Analysis of A Connected Youth: Internet Governance

___AnalysEs of a
connected youth:
Internet Governance
YOUTH OBSERVATORY
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP OF INTERNET SOCIETY
ENGLISH EDITION
DECEMBER 2017
SPONSORED BY
Guilherme Alves, Adela Goberna,

Sara Fratti ET AL. (Org.)
Analyses of a connected youth: Internet Governance
English Edition
December 2017
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Organized by Youth Observatory

Special Interest Group of Internet Society
CONTACT US EDITORIAL COMMITTEE EVALUATION COMMITTEE
obdjuv.org Adela Goberna Agustina Callegari

odjuventud@gmail.com Carlos Guerrero Élisson Diones
Élisson Diones Esteban Calisaya
Esteban Calisaya Estefanía Román
Guilherme Alves Guilherme Alves
Luã Fergus Israel Rosas
Sara Fratti Juan Pablo González
Sarah Linke Kimberly Anastacio
Viviane Vinagre Luã Fergus
Pollyanna Rigon
Sara Fratti
Sarah Linke
Thais Stein
Viviane Vinagre
TRANSLATION REVIEW BOOK COVER AND LAYOUT
Aline Vieira Adela Goberna Ana Seno

Juliana Ferreira Chrissy Cutting Charles L’Astorina
Lianni Andrade Guilherme Alves
Simon Valencia Sydney Morgan
SPONSORED BY
Available for free download

(Portuguese and Spanish
editions also available) at:
<bit.ly.com/book_youth_en>
_ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To begin with, a special thanks to the Internet Society and

SaferNet Brasil, who sponsored this book edition;
Also, to the authors, who believed in our project and

entrusted us with their reflections;
Finally to the Evaluation Committee, whose members

voluntarily assisted us in the articles selection.
Editorial Committee of Youth Observatory

December 2017
CONTENTS
7_ PRESENTATION
9_ FOREWORD
10_ GENDER ISSUES AND YOUTH IN INTERNET

11_ DIGITAL FEMINISM: A PROPOSAL FOR AN INCLUSIVE INTERNET
Angélica Contreras
21_ INTERVIEW: HOW TO TREAT ONLINE GENDER VIOLENCE WITHIN THE BRAZILIAN
YOUTH LIVING IN THE PERIPHERY?
Mariana Giorgetti Valente and Natália Neris
31_ ACCESS AND DIVERSITY

32_ CONNECTING THE NEXT BILLION...TO WHOM?
Hudson Lupes Ribeiro de Souza
41_ OPEN DATA AND THE POWER OF VIGILANT CITIZENS

Juliana Gonçalves
48_ DIGITAL INCLUSION

49_ E-INCLUSION AND DIGITAL DIVIDE, VULNERABILITY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION:
A PATH FOR SOCIAL REINSERTION OF THOSE WHO TRANSIT OR HAVE TRANSIT-
ED AN EXPERIENCE IN PENITENTIARY INSTITUTIONS?
Georgina A. Guercio
62_ ICT PUBLIC POLICIES FOR GENERATION OF DIGITAL CAPABILITIES IN YOUNG

PEOPLE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Maureen Merchán De las Salas
72_ CYBERSECURITY
73_ NUANCES OF PRIVACY IN THE DIGITAL ERA
Arthur Emanuel Leal Abreu
80_ ONLINE PERSON, PRIVACY AND DATA PROTECTION COMPARED TO HUMAN

RIGHTS OF THE FOURTH GENERATION: A CHALLENGE FOR THE NATIONAL
TRANSPARENCY SYSTEM OF MEXICO
Natalia Mendoza Servín
103_ DIGITAL RIGHTS
90_ CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN THE REFORM OF THE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK OF
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES IN ARGENTINA
Julieta Colombo Gardey and Antonella Maia Perini
104_ CONSUMER PROTECTION IN THE DIGITAL ECONOMY

Silvana Cristina Rivero
111_ A FIELD OF LAW TO INTERNET GOVERNANCE

Juan Daniel Macías Sierra
116_ CONTENTS AND CULTURAL GOODS

117_ DIGITAL CROWDFUNDING AS AN EXAMPLE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF SOCIAL
CAPITAL AND THE GROWTH OF COMMUNITIES
Claudia C. Arruñada Sala
129_ THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION AND COPYRIGHT: PARADIGMS IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Rafael Ríos Nuño and José Benjamín González Mauricio
138_ INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IN THE DIGITAL ECONOMY

Silvana Cristina Rivero
147_ INNOVATION AND TECNOLOGICAL TRAINING

148_ INNOVATION POLICIES TO ENHANCE USE OF TECHNOLOGY BY IMMIGRANT
POPULATIONS
Martha Cisneros and Dámaris Contreras-Luzanilla
161_ TOWARDS A DIGITAL ENLIGHTENMENT: HOW TO BUILD CRITICAL THINKERS IN

