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In the Philippines, activists, students, journalists, and independent media who criticise the government have been increasingly targeted by threats to their human and digital rights.
The Foundation for Media Alternatives, a Coconet community member, has published a new report, “State of the Digital Nation: The Digital Rights Report 2020”, that documents how human rights were impacted by technology and digital innovations in the country. The report is based on findings from January to December 2020.
One of the findings of the report is the “twin pandemic”, where the rise of the “infodemic“, or mis- and disinformation about the virus, spreads faster than the virus itself. The Philippine government also censored social media posts critical of its pandemic response.
Other digital rights challenges last year were digital and social media surveillance under the guise of health, the increase of phishing and hacking, and the infringement of minor’s privacy due to the switch to online learning.
The report is divided into the following key thematic areas:
The report also provides a forecast of emerging events and challenges due to technology in 2021.
Download the full report here.
The Foundation for Media Alternatives assists citizens and communities, especially civil society organisations and other disadvantaged sectors, in the strategic and appropriate use of information and communications technologies for democratisation and popular empowerment.
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]]>The post Coconet Virtual Reunion: Reaffirming solidarity amid COVID-19 appeared first on Coconet.
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Screenshot shared with permission from reunion attendees
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, it was never a surprise to see a fellow member of the Coconet community in a conference or project meeting anywhere around the globe. Community members, all former attendees of either the first or second Coconet digital rights camps, often had to travel, as networking is an integral part of mainstreaming digital rights and strengthening solidarity among civil society actors in the region.
The pandemic, however, has put a halt to that. And not only that — soliciting and showing solidarity has been challenging in light of webinar and virtual meeting fatigue, the abrupt migration to virtual systems, and prolonged confinement in our respective homes, among other reasons.
In spite of all this, Coconet members reunited online on November 5, 2020, to collectively reflect on the pandemic’s challenges to the community. The online reunion was an anniversary celebration for participants from both camps, as these were held in the last week of October in 2017 and 2019, respectively. It was also a chance for members to share updates on our countries and local movements.
The two-hour virtual gathering was attended by members from Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
We jump-started the reunion by asking everyone to give one thing they were looking forward to in the future. Members’ responses were varied, from wishing for less cold winters to continuing to fight against companies with surveillance-based business models.
Still, the strongest hope for all was to see and bond with each other again in person. As activists, this hope is with the recognition that while we wait for physical interactions to happen again, we need to adapt and respond to the whole new set of challenges emphasised and unearthed by the pandemic. We also need to be ready to respond to how governments are taking advantage of the pandemic to increase state surveillance and stifle freedom of expression.
Below are specific themes that were apparent over the course of the gathering:
While the members primarily belong to organisations working on digital rights, digital security, and internet freedom, some members still faced difficulties migrating to fully virtual systems due to the costs and inadequate time for orientation. Others also expressed concern about organisations opting for corporate tech products due to convenience, forgoing privacy concerns.
In Taiwan, Nepal, and Indonesia, there is a stronger call for digitising national ID systems, but drafted implementing rules and regulations have had little to no provisions on data protection, privacy, and storage.
In Myanmar, voting during the November 8 elections was cancelled in ethnic minority areas due to the pandemic. Polls were also closed in Rakhine and Chin states, where the longest internet shutdown in the world is ongoing and where the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the country have been recorded. These states are also in the middle of a civil war that has killed hundreds of civilians over the past two years. Protests against the shutdown and the civil war have led to activists being arrested and sentenced to jail. (Sign a joint statement here against the arrests.)
Vietnam and Malaysia will also be having their elections soon. Members said they will be sure to be on the lookout for digital rights violations, especially with the increase of hate speech and disinformation online during this time.
In Cambodia, there is a crackdown of dissenters criticising the government’s relationship with China. There were reports of officials personally approaching journalists to take down articles that tackle China’s increasing role in Cambodia’s economy.
In the Philippines, the controversial Anti-Terrorism Law was passed in July 2020. The new law allows the state to tag any individual and group as alleged terrorists, and detain suspects for a maximum of 24 days,
In Thailand, the government had also attempted to ban four independent media outlets and a Facebook page from broadcasting, claiming that they “threaten national security”. The ban has since been lifted, but protests continue.
In Vietnam, Facebook is aiding the government to censor dissent. Users who post any sentiment against the state can also be jailed for a minimum of six years.
In Indonesia, protests against the Omnibus Law, which weakens labour rights and environmental protection laws, erupted last month. Police were reported to have confiscated the phones and laptops of protesters, and have deployed upgraded surveillance planes in demonstration areas. Digital attacks, such as doxxing and an increase in anti-protest narratives, have also been on the rise.
In Thailand, activists and protesters are subjected to sexual harassment and hate speech online to invalidate their campaigns.
At the end of the reunion, members left with a keen sense of commitment to continue working together despite the challenges in organising movements in the time of the pandemic. Threats to digital rights may have increased, but that only makes the need to strengthen the movement in the region all the more urgent and necessary.
Most importantly, we left the call with a renewed belief that we are never alone in this fight for digital rights because we are all part of this movement together.
Dianne Olivan is the EngageMedia Program Officer and point person for the Coconet community.
If you or your organisation is a member of the Coconet community and need support, please do not hesitate to reach out to everyone via the community Mattermost. If you do not have access to it, please email at [email protected].
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]]>The post Singing about global issues – and COVID-19 – with the Marapu community appeared first on Coconet.
]]>Amid the current COVID-19 pandemic, health recommendations need to be conveyed to communities in remote areas that are separated both by distance and by the minority languages they speak. One medium that can be used to convey public messages is through song. If dissemination takes into account local culture, language and context, it is more likely the message will reach the target audience.
Using songs as a communication platform to raise people’s awareness about issues has been a method often employed by the Indonesian government. For instance, songs about the importance of personal hygiene and health, songs about the importance of vaccinations and the danger of illegal drugs have been effectively disseminated to the public in the past.
Indonesia is one of the most multi-lingual nations in the world, with over 700 languages (almost half of which are now considered endangered). Songs sung in the national Indonesian language (Bahasa Indonesia) are not effective in reaching communities where it is not the first language or commonly spoken or understood by the community. Songs that convey a message from the government need to be able to speak to each community in their own local language with consideration to their own local cultural context, using a bottom-up culturally appropriate approach, rather than a top-down blanket nationalistic approach.
This bottom-up strategy can have other positive effects, such as finding contemporary contexts for existing traditional local cultural forms of expression. If this method is supported by central governments it can encourage, facilitate and empower local traditional cultures to be adaptive and rapidly respond to current national/global issues according to their own language and unique cultural context.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been challenging to widely disseminate health recommendations, particularly to very remote areas. However, this has become an opportunity for Jekshon, a young Marapu man, to meet the challenge by using Sumbanese traditional songs in the Kambera language. Jekshon is not only a singer-songwriter, but also a ritual speaker (wunang), a crafter of traditional musical instruments, and a builder and farmer from Kamanggih in East Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia.
