important, as well as 90% can send messages through their mobiles as well as to receive their emails. In terms of social media users, Facebook and TikTok, 44% of the population, mainly youngest, they are using social media in terms of Facebook and TikTok. As well as there is YouTube, 32% uses YouTube as a user. As well as there is Twitter, which politicians and decision makers use as a professionality and a purpose of their work and displaying their achievement in terms of government institutions. As well as the assessment raises digital rights awareness, 28% understand risks and sharing personal information online. As well as digital violence, 42% experience digital violence, whereby 37% reports gender-based incidents like male harassment and other sexual offensive issues. In terms of digital security, 44% have basic incidents like account thefts and other scams. 69% adopted basic measures, blocking reporting updates, but advanced practices and secure communication and multi-security authorization remain limited. We have As ongoing efforts, as strategies, as lessons learned, strengthen the civil society organizations in digital skills, such to deliver workshops and corruption, privacy-seeking, patient and cyber security attack awareness, security communication and safe device practices, as well as, it is very important, raising public awareness, launch a nationwide campaign on tech-facilitated gender-based violence and online safety through radio, social media, as well as community forums. The other one, engage policymakers, it is very important to convene policy dialogue and roundtable connecting civil society organizations with regulatory decision-makers to align ICT framework with digital rights protection, sustain capacity building, distribute practical toolkits, ag digital safety checklist, incident reports, guides, templates, privacy policies, and provide follow-up support so CSO can apply and update practice over time. So thank you very much, I need to conclude my presentation, over to you.

Mia Marzotto: Thank you, Mohamed. We’ll now go to Khadeja, who’s online, thank you.

Khadeja Ibrahim: Hello, everyone, thank you for having me, and thank you, Mia. Just a second. Yeah, so I’m calling in from the West Bank, I work with the organization called Muftah, we work domestically on promoting good governance and democracy, and highlighting how Israeli violations affect women and girls in gender-specific ways. So to give a quick background, when we talk about digital rights violations, they’re unfortunately non-existent, the digital rights are non-existent. We face a variety of violations. To give a quick overview, Israel’s use of advanced surveillance, including biometric data. We’ve seen the development of AI tools such as Blue Wolf and Lavender and Where’s Daddy, which are deployed to monitor and control Palestinian movement, often without legal oversight. We also have a lot of social media censorship. Palestinian content is subject to arbitrary censorship, account suspensions and surveillance on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. The Facebook law and vague anti-terrorism legislation are weaponized to criminalize online dissent and restrict freedom of expression. There’s also repressive technology infrastructure in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, so discriminatory practice limit Palestinian access to ICT infrastructure. For example, Palestinians still use 3G Internet network, while Israeli settlers who are illegally living in the West Bank have full access to 4G and 5G networks. We’re also seeing a huge shrink in civic space, so civil society actors, journalists, and activists face intimidation, arrest and spyware targeting through Israeli technologies. So, to speak of the mapping assessment that we’ve done at Muftah, we collected questionnaires from 55 Palestinian organizations based in the West Bank, including Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. Some of the key findings from that mapping assessment. First, we see a widespread gap in digital awareness and security capacity. So, 23% of CSOs lack basic knowledge of digital rights. Only 14.5 of them raise their awareness of digital threats as high. 52% have no digital rights protection policies. We also see that after October 2023, there’s been severe challenges. 40% of institutions face direct digital violations. We also see institutional vulnerability due to limited resources, so nearly 75% of CSOs lack technological resources, 55% lack digital knowledge, and 36% lack legal support, and small or medium-sized institutions are more vulnerable. Nearly 86% of CSOs received no technological or legal support post-October 2023, when the risks were more high. There’s also a lack of legal and policy frameworks, so 72% of CSOs are unaware of local digital rights legislation. Over half of them believe that existing cybercrime laws may be ineffective or unsure of their effectiveness. Nearly 62% of CSOs believe that the Palestinian government is not doing enough to protect digital rights. And we see an overwhelming majority of them need urgent, there’s an urgent need for capacity building and international support. And this means many of them seek security training, and they want training on digital rights to raise awareness. So, to speak of the main activities that we’ve been doing at Muftah, we’ve had two rounds of trainings on digital rights for CSOs and CBOs from marginalized communities across the West Bank. We’ve had a policy meeting with CSOs on the cybercrimes draft law. We’ve hosted a diplomatic briefing with diplomats based in Palestine on our digital rights report. We also are continuing to produce social media content based on the evidence-based research. We also plan to start a podcast series based on it as well. And we have participated at the Palestinian Digital Activism Forum back in March, which is hosted by the organization Hemna. And we will continue doing the work that we have been doing for the past year. So that’s it from my end. Thank you.