THE DIGITAL ERA?
Fernando A. Mora
173_ NEW PROBLEMS OF THE INTERNET

174_ HOW ‘MARKET COLONIZATION’ OF THE INTERNET TURNED CITIZENS INTO JUST
CONSUMERS? MARKETIZATION OF THE ONLINE SPACE
Gloria J. Guerrero Martínez
183_ POLARIZED AND HATEFUL NETWORKS: THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE

INTERNET AS PROPAGATOR OF THE CULTURE OF HATRED BY FILTER BUBBLES
Leandro Racuia and Victor Andrês Veloso Cavadas
200_ DEFENSE OF COMPETITION AND ONLINE PLATFORMS IN THE BIG DATA ERA
Paloma Szerman
PRESENTATION
_WHAT CONTRIBUTIONS DO LATIN AMERICAN YOUTHS

HAVE TO INTERNET GOVERNANCE?
This has been a thought-provoking challenge for the Youth Observatory since its
inception in 2015, during the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in João Pessoa, Brazil.
We emerged back then as youths committed to national, regional and global political
governance arenas, who felt the need to work as a collective to think about the impacts
Internet has on their realities and propose solutions to issues around them.
We are part of a generation that grew up side by side with the globally expansion of
the Internet, and just as many other youth initiatives we do want to take responsibility on
actively building this network. Internet Governance (IG) is the acting front we have chosen
to accomplish this goal, and in our horizon we see the Internet as a powerful tool to face
social inequalities — especially in Latin America and the Caribbean — and even more
specially within other youths who are still unable to experience positive transformations
the Internet has made possible for us.
Ever since, we have tried to show that we want more than just a voice — even though
being heard is an important victory in political arenas, oftenly is not that inclusive. We
want to learn and empower ourselves together, in order to “become actors of our own truth
within the construction of the IG”1.
Step by step, in multiple collective and decentralized fronts — not surprisingly, as this
is a characteristics of the Internet itself — we have taken part on different initiatives. As a
Special Interest Group of Internet Society, we see our possibilities of dialogue expanding to
youths all over the world, what it is still a challenge ahead of us. With well known youth’s
boldness, we attended national and regional IG forums, as well as the Internet Governance
Forum (IGF) in Jalisco (2016) and the next to come in Geneva (2017), presenting proposals
and critics to current issues. Also, the Youth Observatory is the organizer of YouthLACIGF,
the first forum aimed to create dialogues and synergies between Latin American youths
on Internet Governance discussions, which were held in 2016 in San José (Costa Rica) and
in 2017 in Panama City (Panama), as pre-events for the LACIGF, the Regional Preparatory
Meeting for the Internet Governance Forum. Furthermore, we leaded the Young Latin
American Women Declaration2, a document that proposes a feminist and youth perspective
in the construction of Internet Governance.
And we wish that socially oriented impact actions keep growing all over.
1 To read the declaration “We, the youth of Latin American and the Caribbean”, document that
stated the founding principles of the Youth Observatory, access <igf2015.br/declaration/> (also
available in Spanish and Portuguese).
2 To read the declaration “Enabling access to empower young women and build a feminist
Internet Governance”, access <bit.ly/2ufKwz1> (available in English).
_PLURALITY
Until here we have always spoken “youths”, using the plural form. It was not a
random choice. We believe it is impossible to talk about youths — and their demands,
opinions and actions — in singular. We embrace the diversity of our formations, areas
of activity, cultures and opinions as something that strengthens us and that certainly
also strengthens Internet Governance itself.
With this spirit, and following the result of a new and instigating process for us,
this book is released.
“Analyses of a connected youth” aims to present different reflections of young

people on topics of interest to Internet Governance. Our call for articles was deliberately
open regarding formats and approaches, and we were definitely surprised in many
positive ways: from papers to opinion articles, from interviews to essays, we received
articles that deal with related issues and dialogue with authors’ realities and with the
disruptive boundaries that define the evolution of the Internet.
Our evaluation committee, formed by members of Youth Observatory from diverse