Jekshon thus created a song called “Rimanya na wiki nda” to encourage people, especially in East Sumba, to fight against COVID-19 collectively, by avoiding large crowds, staying home, and practicing personal hygiene. As a result, Jekshon has been invited by local government leaders to perform the song at several official government events and also at local health clinics/hospitals.
Here are some lyrics from Jekshon’s song:
Ai kupanawa yia kata ana mbawa mangganya ni na ana nduma lurinda a ai
E ngiara ningu angu nama wandata lamambabu angu dedi dangunggu a ai
A ai ambu eti nu katundu njarangu angu ta ana mangganya na nduma luri kinda angu kana rehi napa hangganda a ai
Kata nguduwa la umakinda angu
Kata maranawa lapa baha lima kinda angu kata mangganya ni na anna nduma luri a ai
I sing to this song so we all will take care, to protect our lives
If someone invites us to an event with a large gathering of people, my brothers and sisters
It is a mistake to attend, because we need to protect each other’s lives during this time
Let’s just stay at home
Let’s diligently wash our hands to protect our health and lives
Supporting and sustaining local cultures in a country as diverse as Indonesia is vital for many reasons including, but not limited to, the following examples: It can renew confidence in marginalised minority communities, it can create opportunities for culturally responsible and sustainable tourism, and it can be readily integrated into educational programs to encourage the inter-generational transmission of cultural knowledge.
Sumba Integrated Development (SIDe) is one of the organisations in the Indonesia Inklusi Learning Network, which has initiated a VOICE Empowerment project for the Marapu community in East Sumba. Their project aims to work in collaboration with the Marapu community to organise workshops and local performance events. Their aim is to:
Women’s representation is one of the priorities of SIDe’s Marapu community project. This project requires equal participation from women, in a field of traditional music which is generally male-dominated, under the guidance of Ata Ratu. Ata Ratu is one of East Sumba’s most beloved female role models and most talented singer-songwriters, and as such, has been appointed by VOICE as a community facilitator for the areas in East Sumba supported by the program.
Younger Marapu girls are supported and guided by Ata Ratu and the female Marapu elders to transfer knowledge about song and dance in order to sustain Marapu traditions. Women’s participation, as an embodiment of gender equity, and inclusivity is critical to the community
Aligning with the vision of Indonesia Inklusi network, SIDe holds the ethical principle of “first voice” to ensure the cultural bearers are empowered and actively collaborate or guide the activities of the program. All the Marapu songs recorded are published using the local language (Kambera) along with Indonesia and English language translations. This is to help to amplify the voices, stories, songs, and the rich culture of the East Sumbanese Marapu community to many other places in the Indonesian and English speaking world.
Like Jekshon, Ata Ratu has also written a song about another important aspect of this pandemic: the inability of stranded populations of migrant workers to return to their home villages because of the travel restrictions due to COVID-19. Ata Ratu directs her song “Mbawa Rimangu na annanduma luri mu” to the diaspora of Sumbanese people who have left Sumba to look for work or study opportunities in Bali, Jakarta and Jogjakarta, but can no longer return to Sumba because of the travel restrictions. Many of these Sumbanese people have lost their jobs and are experiencing economic hardship and psychological stress from this situation.
Here are some lyrics from Ata Ratu’s song:
Aiha dama ni dunjaka angu la kota bali a ai.e angu la jakarta angu ni
Ai hali nggunya nu mi ana mbawa rimangu nu ha ba ninggai ha la tana tau ma aka nu
Ai ninda la hidu eti biaka nu bata pamalirungu nu ha rimanya na nduma luri amu ka
Ai ambu mbawa luangga mai dupa nu ha jiaka ningu nu lambabu ndapngu
My friends who are in Bali and in Jakarta
I remember you all and urge that you be careful when travelling, as you are in the land of another people where there is a dangerous situation my friends
We are in a state of heartache because we are far apart, please take care of yourself
Don’t go back and forth in a place where there is a large crowd
In the East Sumbanese Marapu community, songs are written in traditional poetic couplets called Lawiti. Lawiti comes from the fast-paced ritual speech spoken by priests and ritual speakers (wunang) that accompany all Marapu ritual in Sumba. Sumbanese songwriters, like Jekshon and Ata Ratu, improvise by stringing together appropriate successions of Lawiti spontaneously in line with the specific purpose of a song.
Songs are a common and appropriate medium to disseminate information in the Marapu community. By presenting the current COVID-19 issue to the local community through the medium of the traditional folk song, both Ata Ratu and Jekshon have created a new contemporary context for the traditional songs that is relevant to protecting the health and wellbeing of the East Sumbanese Marapu community and diaspora during this pandemic.
Jekshon’s song was released through his YouTube channel with help from SIDe. Since then, his video has been viewed more than 700 times in both English and Indonesian translations. Ata Ratu’s song has been viewed over 400 times in 24 hours on her YouTube Channel. These songs have both been distributed from handphone to handphone via Bluetooth sharing, or ‘share it’ (a filesharing application). The audio has been downloaded from YouTube and is being played on the public address systems of local markets around East Sumba. SIDe are also distributing the song via mini SD cards (for handphones) and flash disks at local market hubs.
“Rimanya na widi nda” and “Mbawa Rimangu na annanduma luri mu” have both become a bridge for the Marapu community to directly communicate and receive information and relevant health recommendations from the World Health Organisation and national and local governments in a culturally familiar and appropriate context. These songs show that traditional local culture is an effective medium to communicate current global and domestic issues to minority language communities or any marginalised groups.
Fendi Widianto of EngageMedia is a communication enthusiast who is motivated and dedicated to community development, creative participatory development for vulnerable groups (including disability groups and disadvantage children), and youth empowerment.
Joseph Lamont is an Australian producer, composer and film documenter. Joseph has recently assisted projects supported by the Ciptamedia/Ford Foundation and Voice concerned with supporting female traditional musicians and documenting and sustaining Marapu traditional music in East Sumba, Indonesia.
This article is inspired by stories and knowledge from Jekshon and Kahi Ata Ratu.
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]]>The post World Press Freedom Day: How can civil society support journalists? appeared first on Coconet.
]]>May 3 marks World Press Freedom Day, a day to commemorate the importance of freedom of the press.
This year’s theme, “journalism without fear or favour“, is particularly apt considering the world today, when reporting on the coronavirus has become “the new scapegoat for media censorship“. Around the world, journalists have gone missing or have been arrested for reporting on COVID-19 and government responses to the pandemic. On top of these events, journalists are also combatting the equally contagious infodemic and governments’ strategy of media capture to stifle editorial independence.