Mia Marzotto: Thank you very much Khadeja and thank you all so much for the presentations. I just would like to underline how clear it is every time I hear you guys speak that as much as there are clear differences between the various countries you come from and the communities you work with. There are some common digital rights threats and issues and also some important work from civil society organizations like the ones you represent, which shows that a better, more rights respecting digital ecosystem is possible. So we want to open it up to any questions or reflections from the audience to any of the speakers or in general. We have a few questions that we came up that we would like to hear from you. But of course, any and all questions are welcome also from those listening in online. So there are mics to the side of the room in case anybody wants to ask any questions. Otherwise, I know I have questions for our panel here. Any questions? Okay, maybe I can break the ice with a question to you all and then I’ll also monitor online if there are any questions. One question to all any of you who want to answer. Can you share a little bit more what you have done in terms of sharing these important research findings and analyses with stakeholders and duty bearers at the national level? International level and if there have been any reactions or actions taken on their part and then how have you communicated about those actions back to the groups involved in the research to establish meaningful two-way accountability in digital governance. Anybody would like to start?

Theary Luy: Yeah, from Cambodia actually, based on the finding that we conducted research in Cambodia, we organized a workshop that disseminated the finding to the civil society and other stakeholders on that, and based on that, we validated the request. Like I mentioned about the action that we conduct at the ground level in terms of the training to the grassroots organization and also the community there. And for that, not only the awareness raising on the digital, but also about the policy implementation at the national level that need the voice of the community, voice of the civil society that work there to consideration in the policy framework. So the policy dialogue that I mentioned is very important. Actually, we plan in 3rd July and also the end of this year for the policy dialogue that allow the audience, the community, and the civil society at the ground level and their representative to meet with the policy maker to raise all the challenges. So that’s why the multi-stakeholder dialogue is very important. That’s not for the consultation, but it’s the platform that change and consider the demand of the community. Yes, thank you.

Cristian Leon: Yeah, as Luan mentioned in Bolivia, we are creating this network of grassroots women organizations that they want to work together in these issues, but from a bottom-up perspective with the idea of not only creating tools, digital security tools or others, but also to carry out advocacy actions together. And this is really important because in Bolivia we are in a moment of elections, and you know these moments really normally open the windows to create new policies and to discuss things with politicians. So I think this is a very key moment in order to organize, to create coalitions and to do advocacy together. So this is one of the actions that we are doing with Internet Bolivia Foundation.

Mia Marzotto: Thank you. Mohamed?

Mohamed Aded Ali: Yeah, thank you very much. In our context, in terms of digital arena is a new ecosystem because mostly the civil society organizations and other individuals have a challenge in terms of capacity, you know, knowledge in the digital. Mostly in Somalia, the private sector as well as the civil society organizations are concentrated in terms of digitalization and as well as using other technologies. But mostly the population of the community still didn’t have much knowledge on digital. After we started this RECIPI project, we engaged different stakeholders. The decision makers are, for example, the government institutions. In terms of legislative, some of them still they are drafting and some of the policies are on the disk of cabinet and still not passed yet. So that’s the way we are, our context. But in terms of our engagement, we make coordination with different stakeholders. We established a digital platform organization as a digital task force committee, which comprises decision makers, civil society organizations, and tech companies to work together, considering digitalization is a part of basic rights of individuals. Thank you.

Mia Marzotto: Thanks, Mohamed. Perhaps, Khadija, would you like to come in on this? I know you mentioned the Palestine Digital Activism Forum, but maybe there’s more.