areas of action, selected 19 articles from 4 different countries (Argentina, Brazil,
Colombia and Mexico), written in Portuguese, English or Spanish by youths between 21
and 31 years old — 15 out of 23 authors are women.
This project seeks to capture some drops — out of a large ocean — of what so many
youths in Latin America and the Caribbean are producing and thinking about the
Internet and society in its greater and diverse possibilities. The discussions brought
here show that this phenomenon - the expansion of Information and Communication
Technologies in the world - brings us many questions, many concerns, but also thirst
for proposals, knowledge and courage to take new paths.
There is still much to be done. We hope this is the first book of many others.
To the reader, we wish a good journey. And we do expect feedback!
For a plural, accessible, affordable, neutral, safe, inclusive and quality Internet,
Youth Observatory
December 2017
FOREWORD
I remember when 25 years ago (yes, I’m from that generation!), we were discovering
this new technology. I was not a part of this amazing Internet community at the time,
but as a normal user I remember talks about speed, about being able to access the
Internet in more places, about the cost, about new cool applications.
Today, in the year the Internet Society celebrates its 25th anniversary, the
conversation is very different. Today while deployment of connectivity is still an issue
(we still have to connect half the population) the concern is less the technology; the
technology exists and is known. The conversation today is about how to make the most
of the technology to improve our lives. On how to use the Internet to eradicate poverty,
to improve education, to innovate using the Internet. Today we talk about Artificial
Intelligence, about Internet of Things, about blockchain... We talk about the role of
government, the influence of large tech companies, about gender (in)equality, we talk
about human rights online versus offline.
Around end of October 2015, a group of about 120 young people -- who attended the
Internet Governance Forum in João Pessoa, Brazil, as fellows of the first edition of a
youth fellowship programme designed by Internet Society and the Brazilian Internet
Steering Committee (CGI.br) -- were thinking about creating a platform to share
innovative ideas, and start with an observatory of Internet Governance issues from a
youth perspective.
Look at where we are now... two year later we have this book, with an Observatory
fully up and running in three languages, the group also created a Youth Special Interest
Group, we continue to have Youth@IGF programmes not only at the global forum but we
now see a lot of regional and local Youth initiatives.
Because the Internet is now such an important part of our lives, it will be crucial
that the ‘más grande’ (an elegant way to say older) generation, the current youth and
the next one be part of the conversation on how the Internet is governed and how it
needs to evolve to meet the needs of the next generation.
I’m confident that initiatives like this book and the Observatory, will pave the way
for the three (or more) generations to have these conversations, each bringing their
own generational perspectives to the table.
Joyce Dogniez
Senior Director Global Engagement
Internet Society
GENDER
ISSUES AND
YOUTH IN
INTERNET
GENDER ISSUES AND YOUTH IN INTERNET _ ANGÉLICA CONTRERAS
DIGITAL FEMINISM:
A PROPOSAL FOR AN
INCLUSIVE INTERNET
ANGÉLICA CONTRERAS
Feminist and journalist, currently a Law student
contrerasangelica9@gmail.com
Mexico
11
_THEMATIC
Gender issues and youth in Internet

Digital rights
_ABSTRACT
Digital Feminism, or Feminism 3.0, is a proposal for us to

invade, create, build, and seize our digital rights through the
Internet. The Internet is a sexist space where violent practices
towards women, hate speeches, and the loss of our digital
rights are reproduced because we are “women”. Based on digital
feminism, we propose digital empowerment for the creation
and seizing of violence-free spaces where women can develop
themselves.
Keywords: feminism; gender; women
12
After three waves of feminism, today we are facing

a movement from another platform. The so-called
“FOR THOSE WHO
Feminism 3.0, or Digital Feminism, is a proposal to be
HAVE CREATED
able to break in, seize, and create from a platform that
AND DEVELOPED lives and feels gender inequality.
THE INTERNET
AND INFORMATION Digital feminism has its virtues, such as building
TECHNOLOGIES spaces where women can create meeting points for
ANONYMOUSLY debates and/or social movements that are generated
on the Internet and are taken into public spaces. The
AND WITH NO
internet also gives rise to empowerment, seizing of the
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
tool, and, of course, sorority.
OF THEIR WORK
FOR ONE REASON: However, there is also the other side of the Internet,
BEING A WOMAN.” one that reminds us that it is still sexist1, and where
THE AUTHOR there is a danger to women.
The Internet is and must be feminist.
1_DIGITAL FEMINISM
When I mentioned on Internet forums that it is necessary to have a greater

participation of feminists in the discussion spaces, the minds of the listeners were
taken over with images of women with posters, breasts uncovered and feeling the need
to scream. Digital feminism is seen from a perspective that keeps seeking to overshadow
the movement since its origin.
Feminism is a social, economic, political, cultural, and developmental movement

that seeks the liberation of women, the full exercise of and respect for their rights.
This liberation has led us to fight for our civil, political, educational, economic, and
now sexual rights, but in this century where information technologies blow up in
scandalous and impressive ways, being constantly updated and innovated, feminism is
an option to take over spaces and format them.
Elena Gascón-Vera (2015) points out that 21st-century feminism is shifting to an