Despite new challenges in covering issues of public interest during the pandemic, journalists continue to persevere in reporting news that matters, without fear or favour, by adapting to the “new normal” through using more digital means to pursue leads and stories. They press on despite attacks on press freedom, harassment, scarce access to government information, and other challenges. With this, support and advocacy related to journalists and media freedom should be sustained during and after the pandemic.
In celebration of World Press Freedom Day, we shine the spotlight on the Coconet community’s journalists and media workers who are working in the Asia-Pacific. We asked them to respond to one question, so that we in civil society can help them continue their work without fear or favour.
Vicheika Kann, a journalist with Voice of America Cambodia and vice president of Cambodian Journalists Alliance, stresses the importance of advocating for journalists. “Civil society is a group of people who always stay behind journalists to report the sensitive stories without fear or favour. They have advocated for journalists rights and the truth for society. Especially the truth about COVID-19 epidemic.”
Zevonia Vieira, a journalist with Tafara.tl and president of the Timor-Leste Journalist Association, echoes Vicheika’s sentiments. Civil society, she says, should be “fighting against false or fake information about COVID-19 and defending human rights, especially the people affected by the coronavirus and during the lockdown.” In a separate interview, Zevonia also talks about her experience on the frontlines as a journalist and working parent.
Sanjib Chaudhary, editor of Global Voices Nepali Lingua: “Moral support from civil society, both offline and online, matters a lot to journalists to continue reporting without fear or favour. And especially support through social media channels like Twitter makes a difference.”
To illustrate his point, Sanjib points to the public outcry against the arrest of a Nepali official who was critical of the country’s prime minister. “Recently, during the lockdown imposed by the government due to COVID-19, I’ve noticed people supporting journalists, writers and opinion. Former secretary Bhim Upadhyay got a lot of support in social media users from all walks of life. His arrest caused an uproar throughout the country and he is now more vocal than ever.”
Thu Bui, a journalist with BBC News Vietnam : “In the time of critical crisis, like this pandemic, autocratic governments tend to issue more laws and regulations to control information, to restrict journalists’ activities in the name of national interest and saving lives. When a state of emergency is declared anywhere, it’s even harder for journalists to continue their cause of telling the truth.”
With COVID-19, such use of emergency powers to silence media is not uncommon. One such state of emergency is in Thailand, which critics say has resulted in a clamping down of free speech. Similar decrees have been used to arrest critics in Vietnam and Laos.
“One of the most important things that civil society can do to help journalists to fulfil their mission is to monitor the governments’ decisions, to question and challenge any ill intent from governments in keeping journalist from information, from the truth,” she adds.
Aie Balagtas See, an investigative journalist from the Philippines, echoes Bui’s call for civil society to “oppose moves that muzzle free press and free speech”. She adds: “Defend the press, stand with them. Especially each time fake news peddlers or autocrats attack them. A society is not free unless the press is truly free.”
Aie also says civil society can “donate or subscribe to newspapers or media outlets. Don’t let lack of advertisers kill legitimate media firms, and if you can, pay for the news you consume”. Because the internet allows us to access information without payment, particularly on social media, newsrooms around the world have been struggling with getting audiences to pay for their content.
Kathryn Raymundo, media specialist with Internews Philippines, also stresses the need to validate journalists, whether through protecting them or paying for the news. She writes: “The best way to support journalism is to validate their good work — share the stories that made an impact, news that mattered to me and my community. I value independent, quality reporting. I subscribe to news organizations and promote their innovation, especially those of the local news’.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has seen journalists around the globe collaborate on collective resources to better their coverage of the pandemic.
She adds: “Finally, I advocate for free expression and press freedom. Our journalists are the most curious, hardworking, and passionate people I know. I hope people realize how important journalism is in our society. Media help make sense of what is happening around us.
“For keeping us informed, thank you.”
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked the degree of freedom available to journalists in 180 countries through the 2020 World Press Freedom Index. You may check out the rankings here. Learn more about World Press Freedom Day here.
Coconet is a community of changemakers in the Asia-Pacific dedicated to digital rights movement building in the region. Among the members of the network are journalists from the region who continue reporting with fear or favour.
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]]>The post How a youth group organised a fully online conference appeared first on Coconet.
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The new normal under the COVID-19 pandemic came in extremely unexpected forms for most of us in the Philippines. This time last month, people in Metro Manila and neighbouring provinces were adjusting to life under the enhanced community quarantine by the government. Lockdowns in neighboring Southeast Asia countries also soon followed after.
Lucky for me, I did not have much trouble adjusting at work. EngageMedia has been working remotely since it was founded, making my transition smoother compared to most. But for nonprofit and civil society organisations in the Philippines, some were more prepared for remote work than others.
However, the new normal hit my youth advocacy organisation International Youth United really hard, as we had a planned youth conference lined up for the end of March. I believe I speak for most of the Philippine youth empowerment and advocacy organisations when I say that the pandemic has impacted how we do advocacy work, derailing weeks (or months, in our case) of planning. The Luzon-wide lockdowns mean many are now playing catch-up in terms of how to implement campaigns and execute events originally planned before the pandemic started.
On March 12, 2020, unofficial reports were coming in about a possible Metro Manila-wide lockdown. I abruptly left Metro Manila for my province in case the reports turned out to be true. While on the way there, I thought deeply about the youth conference we spent weeks planning and preparing for. Before the end of the two-hour ride and after a few calls with the core team behind the conference, we knew we had to adapt and innovate.
Instead of a physical conference, we decided to execute a fully online youth conference for April 4, 2020. And, despite less than a month of planning, we did it.
Three days later, the lockdown was already in full swing in the whole Luzon island. Because of this, the core team and volunteers could not meet in person anymore to quickly come up with full concepts for the online youth conference. So when we say that we were executing a fully online youth conference, we mean from the start of conceptualisation to the end of post-event documentation. We did not have an existing model on how to actually execute this, so we needed to craft processes and systems for the event preparations as we go.
Changing the angle of the conference theme was also deemed appropriate. From having a theme focused on peace and international relations, we decided to execute a conference on peace, public health, and digital rights to cover the current health crisis and the reality that most of us are spending more time online.
The first conversation we had as a team was on which platform we should use to plan, communicate, and co-work for the event. The leadership of the organisation, by default, proposed more secure platforms like Jitsi for video meetings, Protonmail for emails, and Redmine for file storage and project management. I personally voiced out my preference for using free and open-source software (FOSS), as advocated by EngageMedia. However, most of the volunteers had never heard of these platforms at the time of planning.
