Networks and minefields: When social media presents both opportunity and risk
Kirsten Han reflects on her experience as an activist in Singapore and civil society’s relationship with social media platforms in a difficult political environment.
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False starts and stalled reforms: Australia’s tech regulation landscape
Lizzie O’Shea examines Australia’s uneven approach to tech regulation, highlighting the gap between public support for stronger safeguards and a political system swayed by industry influence and the global power of Big Tech.
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Resisting Oppression: Focusing on information needs
The traditional approach to fighting censorship can be an exhausting technical game. By focusing on a needs-first approach, Patrick Boehler discusses how the fight against censorship and oppression must provide information essential for daily life.
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Campaigns, clicks and complicity: How civil society actors built the ‘buzzer’ industry
In this essay, Pradipa P. Rasidi traces how Indonesia’s pro-democracy volunteers and civil society actors helped build the country’s digital influence industry.
“Show us your screens”: Algorave and the radical joy of live coding
Prarthana traces algorave’s sonic manifesto and its defiant call: make the code public, make the culture shared, and make the dance floor political again.
From recruitment to resistance: When it comes to fighting radicalisation, fixing the tech is only one piece of the puzzle
An interview with Aizat Shamsuddin, the founder of Initiative to Promote Tolerance and Prevent Violence (INITIATE.MY), on how technology has allowed radicalisation efforts to scale up, and what needs to be done to address the problem.
Power Plays: The uncomfortable position between governments and tech companies
Saritha Irugalbandara reflects on how civil society, caught between governments and tech companies, needs to proceed with determination and thoughtfulness.
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A just transition to an AI future: Pursuing a labour-first AI agenda
As debates over AI safety, ethics and regulation intensify, Ranjitha Kumar and Vinay Narayan examine how Global South actors are carving out their own approaches — not by trying to win the AI arms race but by reimagining the game entirely.