Asia Pacific
The Cyber Stewards Network is pleased to announce the release of a report titled “An Overview of Internet Infrastructure and Governance in the Philippines.” The report outlines the key actors, regulatory structures, and challenges facing the development of the ICT sector in the country, as well as privacy and cybersecurity concerns.
The second post in this series examines a Chinese mobile payment app feature increasingly covered in foreign media: testing of what may one day be a nationwide official social credit system to replace its traditional analog counterpart. Our exploration of potential security, privacy, and other issues of such a system is meant to raise questions that can inform discussions about how it will evolve.
This research series presents an in-depth examination of mobile payment systems, a rapidly evolving form of financial technology. We will provide an overview of how they are used in China–where they are taking off faster than anywhere else in the world–and what implications their security and data protection practices may have for millions of users, by presenting a case study on Alipay.
A CBC article exploring the Chinese government’s use of surveillance techniques, what has been called the “Great Firewall,” highlights Citizen Lab’s work in studying the state and private enterprises that support it. In an interview, Citizen Lab Director Ron Deibert comments on the surveillance practices that the regime uses.
Several Cyber Stewards Network Partners have contributed to the 2016 Global Internet Society Watch on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights on the Internet, a publication with 46 country reports and other topics.
From January 2 to 13 2017, His Holiness the Dalai Lama is holding a popular Tibetan Buddhist teaching called Kalachakra in Bodh Gaya, India. Increased restrictions from the government of China has barred Tibetans in Tibet from attending the teachings. This report documents blocking of Kalachakra-related keywords on WeChat revealing how restrictions on the ritual extend online.
Tibet Action Institute has released a report documenting censorship on Youku, an online video platform.
Citizen Lab Researcher Lotus Ruan was interviewed by VOA Mandarin on the recent release of the report entitled “One App Two Systems, How WeChat uses one censorship policy in China and another internationally.”
Director Ron Deibert spoke to CNN International on Citizen Lab’s recent report, titled “One App, Two Systems: How WeChat uses one censorship policy in China and another internationally.” Deibert commented on trends of censorship and surveillance in China, and Asian instant messaging applications more broadly.
Cyber Stewards network Partners hosted workshops, launched reports, and attended programming at the 2016 Internet Governance Forum in Guadalajara, Mexico from December 6-9, 2016.