That meant using Facebook Messenger (and, later on, Zoom, which we learned as the platform of choice for online classes by some university professors) for team meetings, Google Drive for file sharing and real-time file co-working and editing, and Signal for extremely sensitive discussions with key people in the core team. I introduced Signal to the organisation back when I was a full-time investigative reporter due to its state-of-the-art end-to-end encryption and top-notch data security. That paid off big time for this instance.
That reality spelled out that launching a fully online youth conference meant we needed to use communication and collaboration platforms most of our volunteers were already familiar with. With all the changes happening at all fronts due to the public health crisis, we did not want to subject them to additional change by introducing new alternatives to the ones they currently use, even if these were safer. I just added a mental note that in the future, I should introduce FOSS alternatives to the youth organisation members.
Early into planning, we learned that some of our volunteers did not have stable Internet connections. Not only was it hard for them to attend the online classes set by their universities, it was also hard for them to attend the online meetings we have to prepare for the conference. I acknowledge it is a privilege to have a stable and fast Internet connection, and had to accept the reality that we would be relying on fewer people now that we are doing the conference online.
We sorted our volunteers into committees, just like when executing in-person conferences – secretariat, publicity, logistics, programs, and marketing. Some of these committees proved to have more work for an online conference compared to when executing actual conferences. For example, the publicity committee needed to produce more content, as we do not have the luxury of doing on-ground promotions, while the work of logistics mostly centered on scoping for the most cost-efficient online meeting platforms that can host 500 participants at once.
This capacity requirement meant my preferred meeting platforms of choice were no longer in the running. We were left with few choices, and eventually, put more focus on capacity than security. Despite possible security risks, we ended up using Zoom, the most cost-efficient option given that we had limited funds for the event. To compensate, we set up additional security for the virtual room we were going to use. We spent USD 65 in total for a premium subscription and the large meeting add-on that can accommodate 500 participants.
The conference quickly gathered interest from youth leaders across the country and worldwide. We started receiving applications from neighbouring countries – we ended up having participants from 15 countries. The conference addressed a specific information gap – youth from across the world wanted an outlet to sort out the COVID-19 infodemic and have clear action points on what they can do to help address current issues.
Despite limited publicity run and short preparation time, we ended up getting 450 viable applications, higher than our expected attendees for the original in-person conference of 350 to 400 people. Making the event online encouraged more participants in general, but only the privileged ones who had a stable Internet connection at home could attend using this format.
The early hours of April 4 were crucial for the smooth execution of the three-hour conference. We spent the whole morning doing technical dry-runs with our resource speakers, and building response teams in case unforeseen events happened during the conference.
Some resource speakers had a bit more difficulty in using the platform compared to others, probably because not all are digital natives. We could just imagine how much adjusting some professors needed to do when they were instructed to do online classes. The team spent time with each of the resource speakers to orient them with all the functionalities that they could use for the conference.
We created a virtual waiting room on Zoom as part of our additional security measures on Zoom. All participants were screened before gaining access to the actual conference room. We also sent a password only hours before the meeting.
We wish there were more security measures we could do, but at that point, we were just hoping for the best. Thankfully, the conference went on quite smoothly. While several participants needed to reconnect themselves to the virtual conference room from time to time, most stayed on consistently throughout the programme.
Discussions on peace and international relations under the current global health crisis, unpacking the COVID-19 pandemic and infodemic, and observing digital rights during political and public health crises were successfully done. Participants were able to submit their questions to resource speakers via Slido.
Based on participants’ feedback from the conference, the goal of the online conference was fully satisfied, and offshoot events were requested to supplement new learnings of the participants. One of the most requested follow-up events is on free, open-source, and more secure alternatives to mainstream communications platforms, as discussed in the digital rights session by Dr. Jun-E Tan, an independent researcher based in Malaysia, and Red Tani, EngageMedia’s advocacy and communications senior manager.
This attempt at executing a fully online conference seemed to be a success, but not one without extensive adjustments. The new normal under COVID-19 pushed us to be much more creative in rolling out youth empowerment campaigns and programs. This resonates with participants from other sectors of civil society, which had to make complex but necessary changes to continue with their work and advocacy.
The challenge for civil society now is to continue working on their advocacy under the new realities for a much longer period than the initial length of declared lockdowns. In the Philippines, for example, the lockdown has extended at least once since it was initially announced.
The challenge now seems more of a marathon than a sprint, and civil society needs to gear up for that to keep the advocacy work continuous until we reach the end of the pandemic. I list here my recommended tools for executing online conferences.
Now that the fully online youth conference is done, we hope that we can continue our advocacy work while making the conscious choice of using safer and more secure platforms to co-work and communicate with people. The ideal setup for civil society organisations is to explore FOSS alternatives to the ones they are currently using and making it the standard for advocacy work. In this new normal, why not throw in some good change in the mix and opt to be more secure and choose open-source by default? I know my youth organisation definitely will.
Vino Lucero is a Project and Communications Officer at EngageMedia. He is a journalist based in Manila. He is also the Chief Global Executive Director of International Youth United, a youth organisation aiming to improve youth participation in issues related to freedom of information, digital rights, peace, justice, and human rights.
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]]>The post To fight COVID-19 in Myanmar, stop the war and internet shutdown in Arakan appeared first on Coconet.
]]>The internet is a primary source of information on the global COVID-19 pandemic. But Arakan (formally known as Rakhine State) in western Myanmar is now experiencing the longest internet shutdown in the world. Arakan is the second poorest area in Myanmar, with very weak health infrastructure in place. The internet blockage has also caused a lack of information and knowledge concerning COVID-19.
The first internet shutdown started in June 21, 2019, in four townships in northern Arakan. Another five townships (one in neighboring Chin State) followed in February 3, 2020. This coming April 21, it will be approximately 330 days since the first four areas have been without internet, while it will be nearly 100 days for the latter townships.
The government has given different reasons for the shutdown, such as the stopping of the hate speech, disinformation, and instability due to conflict in the area. None of these are justifiable.
Although the world is now fighting against COVID-19, over one million people in northern Arakan are still being neglected by the government action plan. As of April 19, Myanmar now has 107 positive cases and five deaths attributed to the coronavirus. The Myanmar government has not announced any case from Arakan. But this number is in danger of ballooning. Arakan is very close to Bangladesh, where there are a reported 2,456 positive cases and 91 deaths as of the same date. But if not addressed, Arakan will remain very prone to local transmissions in the border area.
But different from most other parts of the world, the armed conflict is still ongoing in the region between the government’s Myanmar Army and the Arakan Army, despite the latter’s announced unilateral ceasefire until the end of April upon the recommendation of a global ceasefire by the UN Secretary-General. Instead, according to most analysts, the Myanmar Army is trying to take military advantage in Arakan by imposing more offensive military operations and leading to more innocent civilian deaths. Since the beginning of January to April 15 of this year, the Arakan Information Center reports that 377 civilians have died, injured, and disappeared. Most of them are women and children.
