Social Science Research Council 32d ago

The decisions that govern the Internet can seem out of the hands of the people that use it, shaped instead almost entirely by governments and large tech corporations. But how can civil society help foster healthier, more democratic digital ecosystems?  As part of MediaWell’s video essay series on transnational digital governance, Swati Srivastava (Purdue University) explores the influence of civil society groups. Watchdogs like Ranking Digital Rights offer an important counterweight against more powerful actors by creating cross-platform, human rights-focused scorecards – raising the bar for accountability and transparency in the digital sphere. — Swati Srivastava is Associate Professor of Political Science and University Faculty Scholar at Purdue University, Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, and a Non-Resident Scholar on Digital Futures at New America. She is the author of Hybrid Sovereignty in World Politics (2022) as well as the founding director of the International Politics and Responsible Tech (iPART) lab. Visit MediaWell to see the video essay and transcript: https://mediawell.ssrc.org/articles/digital-watchdogs-how-civil-society-keeps-tech-platforms-accountable/ To read more of Swati's work on this topic, visit: https://mediawell.ssrc.org/profiles/swati-srivastava/