ideology that includes and embraces all types of women, supports the inclusion of
distinct identities and the appreciation of women’s bodies and female sexuality. With
the advent of the Internet, it becomes easier now to spread images, speeches, messages,
and feminisms. What we mean by this is that, as the author points out, the Internet
disseminates this diverse construction of “women” so that there is not only one woman,
but several women. Therefore, it also disseminates feminisms, that is, the different
ways through which feminism is being created and thought out.
The Internet has told us “Hey, you are not alone”. We are among feminisms.
The feminist movement taught us to go out on the street and gather at meeting
1 Translator’s note: the expression originally used in Spanish was “machismo”.
13
points where we march together. We look for those who have a “beautiful handwriting”
to make the posters and we improvise accomplices with garbage cans and various
instruments that we find at home to put the beat together and complement with music,
watchwords, and marches. Digital feminism, however, brought us the interaction, the
connection, and surrounded us with other expressions; the easiest thing to say is that
it gave us the tools to organize ourselves from afar to get together.
There are other female authors who consider that this new wave of feminism also
brings a more popular movement in which the leadership is done from the bottom up,
and it undoubtedly opens a new wave of feminism characterized by mass participation
and greater visibility on the large scale but, moreover, a repercussion on the global scale.
2_DIGITAL MOVEMENT
Is the Internet a public or private space for women? We women live in constant
search for spaces to develop ourselves, spaces that allow us to be “women” without
having to face harassment, violence, and sexism. Thus, according to that belief, we seek
a public space but also a private space for our development and safety.
The problem with this public and private issue is that we continue to believe that
women should “keep their opinions to themselves” and this behavior is replicated
on the Internet, thanks to which we are witnesses of massacres, crises, and violence
against women around the world. This has led us to organize ourselves from the public
to the private sphere, anonymously.
In the last few years, we have witnessed feminist movements that arise, organize,
and spread in social networks, but which are the product of the discontent that is
experienced in the offline world. They are movements like My First Harassment (Mi
Primer Acoso), Violet Spring (Primavera Violeta), Not One Less (Ni Una Menos), Women’s
March, Distributed Denial of Women, International Women’s Strike, among others.
All of these movements have common denominators. They arise from the
nonconformity between events or incidents that are recorded offline and that are
disclosed by the media. Arising from the outrage of collectives or people, the online
organization is born, with a general slogan, using social networks and a hashtag to
make it public. Different media outlets on the Internet join to spread the slogan, women
from several countries come together and a logistics of mobilization in two segments,
offline and online, is then born.
The first segment—offline—takes women to public spaces to express their discontent,

exercise their right to freedom of assembly and expression, and the second—online—
gathers women who, for reasons of safety, distance, or lack of access to these physical
spaces, could not be present, but can join the mobilization by means of a hashtag.
Offline mobilization, however, also serves as a tradition for women’s mobilizations, as
a revolution and criticism, taking over male spaces and also being an option for women
who do not have access to the Internet or are digitally illiterate and who are informed
by traditional media.
14
“Weaves a series of unusual alliances with other countries, realities,

latitudes and implements an unprecedented action.”
Florencia Alcaraz,2
3_DIGITAL SORORITY
The feminist Marcela Lagarde e de los Ríos (2012) defines sorority as the mutual
support of women to achieve the power of every woman.
The Internet offers us a tool that allows us to be together, that is, arising from
the Internet, a primordial value of feminism spreads sorority, which allows us to
commiserate with each other and discover ourselves in our struggles.
An example is when a woman is criticized (media lynching) for doing something

she “should not do because she is a woman”, and then support networks to defend her
actions are born.
Another very important matter is what identifies us in the feminisms. Nowadays,

talking about feminism is talking about its different perspectives and the Internet allows
the dissemination of these movements and approaches, which allows us to learn and
build a pluralistic digital feminism that raises and maintains the same banner with
different focuses: women.
4_CREATING FROM FEMINISM AND DIGITAL

EMPOWERMENT
We were taught to be passive users of the Internet: reading, sharing, and liking,
but not creating content on our own. In Mexico, a study by the Mexican Internet
Association (2016) about the habits of Internet users says that only 18% of all Internet
users are content creators, access or maintain their own spaces, such as a blog or other
platforms. “Women are half as likely as men to speak out online, and a third less likely
to use the Internet to look for work (controlling for age and education)” (World Wide
Web Foundation, 2015).
The Mexican blogger Claudia Calvin (2012) points out: their silence ends up, without
themselves knowing, complicit in realities that are sexist or that marginalize them
and, as they gradually appear and express their voices. They change the surroundings.
Silence, according to Calvin, was never a partner of empowerment.
Empowering women gives them the opportunity to trust and believe in their voice
(oral, written, graphic) so they can develop proposals and projects or simply so they can
be themselves in digital spaces.
Before we go on, we must understand by digital empowerment the capacity of