The conflict has resulted in about 200,000 internally displaced persons (IDP) in the region are also living in camps without any well-built shelter and well-managed food distribution. The lack of social distancing in the IDP camps, the lack of water availability, and the lack of information on COVID-19 make it impossible to prevent a coronavirus outbreak in the area.
Unfortunately, what makes the people to be more fearful is the military attack on the civilian target rather than COVID-19. It seems the Myanmar government and military are more enthusiastic to fight against the Arakan Army than COVID-19 in the region. But under these three situations – internet shutdown, IDP camps, and ongoing armed conflict – it is unimaginable how the situation could be worse in the future if COVID-19 were to hit Arakan.
During the global pandemic period, we need to stop the war and internet shutdown to fight COVID-19 in Arakan.
I am one of those people speaking out, even if I am currently now hiding from police search. On February 23, 2020, in Yangon, I led the Students’ Unions’ protest and demonstration against the internet shutdown and human rights violations in the conflict-affected areas of Arakan. I could be prisoned for one month with hard labor if I face the trial.
But it is just my case. The more important thing to focus on is to fight against the COVID-19. Over one million people in Arakan are vulnerable to the disease if we do not stop the war and internet shutdown.
Thus, let us say: Stop the war and internet shutdown to fight against the COVID-19 in Arakan. Your participation is our power. Your concentration is our courage. Your word is our want.
Kyaw Lynn is currently a postgraduate student taking his master’s degree in political science at the University of Yangon, Myanmar. He is the chairperson of Political Science Association (University of Yangon) as well as the principal officer at Arakan Students Union (Universities-Rangoon).
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]]>The post Fighting the COVID-19 ‘Infodemic’ in the Asia-Pacific appeared first on Coconet.
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Claudio Schwarz | @purzlbaum on Unsplash. Used under a Unsplash license.While governments and health workers worldwide are focused on combatting the COVID-19 pandemic, they are also busy fighting another related pandemic that cuts across all sectors of society: a massive “infodemic” equally as wide-reaching and harmful.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) describes this infodemic as “an over-abundance of information – some accurate and some not – that makes it hard for people to find trustworthy sources and reliable guidance when they need it”.
Verified and timely information is more important than ever – but is also more challenging to come by. The global frontliners in this fight against mis- and disinformation on the coronavirus include:
Similar efforts are taking place in the Asia-Pacific, where region- and country-specific groups are relying on constant, collective fact-checking to combat the infodemic. We want to highlight some of them in this post.
In the Philippines, for example, journalists are sharing their best practices on how to accurately report on the pandemic. Internews also funded a 3-part video series on how Philippine fact-checking organisation VERA Files is combatting the COVID-19 infodemic. You can watch the three short videos below or on Engagemedia.org.
A similar Internews project is present in India, where partners are continuously conducting fact checks on rumours related to COVID-19.
In Malaysia, there is ample misinformation being shared online – such as one viral video claiming that coronavirus would make people behave like zombies. Malaysian media organisation The Star regularly debunks such false information on the pandemic.
In Indonesia, CekFakta is also at the forefront of debunking false information on the virus, including myths that drinking garlic boiled in water can cure you. The collective fact-checking and verification project is in collaboration with the Indonesian Cyber Media Association, the Indonesian Anti-Slander Society, and the Alliance of Independent Journalists.
In Taiwan, Taiwan Fact-Check Center has a dedicated project for COVID-related mis- and dis-information.
In Myanmar, the Ministry of Health and Sports (MOHS) is providing the latest information on COVID-19 on its website to combat countless fake news stories and hoaxes spreading in Myanmar. The MOHS is also raising public awareness through videos on how the medical staff and the general public can stay safe.
The BBC is also teaching citizens in Myanmar how to fight the infodemic through Thangyat or traditional folk music. It is also supporting similar efforts in Indonesia, India, Cambodia, and Nepal.
As this infodemic – arguably the first true social media infodemic of our time – continues with no clear end in sight, more and more initiatives will surely start and grow. It is up to us to stay informed and do our part to sustain these initiatives, else we ultimately lose in the broader fight against disinformation.
Sara Pacia is the Communications and Engagement Coordinator of EngageMedia. A journalist by training and multimedia storyteller at heart, she is passionate about utilising and appropriating today’s digital technologies for the empowerment of the public and the improvement of media and data literacy.
The post Fighting the COVID-19 ‘Infodemic’ in the Asia-Pacific appeared first on Coconet.
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It has been two months since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 pandemic a global health emergency. Many governments have resorted to digital measures to supplement response efforts. Privacy International has been tracking such digital surveillance, which have so far included the following measures:
More importantly, COVID-19 has raised some serious questions: Can privacy and public health security go hand in hand? Is it enough to use safeguards such as transparency and the use of intrusive technology only when absolutely necessary?
We’ll look at how some countries are answering these questions and see if Thailand can do the same.
Technology has become a crucial part of the COVID-19 response. We are also seeing a collaboration between the public and private sectors to develop digital solutions to the public health emergency.
In South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore, efficient government responses to COVID-19 all depended on technology, supporting other well-planned measures, to deliver swift assistance to their citizens. On top of providing adequate COVID-19 testing kits, these measures succeeded because their citizens cooperated. But to reach that point, the government must cultivate trust with their citizenry.
Here, transparency in communication is vital.
South Korea, in particular, had to learn that lesson the hard way. In January 2020, the government began posting the detailed location histories, including even personal information, of each person who tested positive for COVID-19. But internet users quickly exploited the disclosed patient data, publicly identifying and hounding these patients. The social stigma attached to the virus prompted the government to acknowledge that this measure, even if well-meaning, was an invasion of privacy that could also discourage citizens from getting tested.
To remedy this, health officials announced this month that they would refine their data-sharing guidelines to minimize patient risk. “We will balance the value of protecting individual human rights and privacy and the value of upholding public interest in preventing mass infections,” said Jung Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Regardless of whether you trust your government with your data, there still remains the challenge of protecting public interest while protecting individual privacy during a public health crisis. Whether it’s collecting or publishing, personal health information is sensitive data. But in a crisis, ensuring public health is also essential.
But this in no way means that the government or the press have to reveal detailed personal data that’s irrelevant to stopping the virus’ spread. Governments should uphold the principle of data minimisation, identifying clear time-frames for data collection, and ensuring that collection is only to control the spread of the coronavirus. Insensitive collection and publishing of personal data might lead to stigma against those with COVID-19, and even patients under investigation.
One good recommendation to follow comes from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. In Thailand, WHO has come out with guidelines to prevent and deal with social stigmatization.
