Last year, 12 digital rights organizations across South Asia, including Factum, came together in Kathmandu to exchange lessons and learnings amid rising state-sanctioned and platform-mediated technology authoritarianism in the region. The discussions tackled a broad range of issues, from repressive digital laws and policies to whether or not existing models of platform accountability are working in South Asia, to the impact of geopolitics on domestic technology ecosystems.
This White Paper, drafted by Faisal Lalani with final refinements by Shumaila H. Shahani, is an outcome of the conversations which have taken place over the past year, with an aim of developing a South Asia-focused digital rights network that collaborates and exchanges best practices in addressing the sprawling and interconnected issues of technology governance and accountability across a range of technologies from digital public infrastructure to platforms in one of the fastest growing regions in the world.
Contributions were made by numerous organizations, activists, and individuals, including Factum’s Omar Rajarathnam.