women to be able to have a voice and to take part in digital spaces.
2 Cf. Alcaraz (2017).
15
The World Wide Web Foundation’s report (2015) on the Digital Rights of Women, on
the topic of inequality, presented the following results:
• [...] the Internet as a space for commenting on important issues, and

say that the Internet has made it safer for women to express their
views − even though they may not yet be using it for this purpose
themselves.
• Large majorities of urban poor Internet users do already exploit digital

platforms as a vehicle for reinforcing the social ties on which their
survival often depends, suggesting that the Internet’s power to enhance
social capital could be an effective route to digital empowerment.
• Education is a major enabler of digital empowerment among women,

suggesting opportunities for greater investment in girls’ education to
work hand-in-hand with targeted ICT skills programmes in schools
• Gender gaps in how men and women use the Internet are significant −
but not as large as gender disparities in access to the Internet [...]
The need to include more women who take part in the Internet also exists in
terms of creation. Their active participation would expose one of the problems of lack
of content, not only in their own language but also of content written by women for
women. Examples of this are the Editathons, meetings in which content for Wikipedia,
written by women and about women, gets edited and created. This exercise helps
eliminate gender stereotypes on the Internet, such as talking about the number of a
woman’s children or who she is married to, rather than their professional merits.
Why are Editathons necessary? Because we women are forgotten and made invisible.
A proverb says: “history is written by the winners”. These winners are men. Only 13%
of editors on Wikipedia are women, and the percentage of profiles about women in
English is 17%: the scarce number of female editors on Wikipedia, uninvited by a male-
dominated world of technology, promotes gender inequality (BBC World, 2016).
Patricia Horrillo concludes that fears must be faced: that of technology, caused by
ignorance, and that of lack of legitimacy, which makes us believe that, as women, we
are not entitled to tell stories in digital spaces.
Feminism, then, presents itself as an option to take over spaces, although male
spaces rarely, or only after many struggles, include women without stereotypes. The
creation of exclusive spaces is also an option for empowerment, such as community
networks or autonomous feminist servers.
Additionally, governments’ public policies need to see the training and preparation
of women as a necessity. Many governments give women access to the Internet, but
where do they connect? Do they connect? What do they do? It is necessary to present the
Internet as a tool to empower their voices and opportunities, and improve their lives.
Our participation in the creation of the Internet strengthens us and we must enter
16
the spaces of power. Feminism seeks the seizing of public spaces, therefore, digital
feminism seeks that these spaces allow us, mainly, to have violence-free access.
5_THE INTERNET IS SEXIST
Of course it is! From the “boys only clubs”3, to the discrimination, the violence, the
troll males, the lower salaries, and the few spaces in forums and panels. The Internet is
a space for men, one that censors photos that do not meet their policies, such as women
who breastfeed. But, how many feminists who defend women’s rights are “banned” due
to violent content?
The report by the World Wide Web Foundation (2015) notes that seven out of ten
young women (18 and 24 years old) who use the Internet on a daily basis have been
abused online and three out of ten men agreed that the Internet should be a male-
controlled domain.
Spaces such as the Internet Governance Forum do not exceed 40% female
participation: 35% participation in 2012; 37% in 2013; 35% in 2014; 38% in 2015 and
39.6% in 2016.
“Empowering women in digital spaces is not a task performed in

isolation, it is a set of actions designed to narrow the gender gap
that exists on the Internet as a public space for the exercise of our
human rights”
The author4
How can we ask the Internet to be feminist if women are not taking part in the
spaces? The gender perspective is still seen as a whim to include women just for the
sake of including them.
Women are not safe on the Internet. We see how offline violence gets replicated
in digital spaces, such as harassment, threats, and violence. Our presence remains a
nuisance; we are using the Internet as a public space to make our voice heard. The
Internet replicates sexist practices. For example, a very common practice is the trolling
of women who express themselves on a specific topic and are attacked by a group: first,
one person attacks through a comment and, later, the other sexist trolls repeat the
hate message. Additionally, it is common practice to receive images of men threatening
with guns, harassing messages, the evil of the so-called “revenge porn”, and the social
repudiation of sexting.
3 Translator’s note: the expression originally used in Spanish was “Clubs de Toby”, referring to a
boy character in The Little Lulu Show cartoon named Tubby (Toby in its Mexican version), who had
a club with friends where no girls were allowed. Originally, that club was called “The Fellers”.
4 Cf. Contreras (2017).
17
6_WHAT NOW?
What are we doing to eradicate these types of violence? Associations and