The bottom line is this: If the government cannot create trust and safety for the people, some citizens might conceal their infection to avoid discrimination and stigmatisation. This could lead to people avoiding screenings and testings, which will then lead to more, not less, infections.
Under certain circumstances, rights to privacy may be compromised for the public good. But protecting individual privacy, too, is essential to public interest.
Public health surveillance can be done for the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice. In 2017, WHO published its guidelines on ethical issues in public health surveillance. The guidelines notably do not mention much on digital monitoring and collection of data, or even the use of individual digital data for purposes other than public health.
In various situations, one problem with privacy in the digital era is that we are not aware of being tracked in the first place. We do not know how much our data has been and is being collected.
This is currently the case in Thailand. After the government passed a decree on March 26, 2020 declaring a state of emergency to combat COVID-19, applications and platforms are now being used to track coronavirus carriers and suspected patients under investigation.
The Thai government announced that they will be using three main platforms to track down the infection:
With these three platforms, there is a risk that too much personal data is being collected. AOT Airports, for example, asks for information that may be irrelevant to tracking COVID-19 cases, such as all third-party accounts from Google to Line. This data is also at risk of being shared with third parties outside the government, such as private tourism and trading agencies.
We must therefore pay very close attention: What personal data is being collected? Is it relevant to public health interest? Who has access to the data? Where do we draw the line, especially between what’s public and what’s private?
Once this pandemic ends, we will need to review the technology used by the Thai government under the emergency decree. We also need to monitor how other countries will review the technology they used during this crisis. also We need only look to the United States as an example, which continues to use highly secretive mass surveillance systems after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Yuval Noah Harari, author of the book “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind”, asks us to think about the world after the COVID-19 crisis. If we are not careful, the technology used to monitor citizen health will give legitimacy to a terrifying new surveillance system in the long run.
Even though we agree on the necessity of emergency measures to respond to the ongoing health crisis, such emergency measures must be truly necessary and stay only temporarily. It must not outlive the health crisis.
It is important to note that enforcement of severe measures is not the only way to make citizens follow the government’s instructions. Instead, creating trust and communicating transparently are the true keys to crisis management.
In the time of COVID-19, we have to change the question. Instead of asking whether health security and privacy can go hand in hand, we must ask: How can we prioritise both without sacrifice one for the other?
Otherwise, privacy and other human rights – both online and offline – will suffer in the long run.
เป็นเวลาครบสองเดือนที่ทางองค์การอนามัยโลก (WHO) ประกาศให้การแพร่ระบาดของไวรัสโควิด-19เป็นภาวะฉุกเฉินระดับโลก วิกฤติครั้งนี้สะท้อนให้เห็นหลายแง่มุมของการรับมือของแต่ละรัฐบาลและการเลือกนำเทคโนโลยีดิจิทัลมาใช้ โดยองค์กร Privacy International ได้เก็บรวบรวมข้อมูลการใช้เทคโนโลยีติดตามสอดส่องของรัฐบาลทั่วโลกในช่วงการระบาดของไวรัสโควิด-19 ตัวอย่างเช่น
ข้อถกเถียงสำคัญของการใช้เทคโนโลยีสอดส่องเพื่อควบคุมการแพร่ระบาดของไวรัสในโลกยุคดิจิทัล นำมาสู่คำถามที่ตอบยาก ถ้าต้องเลือกระหว่าง “ความเป็นส่วนตัว” หรือ “ความมั่นคงทางสุขภาพ” แต่เป็นไปได้แค่ไหนถ้าทั้งคู่จะอยู่ร่วมกันในภาวะวิกฤตินี้ หลักการและเหตุผลใดเพียงพอที่จะทำให้เรารักษาทั้งประโยชน์สาธารณสุขส่วนรวม และสิทธิความเป็นส่วนตัว บทเรียนจากประเทศไหนพอจะทำให้ไทยเรียนรู้ได้บ้างในวิกฤติฉุกเฉินครั้งนี้