Khadeja Ibrahim: Yes, so we’re actually part of the Palestinian Digital Rights Initiative Coalition, which is a group of CSOs who work in the realm of digital rights within Palestine. So we contribute with them on a monthly basis, share findings, insights, and kind of just learn from each other, also learn about upcoming opportunities from one another as well. So it was through this coalition that we were actually encouraged also to apply to PDAF, to the Palestinian Digital Rights Activism Forum. This was a two-day forum of speakers, panels, workshops, teaching about digital rights in Palestine. So we participated in that and we were able to reach, you know, an audience within Palestine, like students, other organizations, other activists. So that was a really great opportunity for us as well. In addition to that, we just continue to share our content online through social media. We find that social media is a very effective tool to reach people, not only internationally, We have students at universities in Palestine who have reached out to us because of our content asking more questions, maybe they were doing research on the topic, so we were able to help them in that capacity. Thank you.

Mia Marzotto: Snow, yeah?

Tran Thi Tuyet: Yeah, actually, for IPS in Vietnam, we act as a bridge and facilitator for this process. Usually we follow a bottom-up approach, which means that we’re starting from the grassroots level through survey, consultation, and other, like, participatory activities to collect inputs from all relevant stakeholders. Once we have gathered sufficient perspective, we organize in-depth discussion with policymakers to share the findings, and through that, these findings are always accompanied with clear and actionable recommendations, so that we can work alongside with policymakers to drive positive change. For example, over the last three years, we have been heavily involved in the issue related to digital governance and online public service delivery, and once the concrete recommendations – we have the recommendation about consolidating our own 63 provincial portal into a single national portal, as I have mentioned in my presentation, then it was adopted by the policymaker. And additionally, our user experiences assessment are now being adopted as part of the national standards, and we continue to work closely with the policymaker and other government authorities to refine these standards. And when recommendations are taken on board, it’s become much easier to bring the policymaker, government agencies representative, and other civil society organizations together for direct dialogue, and I think that’s all.

Mia Marzotto: Thank you. Any brave souls in the room with questions, reflections? No? Okay. Then I do have a final, oh yeah, please. Would you like to come up to the mic? Thank you. Hello.

Audience: Thank you, everyone. I don’t know if you can hear me. Yes. Yes. So my name is Enes Mafuta. I’m from Zambia. I’m coming from the technical background. I’m a standards engineer. So I’ll just talk briefly on, I think, question three on digital rights and how international governance community should prioritize more respecting. So I’ve seen all your amazing presentation and how you’ve highlighted. One thing that I’ve noticed is that they are more interlinked with the issues that we’re facing in different regions. You talk of Asia, South America, Africa. There’s one common denominator, and that is digital literacy, which has been a challenge in terms of accessing the rights. So with regards to that question, one of the things that I would like to see the international community to work on is, you see, access is a right. We’ve said it, access is a right. But there’s something that will always block access. When it comes to the government, they’ll say they are safeguarding platforms from misinformation, deepfakes, and everything. So there’s need to balance this cybersecurity resilience by while upholding freedom of expression and also access. One of the example that I would give you is under a few minutes is how my country has enact, has amended the cybersecurity crime and law of 2025. And this bill was assented in a private manner. So when this bill was assented in a private manner, then the society came to learn about it It created a perception out there to say this is a bad law They are trying to curtail our freedom of speech and access and everything So it was a situation where now people started throwing memes, insults and everything So there was those types of arrests and stuff like that. In a nutshell I wouldn’t blame the government because there were some cyber Crime offenders, but on the other hand, there were some people who were ignorant about this law So there were not much awareness and everything. So I would encourage the civil society space at least to advocate for Algorithm detection that can tackle misinformation and also this deepfakes because Once an information which is wrong is sent out there It is weaponized and once it is weaponized It creates a perception in the minds of users and when it creates that perception in the mind of users The users themselves they are going to be limited by that information. They are going to accept it So in short, they are going to accept that definition And when you accept that definition it will end up limiting you and when you are limited by that information you believe it So you live with it because it’s a lie. So this is just my observation about this So let’s work together technical community civil society. Let’s find ways on how we can tackle these Misinformation and defects. Thank you very much

Mia Marzotto: Thank you very much. I’m aware. We have only one minute left I’m sure like there’s lots of thoughts around me on this I think this is definitely something that we the reason why spaces like the IGF are really important in the multi-stakeholder Approach is very important, right? And and I think that in in that Balancing exercise which you mentioned having a diversity of voices and experiences participate is is really important to find the right balance because because it is a balancing act indeed. Like I mentioned, this is the start of the conversation, hopefully, although I know that it may be the last day of this IGF, but we do want to continue the conversation. There are some resources at the back, and of course you can come up to us to have our contact details. I want to thank you all, panelists, and also to those online, and those in the room, and the technical team making this hybrid session possible. Again, thank you, and have safe travels back home, and let’s continue the discussion. Thanks again. Thank you.