organizations such as Charisma (Karisma), Colnodo, Sula BATSÚ, Women Constructing
(Mujeres Construyendo), Let’s Master ICTs (Dominemos las TICs), among many others,
create tools, products, and courses to train, prepare, and empower women with respect
to information technologies, covering their advantages, and opportunities, but also the
violence contained within them. Digital feminism is, therefore, a movement to achieve
access and seize information technologies to explore women’s capabilities, but also so
that they can move from the comfort of being passive users to the creation of content,
applications, options, and speeches from and for the Internet (Contreras, 2017a)
Digital feminism is, therefore, a 3.0 space of resistance.
What are the main challenges that online feminism faces?
6.1_SORORITY
Sorority in access to the Internet and in the use of information technologies should
be defined as the sisterhood among women for empowerment and digital appropriation
(Contreras, 2017b), that is, to create non-sexist tools and practices on the Internet, some
of which being the non-sharing of violence, the support in cases of violence, and the
sharing of experiences.
6.2_CONSOLIDATING DIGITAL MOVEMENTS
The year 2016 was full of digital movements, but it is time to work as a team and
view digital activism not only as a “click” but also as a way to act upon physical spaces.
6.3_DIGITAL LITERACY
When we talk about access, we must also consider that there are women who have the
infrastructure for access, but who do not know how to do it and do not exploit these resources
because they don’t know how. Public access policies should be designed for two groups of
people: those who lack access-infrastructure and those who do not have access-literacy.
6.4_OCCUPYING SPACES IN INTERNET FORUMS
It is an invitation to take the subject of women from our spaces to the discussion
tables to propose, discuss, and seek—as a team—ways to build and consolidate good
practices for the exercise of women’s rights in digital spaces. In the Women’s March, a
poster said that “women belong to the resistance”, and on the Internet, we find a space
to carry out this banner of resistance, “which asks us to shout and be a voice to demand
respect for our rights and it is this same voice that we must take to the Internet, to demand,
but also to participate, and to build together” (Contreras, 2017a).
Article originally written in Spanish
18
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from <http://www.elmundo.es/espana/2015/03/08/54fb4b6be2704ec7518b4570.html>
Internet Governance Forum (2012). IGF 2012 Baku - Attendance Statistics. Retrieved from
<http://www.intgovforum.org/cms/2013-bali/attendance-statistics>
Internet Governance Forum (2013). IGF 2013 Bali - Attendance Statistics. Retrieved from
<http://www.intgovforum.org/cms/2013-bali/attendance-statistics>
Internet Governance Forum (2014). IGF 2014 Attendance Statistics. Retrieved from
<http://www.intgovforum.org/cms/igf-2014/attendance-statistics>
Internet Governance Forum (2015). Attendance Statistics <http://www.intgovforum.org/

cms/2015-igf-joao-pessoa/igf-2015-attendance-statistics>
19
Internet Governance Forum (2016). IGF 2016 Attendance & Programme Statistics.
Retrieved from <https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/igf-2016-
attendance-programme-statistics>
Lagarde y de los Ríos, M. (2012). Pacto entre mujeres: Sororidad. In El feminismo en

mi vida. Hitos, claves y topías, p. 557-569. México: Instituto das Mulheres do Distrito
Federal. Retrieved from <http://www.asociacionag.org.ar/pdfaportes/25/09.pdf>
Mexican Internet Association (Asociación Mexicana de Internet) (2016). Estudio de

hábitos de los usuarios de internet. Retrieved from <https://www.amipci.org.mx/
images/Estudio_Habitosdel_Usuario_2016.pdf>
Networked Women (Mujeres en Red) (2008) ¿Qué es el feminismo? Retrieved from

<http://www.mujeresenred.net/spip.php?article1308>
World Wide Web Foundation (2015). Nuevo informe: Derechos digitales de las mujeres.
Retrieved from <http://webfoundation.org/nuevo-informe-derechos-digitales-de-las-
mujeres>
ANGÉLICA CONTRERAS
Director of Institutional Relations at
Youth Observatory and member of the
Internet Society – Mexico chapter, and
of the Multidisciplinary Academy of
Law and Technologies A. C. (Academia
Multidisciplinaria de Derecho y
Tecnologías A. C – AMDETIC). She writes for
GenderIT, Women Constructing (Mujeres
Construyendo), is a blogger and director of
the digital feminist magazine Quintessential
(Quintaesencia). She has taken part in
different feminist projects and campaigns
and in forums of Internet Governance.
20
GENDER ISSUES AND YOUTH IN INTERNET _ MARIANA GIORGETTI VALENTE + NATÁLIA NERIS
INTERVIEW:
HOW TO TREAT ONLINE
GENDER VIOLENCE
WITHIN THE BRAZILIAN
YOUTH LIVING IN THE
PERIPHERY?
MARIANA GIORGETTI VALENTE