บทบาทของเทคโนโลยีกลายเป็นหนึ่งใน “ทางออกสำคัญ” เพื่อรับมือโรคระบาดครั้งนี้ของหลายรัฐบาลทั่วโลก และเรายังเห็นความร่วมมือระหว่าง “ภาครัฐ” และ “ภาคเอกชน” ที่ช่วยกันพัฒนาเครื่องมือและแพลตฟอร์มทางดิจิทัล “เฉพาะกิจ” เพื่อรับมือวิกฤติเฉพาะหน้าอย่างเร่งด่วน
เกาหลีใต้ ไต้หวัน และสิงคโปร์ กลายเป็นบทเรียนความสำเร็จที่ควบคุมการแพร่ระบาดไวรัสโควิด-19 ได้ดีและมีประสิทธิภาพกว่าหลายประเทศในขณะนี้ ต่างมีปัจจัยเทคโนโลยีอยู่เบื้องหลัง แต่หลายประเทศที่รับมือวิกฤติได้ดีนั้นยังมีการวางแผนรับมืออย่างรอบด้านและการบริหารจัดการช่วยเหลือประชาชนที่รวดเร็วและเด็ดขาด ทั้งความพร้อมของจำนวนชุดเครื่องตรวจหาเชื้อโควิด-19 การสื่อสารต่อสาธารณะด้วยข้อมูลอย่าง “โปร่งใส” และชี้แจงมาตรการอย่าง “ชัดเจน” ถือเป็นปัจจัยหลักช่วยให้ประชาชน “มีความไว้ใจ” และปฏิบัติตามมาตรการของรัฐบาล
บทเรียนของ “เกาหลีใต้” สะท้อนให้เห็นความสำคัญของทั้งการปกป้อง “ความเป็นส่วนตัว” และ “มาตรการควบคุมการแพร่ระบาดของไวรัส”
ในเดือนมกราคมที่ผ่านมา หลังจากมีการใช้เทคโนโลยีติดตามกลุ่มผู้ติดเชื้อโควิด-19 และหน่วยงานทางการของเกาหลีใต้ได้เริ่มเปิดเผยข้อมูลของผู้ติดเชื้อไวรัสอย่างละเอียด ทั้งประวัติการเดินทาง เวลาออกจากที่ทำงาน ใส่หน้ากากป้องกันตอนขึ้นรถไฟหรือไม่ เปลี่ยนสถานีรถไฟที่ไหน ชื่อคาราโอเกะที่ไปและชื่อคลินิคที่ไปตรวจเชื้อไวรัส และเพียงไม่นานที่รัฐบาลออกข้อมูลรายละเอียดของผู้ติดเชื้อ สังคมออนไลน์เกาหลีใต้ก็ช่วยกันทำงานอย่างเร่งด่วน เพื่อระบุตัวตนและชื่อของผู้นั้น นำไปสู่การไล่ล่าหาตัวพวกเขาจากข้อมูลที่ถูกเปิดเผยในอินเตอร์เน็ต ด้วยความกังวลเรื่องความเป็นส่วนตัว นี้จึงทำให้ประชาชนบางส่วนไม่อยากเข้ารับการตรวจเชื้อไวรัส
เหตุการณ์ครั้งนี้ทำให้รัฐบาลเกาหลีใต้ประกาศแนวทางปฏิบัติในการแชร์ข้อมูลส่วนบุคคลและความโปร่งใสของการเก็บข้อมูลดิจิทัล เพื่อลดความเสี่ยงต่อผู้ติดเชื้อไวรัสและกลุ่มผู้เฝ้าระวัง “เราจะรักษาสมดุลระหว่างการรักษาสิทธิความเป็นส่วนตัวและการรักษาประโยชน์ส่วนรวมในการป้องกันการแพร่ระบาดของไวรัส” Jung Eun-kyeong ผู้อำนวยการศูนย์ควบคุมและปกป้องโรคติดต่อของเกาหลีใต้กล่าว เพราะการประกาศใช้มาตรการของรัฐบาลจะเกิดผลสำเร็จเมื่อประชาชนส่วนใหญ่ให้ความร่วมมือด้วย
อีกหนึ่งความท้าทายในสถานการณ์เช่นนี้ ที่ต้องรักษาประโยชน์สาธารณสุขส่วนรวม ขณะเดียวกันต้องปกป้องความเป็นส่วนตัวของประชาชน เพราะข้อมูลของประชาชนเกี่ยวกับเรื่องสาธารณสุขเป็นข้อมูลที่มีความอ่อนไหวสูง ทั้งในการเก็บรักษาและการเปิดเผยต่อสาธารณะ แต่ในภาวะวิกฤติเช่นนี้ ทางเลือกเพื่อรักษาชีวิตและสุขภาพของประชาชนย่อมเป็นสิ่งสำคัญ การติดตามและบันทึกประวัติของบุคคลผู้ติดเชื้อจึงมีเหตุผลสมควรต่อมาตรการควบคุมโรคของหน่วยงานสาธารณสุข
แต่นั่นก็ไม่ได้หมายความว่า เจ้าหน้าที่รัฐหรือสื่อมวลชนจำเป็นต้องเปิดเผยข้อมูลส่วนบุคคลของผู้ติดเชื้อโควิด-19 อย่างละเอียดต่อสาธารณะหรือข้อมูลที่ไม่เกี่ยวกับการควบคุมไวรัส และไม่ควรเก็บข้อมูลแบบหว่านแห แต่รัฐควรยึดหลักการจัดเก็บเฉพาะข้อมูลที่จำเป็น (Data Minimization) กำหนดกรอบระยะเวลาชัดเจน มีความโปร่งใสในขั้นตอนและวัตถุประสงค์ที่จัดเก็บต้องเป็นไปเพื่อควบคุมแพร่ระบาดของไวรัสโควิดเท่านั้น เพราะความสะเพร่าในการเก็บข้อมูลส่วนบุคคลและการเปิดเผยต่อสาธารณะอาจนำไปสู่ปัญหาการตีตราทางสังคม (social stigma) ของผู้ติดเชื้อโควิดและกลุ่มเฝ้าระวัง
โดยทาง WHO ออกแนวทางปฏิบัติเพื่อป้องกันและแก้ปัญหาการตีตราทางสังคม และ The Electronic Frontier Foundation มีคำแนะนำสำหรับผู้กำหนดนโยบายในเรื่องการเก็บข้อมูลและติดตามทางดิจิทัลไว้ใน Protecting Civil Liberties During a Public Health Crisis
เพราะหากรัฐบาลไม่สามารถสร้างความเชื่อใจและความรู้สึกปลอดภัยให้ประชาชนได้ อาจทำให้ประชาชนเลือกปกปิดอาการเจ็บป่วยเพื่อหลีกเลี่ยงการเลือกปฏิบัติ หรือถูกรังเกียจ หรือถูกตีตราทางสังคม สภาพเช่นนี้จะบีบคั้นให้ประชาชนหลีกเลี่ยงการคัดกรอง การตรวจ และการกักตัว นั่นอาจทำให้การแพร่ระบาดของไวรัสมากขึ้น ไม่ใช่น้อยลง
แม้ว่าบางสถานการณ์ สิทธิความเป็นส่วนตัวจะถูกจำกัดเพื่อผลประโยชน์สาธารณะได้ แต่ขณะเดียวกันการรักษาความเป็นส่วนตัวของบุคคลก็ยังมีความสำคัญต่อปกป้องผลประโยชน์สาธารณะเช่นกัน
การเฝ้าระวังทางสาธารณสุขและโรคระบาดเป็นเรื่องกระทำได้ เพื่อช่วยในการวางแผนควบคุมทางสาธารณสุข โดยเมื่อปี 2017 ทางองค์การ WHO ได้ออก Guidelines on Ethical Issues in Public Health Surveillance เพื่อเป็นกรอบจริยธรรมในการปฏิบัติงาน แต่ในรายงานฉบับนี้ยังไม่ได้กล่าวมากนักถึงการเก็บข้อมูลทางดิจิทัลและความกังวลเรื่องการใช้ข้อมูลดิจิทัลของประชาชนเพื่อวัตถุประสงค์อื่นนอกเหนือจากเฝ้าระวังทางสาธารณสุข
