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Tag: Digital Public Infrastructure

The problem with digital-IDs

The problem with digital-IDs

The UK government has announced it has dropped its plan to introduce a new mandatory digital-ID system for anyone wanting to work in the UK. It was not alone in wanting to introduce a digital means of identification, with many countries doing so in recent years, including Australia, Egypt, Estonia and Japan. However, the plans were met with widespread opposition in the UK, with concerns over the use of biometric data and having to carry identification to go about daily…

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Internet shutdowns are increasing dramatically in Africa – a new book explains why

Internet shutdowns are increasing dramatically in Africa – a new book explains why

Between 2016 and 2024 there were 193 internet shutdowns imposed in 41 African countries. This form of social control is a growing trend in the continent, according to a new open access source book. It has provided the first-ever comparative analysis of how and why African states use blackouts – written by African researchers. The book, co-edited by digital rights activist and internet shutdown specialist Felicia Anthonio and digital researcher Tony Roberts, offers 11 in-depth case studies of state-sponsored shutdowns….

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Three questions about the multi-billion dollar biometric digital-ID industry:

Three questions about the multi-billion dollar biometric digital-ID industry:

1. There is no country where citizens called for biometric digital-ID – so in whose interests is it being imposed? 2. If human rights are entitlements due to all human beings unconditionally, why are govts making them conditional on biometric ID? 3. What is the logical end point if we allow states and corporations to conduct ever-more intrusive mass surveillance of our daily lives? I am constantly shocked to see the billions of dollars endlessly poured into biometric digital-ID systems…

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Decolonising Digital Public Infrastructure

Decolonising Digital Public Infrastructure

This post explores whether digital public infrastructure (DPI) can be considered to be a colonial technology and if so, what would be necessary to decolonise DPI? In recent years the agenda to impose biometric digital-ID across the globe has widened into a ‘digital public infrastructure’ that links biometric digital-ID systems to digital payments systems and data exchange platforms. This trilogy of technologies enables efficiencies in the state’s digital payments for social security entitlements to citizens such as pensions and benefits,…

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