Director of InternetLab - Law and Technology Research Center,
and Researcher in the area “Internet and Gender, Race and Other
Social Markers”
mariana@internetlab.org.br
Brazil
NATÁLIA NERIS
Coordinator in the area “Internet and Gender, Race and Other
Social Markers” at InternetLab
natalia.neris@internetlab.org.br
Brazil
21
_THEMATIC
_ABSTRACT
Common in school contexts all over Brazil, the “Top 10”

phenomenon was widely reported in mid-2015, when suicides
and other problems faced by girls in two peripheries of São
Paulo, Grajaú and Parelheiros, were reported. The practice
consists of videos with lists of the supposedly “sluttiest” in a
school or community. In order to better understand the aspects
of the issue, we interviewed representatives of the projects
Women in Fight Collective (Coletivo Mulheres na Luta), from
Grajaú, and Sowing of Rights (Sementeiras de Direitos), from
Parelheiros, whose voices offer a deep understanding about the
appropriation of Information Technologies by Brazilian youths
living on the peripheries and issues of media approach on this
kind of violence.
Keywords: revenge porn; periphery; gender violence; youth
22
At the end of 2013, the suicide of two Brazilian girls began an intense debate in
the media about the unauthorized dissemination of intimate images. The practice was
not new, but with the Internet the speed of dissemination of these materials gave it
new contours. That is why it gained even a name—the revenge porn—and proposals of
confrontation in the National Congress of Brazil.
Revenge porn refers to cases in which the former partner of a woman/a girl, upset
after the end of the relationship, releases images of her. Besides the name being quite
inadequate—would not the word revenge presume a previous damnable action? And
are we really talking about pornography? —our research over the past two years has
indicated that the phenomenon is much more diverse than it appears to be. It may
ultimately be related to frustrations of men’s expectations over women’s behavior, and
it may just have the purpose of humiliation, regardless of prior relationship. And yes,
women and girls, because we are clearly dealing with a problem that affects them,
whether in the regularity of practice or in the severity of the consequences.1
In this line of catching the problem by its complexity, the “Top 10” is an emblematic
example. The widespread practice (although little known to adults) is a “ranking” of
girls, usually between 12 and 15 years old, by groups of boys in a school or community,
according to their alleged sexual behavior. They are listed out by the boys and referred to
as “sluttiest”: in videos, images of the girls are exposed with phrases on their behavior,
involving or not nudity, depending on the context in which they are disseminated—
some platforms such as YouTube and Facebook do not keep nude images online.
Common in diverse school contexts and

throughout Brazil, the “Top 10” became known
outside the spaces where it was practiced in IN VIDEOS, IMAGES OF
May 2015, when the media gave attention to THE GIRLS ARE EXPOSED
suicides and other problems faced by girls in WITH PHRASES ON THEIR
two peripheries2 in the extreme south of the city BEHAVIOR, INVOLVING
of São Paulo: Grajaú and Parelheiros. With the OR NOT NUDITY
notoriety that the cases have gained, feminist
1 We have been giving attention to the issue through empirical studies in InternetLab since
2015. In 2016, we published the book “The Body is the Code: legal strategies to face revenge porn in
Brazil” (“O Corpo é o Código: estratégias jurídicas de enfrentamento ao revenge porn no Brasil”) about
the jurisprudence of the State of São Paulo on the topic. We also led a case study on the “Top 10”,
which we will deal with later, and analyzed the legislative and public policy proposals. One of the
data we found was that, in the Court of Justice of the State of São Paulo, more than 90 % of the
cases (these are cases of the victim against the aggressor, or against application service provider)
referred to the dissemination of images of girls and women. This absolute predominance is also
easily perceived by mere observation. The book can be downloaded for free at http://tinyurl.com/
z9gpwhu (available only in Portuguese). For a specific and briefer reflection on the treatment given
by Justice to cases involving teenagers, see the article “Terra Com Lei” published by us in Revista
E-Sesc in June 2016: <http://tinyurl.com/zft438a> (available only in Portuguese)
2 Reviewer’s note: in Brazilian Portuguese (original language of this article), the noun periferia
(periphery), besides the literal meaning, denotes the regions of a city that are far away from the
urban center. In general, it is about neighborhoods lacking infrastructure and urban services,
23
activists in these regions managed to bring the debate to the Legislative Assembly of
the State of São Paulo, where a public hearing was held,3. They also proposed debates in
the communities themselves, from events such as a Feminist Graffiti4 to group chats
with teenagers. In these spaces, individuals have a space to denounce the aspects which
up until now had garnered little discussed in the public sphere: the limited access of
teenagers to the justice system, and the lack of control over the narrative of their stories
of violence and abuse.
In the case study we conducted on the “Top 10” in 2015, we interviewed and
maintained contact with the Women in Fight Collective (Coletivo Mulheres na Luta), a
women’s group in the Grajaú neighborhood, and the Sowing Rights Project (Sementeiras
de Direitos), from the Community Library Paths of Reading of Paralheiros (Biblioteca
Comunitária Caminhos da Leitura de Parelheiros), two neighborhoods of the South Zone
of São Paulo. The view of professionals and activists has guided our analysis of the
problem,5 but it overflows widely. Their voices are sources for an in-depth understanding
of the use and appropriation of Information and Communication Technologies by
young Brazilians from the peripheries, about the relationship between Internet, abuse,
and emancipation, and about the role and problems of traditional media approaches to
this type of violence.
Thus, already from contacts and the analyses developed over time, we proposed
an interview with representatives of the two projects, which shed light on issues such
as the criminalization of the youth living in the peripheries, the distant relationship
between the communities in which they are inserted with legal operators, the role of
educational initiatives, and a diagnosis of the need for interlocution between the fields
of gender and sexuality (with a vision for other social markers) and Internet policies.
The publication of this interview is another step in this approach.6
Researchers: In 2015, the media began reporting cases of possible suicides

