Recent changes to social media policies and the way platforms are governed have been disproportionately impacting communities in the Global South. Twitter is now X, Meta has removed third-party fact checking, and big tech companies have been portraying accountability as a threat to freedom of expression. Inevitably, these decisions strongly affect vulnerable communities and marginalised populations who are frequently left out of decision-making processes and are at higher risk for digital violence.
This resource list has been compiled thanks in large part to the outstanding contributions of the APC community. We present it as a complementary collection to the article “Stepping outside the algorithm” as a list of resources to delve deeper into the work being done by APC members, partners and organisations around the world, and particularly in the Global South. Taken together, they show that the cases are not isolated impacts, but structural problems linked to a business model. As we navigate the shifting terrains of big tech policy changes that go in the opposite direction of promoting transparency and accountability, these are the topics and consequences that are important to understand more fully.
How are social media policy changes impacting our work and communities?
El rol de las Big Tech en el auge del autoritarismo | Derechos Digitales (Chile)
Giro en la regulación de la IA | Derechos Digitales (Chile)
How Disinformation Campaigns Endanger Lives in Sudan | SMEX (Lebanon)
Disinformation fuels sectarian unrest in Syria | SMEX (Lebanon)
Restricting sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) in Egypt sparks wave of misinformation | SMEX (Lebanon)
New Position Paper Highlights Impacts of X Platform's Content Moderation Policies on Palestinian Digital Rights | 7amleh - The Arab Center for Advancement of Social Media (Palestine)
Social Media Giants Accused of Concealing Gaza’s Suffering | Detektor (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Twitter Hosts Right-Wing Rallying Cry of Srebrenica Genocide Denial | Detektor (Bosnia and Herzegovina )
The Challenges of Digitization and Democracy in Peripheral Countries | TEDIC (Paraguay)
What X’s API commercialisation means for human rights in Africa | Pollicy (Uganda)
Verified no more | Media Matters for Democracy (Pakistan)
How do we counter the misinformation that accountability is a threat to freedom of expression?
Civil society sounds alarm: Twitter acquisition would be a “potential privacy nightmare” | Derechos Digitales (Chile), Fantsuam Foundation (Nigeria), Andrew Garton (Australia), Pollicy (Uganda), Body & Data (Nepal), Digital Empowerment Foundation (India), APC
Contribution to the report by Special Rapporteur Irene Khan: Freedom of expression and elections in the digital age | TEDIC (Paraguay)
Digital disruption | Media Matters for Democracy (Pakistan)
Meta in X’s steps: how new content moderation policy changes endanger the digital space in WANA and abroad | SMEX (Lebanon)
Suspension X | Media Matters for Democracy (Pakistan)
What are the changes that need to be made?
AI Action Summit: A predictable but important event | TEDIC (Paraguay)
Cutting the Cord: Addressing the movement's dependence on Big Tech by growing our autonomous technology ecosystem | May First Movement Technology (USA and Mexico)
Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry | South Africa Competition Commission
Crowdsourcing violence | Media Matters for Democracy (Pakistan)
Outside the algorithm: How to communicate beyond social media | Derechos Digitales (Chile)
What are the alternatives to big social media?
1984 was yesterday: Why we need open-source tools today | TEDIC (Paraguay)
Exploring a transition to alternative social media platforms for social justice organizations in the Majority World | The Engine Room
Sexting como derecho y StopNCII.org como herramienta | TEDIC (Paraguay)
ToTok, Baz and Others: UAE and KSA Promote Unsafe Communication Apps | SMEX (Lebanon)
Has your organisation produced any resources related to this list? Please share them with us at communications@apc.org