หลายครั้งปัญหาความเป็นส่วนตัวในยุคดิจิทัลคือ เรามักไม่รู้ตัวว่า กำลังถูกติดตามสอดส่อง และอุปกรณ์ดิจิทัลที่เราใช้อยู่ได้เก็บข้อมูลอะไรเกี่ยวกับเราบ้าง นี่มักนำไปสู่การเก็บข้อมูลส่วนตัวเกินจำเป็น และผู้ใช้งานเองก็ไม่ทันระวัง
ย้อนกลับมาดูกรณีประเทศไทย หลังจากรัฐบาลประกาศใช้ พ.ร.ก.ฉุกเฉินฯ เมื่อวันที่ 26 มีนาคม 2563 และเริ่มมีมาตรการบังคับใช้ออกมาเรื่อยๆ หนึ่งในนั้นคือการประกาศใช้แอปพลิเคชันติดตามตัวสำหรับกลุ่มผู้ติดเชื้อ กลุ่มเสี่ยงที่ต้องเฝ้าระวัง และกลุ่มผู้เข้าข่ายต้องสงสัยในการติดเชื้อ ผ่านการใช้ 3 แพลตฟอร์มหลักเพื่อติดตามการแพร่ระบาดของโควิด-19
โดยแอปพลิเคชันแรก คือ AOT Airports เป็นแอปฯที่มีการใช้งานมาก่อนแล้วของการท่าอากาศยาน แต่มีนำมาปรับใช้เพื่อติดตามคนที่เดินทางมาจากประเทศกลุ่มเสี่ยงว่าอยู่ในที่พักอาศัยและกักตัว 14 วันตามข้อตกลงหรือไม่ โดยผู้ใช้ต้องกรอกข้อมูลส่วนตัว และแอปฯนี้สามารถติดตามประวัติการเดินทางของผู้ใช้ได้
ต่อมาเป็นแพลตฟอร์มที่ชื่อว่า covid19.ddc.moph.go.th เพื่อรายงานสถานการณ์ผู้ติดเชื้อและข้อมูลสำคัญที่ออกโดยทางการ มีการทำแผนผังการพบผู้ติดเชื้อและตรวจสอบพื้นที่เตือนระวังในประเทศไทย มีข้อมูลทั้งภาษาไทยและภาษาอังกฤษ
สุดท้ายคือการพัฒนาแชตบอต (Chatbot) ที่ชื่อว่า “สบายดีบอต” @sabaideebot ใน LINE Official สำหรับกลุ่มเสี่ยงและเข้าข่ายติดเชื้อเมื่อได้รับผลตรวจและเก็บบันทึกอาการสุขภาพ โดยเชื่อมต่อกับแพลตฟอร์มรายงานสถานการณ์
ทั้งสามแพลตฟอร์มจำเป็นต้องจัดเก็บข้อมูลส่วนตัวของผู้ใช้มหาศาลในช่วงเวลานี้ และต้องระมัดระวังในการดูแลความเสี่ยงเรื่องความเป็นส่วนตัว เช่น เมื่อดูรายละเอียดของแอปฯ AOT Airports อาจเสี่ยงที่จะเก็บข้อมูลส่วนบุคคลของผู้ใช้งานมากเกินความจำเป็น ข้อมูลบางประเภทที่ให้กรอกไม่เกี่ยวกับการติดตามโรคระบาด และมีความกังวลว่าข้อมูลส่วนตัวของผู้ใช้งานจะถูกนำไปแชร์กับบุคคลที่สาม เพราะผู้ใช้งานต้องให้ยอมรับเงื่อนไขใน “ข้อกำหนดการใช้งานและนโยบายความเป็นส่วนตัว” ของแอปฯ
หลังจากนี้เรายังคงต้องคอยติดตามว่า รัฐบาลจะเพิ่มการมาตรการบังคับใช้แอปพลิเคชันหรือเทคโนโลยีติดตามตัวภายใต้ พ.ร.ก.ฉุกเฉินฯ อย่างไร และช่วยกันตรวจสอบว่าเราถูกเก็บข้อมูลส่วนตัวใดบ้างที่ไม่เกี่ยวข้องกับผลประโยชน์ทางสาธารณสุขของประชาชน ใครบ้างที่เข้าถึงข้อมูลเหล่านั้น รวมไปถึงขอบเขตอำนาจและความสัมพันธ์ของรัฐกับภาคเอกชนหลังจากนี้
ถ้าเมื่อเราผ่านพ้นวิกฤติโรคระบาดไปแล้ว เรายังจำเป็นต้องกลับมาทบทวนมาตรการทางเทคโนโลยีสอดส่องและการเก็บข้อมูลส่วนบุคคลที่เคยใช้ภายใต้สถานการณ์ฉุกเฉิน ทั้งของประเทศไทยและประเทศอื่นๆ เพราะบทเรียนจากเหตุการณ์ก่อการร้าย 9/11 ในสหรัฐฯได้ยกระดับมาตรการการสอดแนมโดยรัฐไปอย่างถาวร
ยูวาล โนอา ฮารารี ผู้เขียนหนังสือ “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind” ตีพิมพ์บทความที่ชื่อว่า “The world after coronavirus” ชวนให้คิดต่อว่าโลกหลังผ่านพ้นวิกฤติโควิด-19 ไปแล้วจะเป็นอย่างไร แนวทางการใช้เทคโนโลยีเพื่อสอดส่องสุขภาพของประชาชนในช่วงวิกฤติโควิด-19 หากไม่ระวังให้ดีอาจทำให้รัฐสร้างมาตรฐานความชอบธรรมต่อระบอบสอดส่องอย่างเบ็ดเสร็จของรัฐในระยะยาว
แม้จะเห็นด้วยถึงความจำเป็นของการใช้มาตรการเร่งด่วนเพื่อตอบสนองวิกฤติสุขภาพที่กำลังเกิดขึ้น แต่มาตรการฉุกเฉินต้องใช้อย่าง “มีขอบเขต” และอยู่แค่ “ชั่วคราว” ต้องไม่มีอยู่หลังผ่านพ้นวิกฤติโรคระบาดแล้ว
การบังคับใช้มาตรการที่มีบทลงโทษที่รุนแรงไม่ได้เป็นทางเดียวที่ทำให้ประชาชนปฏิบัติตามแนวทางของรัฐ แต่การสร้างความเชื่อมั่นในมาตรการที่โปร่งใส และสื่อสารข้อเท็จจริงกับประชาชนอย่างชัดเจนต่างหากที่ถือเป็นกุญแจสำคัญในการจัดการภาวะวิกฤติเช่นนี้
ในสถานการณ์วิกฤติทางสาธารณสุขที่ยังไม่ผ่านพ้นไป เราอาจต้องเปลี่ยนจากคำถามที่ว่า ถ้าต้องเลือกระหว่าง “ความมั่นคงทางสุขภาพ” หรือ “ความเป็นส่วนตัว” มาเป็นคำถามว่า เราจะทำอย่างไรให้ทั้งสองความสำคัญอยู่ร่วมกันได้
เพราะไม่เช่นนั้น ความเป็นส่วนตัว สิทธิ เสรีภาพของเรา ทั้งออนไลน์ และออฟไลน์ จะไม่คืนกลับมา แม้สถานการณ์จะคืนสู่ภาวะปกติแล้วก็ตาม
Darika Bamrungchok is a Digital Rights Manager (Mekong) at EngageMedia, based in Bangkok. She leads a digital rights and digital safety program in Thailand, and is interested in technology and human rights under modern authoritarian regimes.
ดาริกา บำรุงโชค ปัจจุบันทำงานในตำแหน่งผู้จัดการโครงการสิทธิดิจิทัลขององค์กร EngageMedia ประจำประเทศไทย เธอดูแลโครงการเกี่ยวกับสิทธิดิจิทัลและความปลอดภัยทางดิจิทัลในประเทศไทยและกลุ่มประเทศลุ่มแม่น้ำโขง มีความสนใจเป็นพิเศษในประเด็นเกี่ยวกับเทคโนโลยีกับสิทธิมนุษยชน
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