Agreement points

Digital literacy gaps as fundamental barrier to digital rights

Speakers

– Tran Thi Tuyet
– Theary Luy
– Mohamed Aded Ali
– Audience

Arguments

Vietnam lacks meaningful participation from marginalized communities in top-down digital policy development

In Cambodia, fewer than 30% of citizens possess skills to navigate digital world safely, with particular gaps among rural youth and grassroots organizations

Somalia shows 98% internet connectivity but limited advanced security practices and digital literacy gaps

Need for balanced approach between cybersecurity resilience and freedom of expression, with civil society advocacy for algorithm detection to tackle misinformation

Summary

All speakers identified digital literacy as a critical challenge affecting their populations’ ability to safely and effectively participate in digital spaces, with particular impact on marginalized communities

Topics

Development | Human rights

High prevalence of digital violence and security incidents

Speakers

– Online moderator
– Khadeja Ibrahim
– Mohamed Aded Ali

Arguments

77% of respondents in Bolivia suffered digital security incidents and 62% experienced digital violence, with 77% linking attacks to their human rights defender status

Palestinian organizations face widespread digital rights violations including surveillance, censorship, and discriminatory infrastructure access

In Somalia, 42% experience digital violence with 37% reporting gender-based incidents, while 44% face basic security incidents like account theft and scams

Summary

Multiple countries report extremely high rates of digital violence and security incidents, with particular targeting of human rights defenders and gender-based violence

Topics

Human rights | Cybersecurity

Inadequate legal and policy frameworks for digital rights protection

Speakers

– Tran Thi Tuyet
– Theary Luy
– Mohamed Aded Ali
– Khadeja Ibrahim

Arguments

Vietnam lacks meaningful participation from marginalized communities in top-down digital policy development

Cambodia lacks comprehensive cybersecurity, cybercrime, and personal data protection laws despite having digital government policy

Somalia has various regulatory bodies but limited legislative framework with policies still in draft or cabinet review

72% of Palestinian CSOs are unaware of local digital rights legislation and believe government efforts are insufficient

Summary

All countries face significant gaps in legal frameworks for digital rights protection, with laws either missing, in draft form, or lacking meaningful stakeholder participation in development

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Human rights

Similar viewpoints

All speakers emphasized bottom-up, community-driven approaches to building digital rights capacity, with focus on training local organizations to become trainers and creating multi-stakeholder platforms for collaboration

Speakers

– Cristian Leon
– Tran Thi Tuyet
– Theary Luy
– Mohamed Aded Ali

Arguments

Creation of feminist collective networks in Bolivia to provide digital security support and advocacy through horizontal pedagogical methodologies

Vietnam’s bottom-up approach involves grassroots consultation followed by policymaker engagement with actionable recommendations

Training grassroots organizations in Cambodia to become trainers themselves, transferring knowledge to communities

Establishment of digital task force committee in Somalia comprising decision makers, CSOs, and tech companies

Topics

Development | Human rights

Strong consensus on the importance of meaningful multi-stakeholder engagement that goes beyond consultation to genuine participation in policy development and implementation

Speakers

– Tran Thi Tuyet
– Theary Luy
– Mia Marzotto
– Audience

Arguments

Vietnam’s bottom-up approach involves grassroots consultation followed by policymaker engagement with actionable recommendations

Policy dialogue in Cambodia serves as platform for community voice consideration rather than mere consultation

Importance of multi-stakeholder approach in IGF spaces for finding right balance in digital governance

Need for balanced approach between cybersecurity resilience and freedom of expression, with civil society advocacy for algorithm detection to tackle misinformation

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Human rights

Unexpected consensus

Infrastructure disparities as tool of discrimination and control

Speakers

– Khadeja Ibrahim
– Cristian Leon

Arguments

Palestinians use 3G networks while Israeli settlers access 4G/5G, demonstrating discriminatory technology infrastructure

