event

Digital Repression: Confronting the Evolving Challenge

Tue. October 19th, 2021
Live Online

The International Forum for Democratic Studies and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace are pleased to invite you to a joint online event on the evolving challenge of digital repression. From the rollout of biometric surveillance tools to advances in machine learning to new social media regulations, recent developments in technology and its governance are presenting new opportunities for authoritarian abuse. How has digital repression evolved in recent years, and what can democracy’s supporters do to craft more rights-respecting technological norms?  

To address these and other critical issues, the Carnegie Endowment has assembled the Digital Democracy Network—a diverse group of cutting-edge thinker-activists engaged in work on technology and politics. The network's first publication is a compilation of essays on the challenges to governance posed by digital technology, “Issues on the Frontlines of Technology and Politics.”

To mark this new initiative, join us for a discussion featuring Digital Democracy Network members Arindrajit Basu, Irene Poetranto, and Jan Rydzak on the ever-changing contours of the digital repression landscape, and its implications for democracies around the world.

This event is being held in collaboration with National Endowment for Democracy. 

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
event speakers

Arindrajit Basu

Arindrajit Basu is a research lead at the Centre for Internet & Society, India (CIS), where he focuses on the geopolitics and constitutionality of emerging technologies.

Thomas Carothers

Harvey V. Fineberg Chair for Democracy Studies; Director, Democracy, Conflict and Governance Program

Thomas Carothers, director of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, is a leading expert on comparative democratization and international support for democracy.

Steven Feldstein

Senior Fellow, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program

Steven Feldstein is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program. His research focuses on technology and geopolitics, U.S. foreign policy, and the global context for democracy.

Elizabeth Kerley

Elizabeth Kerley is a program officer focusing on emerging technologies with the research and conferences section of the National Endowment for Democracy’s International Forum for Democratic Studies.

Irene Poetranto

Irene Poetranto is a senior researcher at the Citizen Lab, based at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, and a PhD candidate at the Department of Political Science, University of Toronto, where she studies the politics of internet regulation in Southeast Asia.

Jan Rydzak

Jan Rydzak is a human rights researcher focusing on technology and the Company and Investor Engagement Manager at Ranking Digital Rights (RDR), a non-profit research initiative focused on human rights and corporate accountability.

Christopher Walker

Christopher Walker is vice president for studies and analysis at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a private, nonprofit foundation dedicated to the growth and strengthening of democratic institutions around the world.