Bolivia faces 30% digital divide in urban areas and 70% in rural areas, far from meaningful connectivity

Explanation

Both speakers highlighted how infrastructure access disparities serve as mechanisms of exclusion and control, whether through deliberate discrimination (Palestine) or systemic neglect (Bolivia rural areas)

Topics

Development | Human rights | Infrastructure

Gender-specific targeting in digital violence across different contexts

Speakers

– Online moderator
– Mohamed Aded Ali
– Cristian Leon

Arguments

77% of respondents in Bolivia suffered digital security incidents and 62% experienced digital violence, with 77% linking attacks to their human rights defender status

In Somalia, 42% experience digital violence with 37% reporting gender-based incidents, while 44% face basic security incidents like account theft and scams

Creation of feminist collective networks in Bolivia to provide digital security support and advocacy through horizontal pedagogical methodologies

Explanation

Unexpected consensus emerged on the gendered nature of digital violence across very different political and social contexts, leading to similar feminist organizing responses

Topics

Human rights | Cybersecurity

Overall assessment

Summary

Strong consensus exists among speakers on fundamental challenges including digital literacy gaps, inadequate legal frameworks, high rates of digital violence, and the need for bottom-up, multi-stakeholder approaches to digital rights protection

Consensus level

High level of consensus despite diverse geographical and political contexts, suggesting these are universal challenges in digital rights implementation. The agreement on solutions – particularly community-driven capacity building and meaningful stakeholder engagement – indicates potential for coordinated global action and shared learning across regions

Different viewpoints

Approach to policy development – top-down versus bottom-up methodologies

Speakers

– Tran Thi Tuyet
– Theary Luy

Arguments

Vietnam lacks meaningful participation from marginalized communities in top-down digital policy development

Policy dialogue in Cambodia serves as platform for community voice consideration rather than mere consultation

Summary

Vietnam’s speaker critiques top-down policy approaches as formalistic, while Cambodia’s speaker presents their multi-stakeholder dialogue as genuinely inclusive, suggesting different views on what constitutes meaningful participation

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Human rights | Development

Balance between cybersecurity measures and freedom of expression

Speakers

– Audience
– Mia Marzotto

Arguments

Need for balanced approach between cybersecurity resilience and freedom of expression, with civil society advocacy for algorithm detection to tackle misinformation

Importance of multi-stakeholder approach in IGF spaces for finding right balance in digital governance

Summary

The audience member emphasizes technical solutions like algorithm detection for misinformation, while the moderator focuses on multi-stakeholder processes for balance, representing different approaches to the same challenge

Topics

Human rights | Cybersecurity | Legal and regulatory

Unexpected differences

No significant unexpected disagreements identified

Speakers

Arguments

Explanation

The session was structured as a collaborative sharing of experiences rather than a debate, with speakers presenting complementary rather than conflicting perspectives on digital rights challenges

Topics

Overall assessment

Summary

The discussion showed minimal direct disagreement, with most differences arising from varying national contexts and implementation approaches rather than fundamental philosophical disagreements about digital rights

Disagreement level

Low level of disagreement with high consensus on core issues. The main tensions were around implementation methodologies rather than goals, which suggests strong potential for collaborative solutions and knowledge sharing across different contexts

Partial agreements

Similar viewpoints

All speakers emphasized bottom-up, community-driven approaches to building digital rights capacity, with focus on training local organizations to become trainers and creating multi-stakeholder platforms for collaboration

Speakers

– Cristian Leon
– Tran Thi Tuyet
– Theary Luy
– Mohamed Aded Ali

Arguments

Creation of feminist collective networks in Bolivia to provide digital security support and advocacy through horizontal pedagogical methodologies

Vietnam’s bottom-up approach involves grassroots consultation followed by policymaker engagement with actionable recommendations

Training grassroots organizations in Cambodia to become trainers themselves, transferring knowledge to communities

Establishment of digital task force committee in Somalia comprising decision makers, CSOs, and tech companies

Topics

Development | Human rights

Strong consensus on the importance of meaningful multi-stakeholder engagement that goes beyond consultation to genuine participation in policy development and implementation

Speakers

– Tran Thi Tuyet
– Theary Luy
– Mia Marzotto
– Audience

Arguments

Vietnam’s bottom-up approach involves grassroots consultation followed by policymaker engagement with actionable recommendations

Policy dialogue in Cambodia serves as platform for community voice consideration rather than mere consultation

Importance of multi-stakeholder approach in IGF spaces for finding right balance in digital governance

Need for balanced approach between cybersecurity resilience and freedom of expression, with civil society advocacy for algorithm detection to tackle misinformation

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Human rights

Key takeaways

Digital rights violations are widespread across Global South countries, with common patterns including low digital literacy (under 30% in Cambodia), high rates of digital violence (77% in Bolivia experienced security incidents), and inadequate legal frameworks

Marginalized communities face the greatest digital risks, particularly women, human rights defenders, rural populations, and migrant workers who lack access to protective measures and digital skills

Top-down policy approaches without meaningful community participation are ineffective – successful digital governance requires bottom-up engagement and multi-stakeholder dialogue

Civil society organizations are developing innovative capacity-building strategies including peer-to-peer training models, feminist collective networks, and horizontal pedagogical methodologies

Infrastructure discrimination exists even within countries (Palestinians have 3G while Israeli settlers have 4G/5G access), highlighting how digital divides can be tools of oppression

Digital transformation initiatives often prioritize techno-solutionism over addressing real community needs and protecting fundamental rights

Resolutions and action items

Continue multi-country collaboration through the Recipe Project to strengthen civil society digital rights advocacy

Establish and maintain regular coordination mechanisms like Cambodia’s multi-stakeholder policy dialogues and Palestine’s Digital Rights Initiative Coalition

Develop practical toolkits and resources for digital security training that can be adapted across different contexts

Create networks of grassroots organizations (like Bolivia’s feminist collectives) to provide peer support and collective advocacy

Engage with upcoming political opportunities like Bolivia’s elections to advocate for digital rights policy reforms

Maintain ongoing capacity building programs where trained organizations become trainers for their communities

Unresolved issues

How to balance cybersecurity measures with freedom of expression and access rights without government overreach

Lack of comprehensive legal frameworks in most countries (cybersecurity, data protection, and cybercrime laws still in draft stages)

Limited resources for civil society organizations – 75% of Palestinian CSOs lack technological resources and 55% lack digital knowledge

Misinformation and deepfakes detection while preserving legitimate discourse and avoiding censorship

Meaningful participation mechanisms for marginalized communities in digital policy development processes

Coordination between public sector, private sector, and civil society remains weak across all countries presented

Suggested compromises

Multi-stakeholder dialogue platforms that serve as genuine policy consideration forums rather than mere consultation exercises

Algorithm detection systems for misinformation that involve civil society advocacy to ensure they don’t restrict legitimate expression

Gradual policy implementation with community feedback loops, as demonstrated by Vietnam’s approach of grassroots consultation followed by policymaker engagement

Hybrid approaches combining government digitalization initiatives with civil society-led capacity building for vulnerable populations

International support frameworks that respect local ownership while providing technical and legal assistance to under-resourced organizations

Digital policy in Vietnam are still largely developed through a top-down approach led by state agencies with consultation processes that are often formalistic and lack of meaningful engagement. There remains an absence of participation from the marginalized communities and their representative organizations during both the design and implementation of digital policies.

Speaker

Tran Thi Tuyet (Snow)

Reason

This comment is insightful because it identifies a fundamental structural problem in digital governance – the disconnect between policy creation and the communities most affected by these policies. It moves beyond surface-level issues to examine the root cause of digital inequality: exclusionary policymaking processes.

Impact

This observation established a critical framework that other panelists built upon throughout the discussion. It shifted the conversation from merely cataloging digital rights violations to examining the systemic governance failures that enable these violations, setting the tone for deeper structural analysis.

77% said that the actions of digital violence affect them may have a specific relationship with their status as human rights defenders.

Speaker

Luan Mendez

Reason

This statistic is particularly thought-provoking because it reveals how digital violence is not random but strategically targeted at those working for social change. It demonstrates how digital spaces are being weaponized to silence advocacy and activism, making it a tool of oppression rather than liberation.

Impact

This finding elevated the discussion from general digital safety concerns to understanding digital violence as a deliberate tactic to suppress civil society. It helped frame subsequent discussions around the need for protective measures specifically for vulnerable groups and activists.

Palestinians still use 3G Internet network, while Israeli settlers who are illegally living in the West Bank have full access to 4G and 5G networks.

Speaker

Khadeja Ibrahim

Reason

This comment is profoundly insightful because it illustrates how digital infrastructure itself can be a tool of discrimination and control. It shows how seemingly technical decisions about network access are actually political choices that reinforce existing power imbalances and human rights violations.

Impact

This stark example of digital apartheid provided concrete evidence of how digital rights violations intersect with broader systems of oppression. It challenged participants to think beyond individual privacy concerns to consider how digital infrastructure can institutionalize inequality.

There’s need to balance this cybersecurity resilience by while upholding freedom of expression and also access… when this bill was assented in a private manner, then the society came to learn about it. It created a perception out there to say this is a bad law… So there were those types of arrests and stuff like that.

Speaker

Enes Mafuta (audience member)

Reason

This comment is thought-provoking because it highlights the complex tension between legitimate security concerns and rights protection, while also demonstrating how lack of transparency and participation in lawmaking can undermine both security and rights objectives. It shows how process matters as much as content in digital governance.

Impact

This intervention shifted the discussion toward the practical challenges of implementing digital governance, moving from problem identification to the nuanced realities of balancing competing interests. It prompted reflection on the importance of inclusive, transparent policymaking processes.

Digital transformation as a multi-component ecosystem requiring synchronization between policy, technology, and people… ensuring digital rights as a prerequisite for greater public participation in the transformation process.

Speaker

Tran Thi Tuyet (Snow)

Reason

This insight reframes digital transformation from a purely technological process to a holistic social transformation that requires careful coordination of multiple elements. It positions digital rights not as an add-on consideration but as foundational to successful digital transformation.

Impact

This systems thinking approach influenced how other panelists framed their recommendations, moving the conversation toward comprehensive, coordinated responses rather than piecemeal solutions. It helped establish digital rights as central rather than peripheral to development goals.

Overall assessment

These key comments fundamentally shaped the discussion by elevating it from a simple catalog of digital rights violations to a sophisticated analysis of systemic governance failures and structural inequalities. The conversation evolved from problem identification to root cause analysis, with participants building on each other’s insights to develop a comprehensive understanding of how digital rights violations are embedded in broader systems of power and exclusion. The comments collectively demonstrated that digital rights issues cannot be addressed through technical solutions alone but require fundamental changes to governance processes, power structures, and approaches to development. The discussion successfully connected local experiences to global patterns, showing how similar exclusionary processes manifest across different contexts while respecting the unique circumstances of each region represented.

How can algorithm detection be developed and implemented to tackle misinformation and deepfakes while maintaining freedom of expression?

Speaker

Enes Mafuta (audience member from Zambia)

Explanation

This addresses the critical balance between cybersecurity resilience and upholding freedom of expression and access rights, particularly important given how misinformation can be weaponized and create limiting perceptions in users’ minds

How can the technical community and civil society work together more effectively to find solutions for tackling misinformation and deepfakes?

Speaker

Enes Mafuta (audience member from Zambia)

Explanation

This collaborative approach is essential for addressing the common challenges of digital literacy and misinformation that appear across different regions (Asia, South America, Africa)

How can governments better balance cybersecurity measures with protecting citizens’ rights to access and freedom of expression?

Speaker

Enes Mafuta (audience member from Zambia)

Explanation

This question arose from the example of Zambia’s cybersecurity law amendment that was enacted privately, leading to public backlash and arrests, highlighting the need for transparent processes and public awareness

What are the most effective methods for raising public awareness about new digital laws and policies to prevent ignorance-based violations?

Speaker

Enes Mafuta (audience member from Zambia)

Explanation

This addresses the gap between policy implementation and public understanding, which can lead to unintentional violations and subsequent arrests or restrictions

How can meaningful two-way accountability in digital governance be better established between research findings and the communities involved?

Speaker

Mia Marzotto

Explanation

This question seeks to understand how organizations can ensure that research findings lead to actionable changes and that communities are kept informed about the impact of their participation in research