involving the practice of “Top 10” in schools in São Paulo. We already know today
that the practice had been going on for a while, before that, and the dramatic
consequences in the lives of those affected as well. What do you think caused the
media to report these cases all of a sudden?
inhabited by low-income families. We decided to keep the use of the term in its direct translation
to demarcate the comprehensiveness of the expression in its original context.
3 See brief report on “Wave of videos with degrading content against teenagers is discussed in
the Humans Rights Comission”, https://goo.gl/R5MfzC (Portuguese only)
4 See action details on the video hosted on the Grajaú Women in fight Collective page on
Facebook: <https://goo.gl/liUcwK> (Portuguese only)
5 In addition to the book “The Body is the Code”, we also recommend reading the article “Not
revenge, not porn: analysing the exposure of teenage girls online in Brazil” (see references). A
translation to Portuguese is available here: <http://tinyurl.com/z6k6esr>
6 We also thank the collaboration of the researcher Juliana Pacetta Ruiz in the assembly of
this interview.
24
Community Library Reading Paths/Sowing Rights: We believe the media has begun
reporting “Top 10” cases in response to pressure from feminist social movements in the
territories where the cases occurred. Spontaneously, the theme would not appear or be
reported exclusively from the sexist7 and stereotyped look, which blames the “girls from
the peripheries” for the supposed exacerbated sexuality, for being shameless when they
let themselves be photographed in intimate situations... exposure news is not given in
the same tone when the victim is a famous actress. The pressure of feminist collectives
and alternative media brought the issue to the mainstream press.
Women in Fight Collective: The hegemonic media is opportunistic; we believe

that in the case of the “Top 10” it is no different. First, the masses, organizations, and
militants from the peripheries of the far south of São Paulo started discussing the deaths
of these teenagers, what the practice of the “Top 10” represented in the neighborhood,
and proposed actions of great visibility. The hegemonic media only began to report the
“Top 10” after this movement promoted by militants and workers from the peripheries,
which, in addition to shrines, graffiti, and discussions, also boosted the creation of a
CPI (Parliamentary Investigation Commission). During this period there was a great
presence of the mainstream media, which
mostly reported the agenda in a non-careful
way, and that directly and indirectly encouraged
access to these videos, disseminating images of THE MAINSTREAM
the victims taken from the Top 10 videos found MEDIA ARE LOOKING
on the Internet and only using as a prevention FOR STORIES TO SELL.
mode of identification of these girls a black AND AT THE TIME, SOME
stripe over the eyes, which obviously did not JOURNALISTS, INSTEAD
prevent identification by neighbors, colleagues, OF RELATING THE TOP
and acquaintances. This media also sought 10 DEBATE TO SEXISM,
out the collectives and organizations that PREFERRED TO TREAT
participated in the Top 10 discussions, asking for
IT AS IF IT WERE ONE OF
the contact information of the victims’ families
THE TRAGEDIES OF THE
and the teenagers themselves, without worrying
PERIPHERY
about the revictimization of these people and
the negative exposure they could have in their
communities. In reporting “Top 10” cases, the
media also opened gaps for the criminalization of the teenagers who produced the
videos, disregarding the “Top 10” as a problem of a patriarchal, homophobic, normative
structure that includes responsibility of the State to the end of this practice, summing
it up (“Top 10”) to a crime problem. With the exception of the periphery media and those
more committed to poor people, such as the journalism group Periphery in Motion
(Periferia em Movimento) and TV of Workers (TV dos Trabalhadores, [TVT]), none of the
media was open or kept interested in continuing to discuss the “Top 10” issue after they
were overshadowed by topics of greater visibility, even though the “Top 10” continues
happening in the same proportions and gains new faces, forms of disclosure, and
victims every day. We have not seen any reports or stories launched by the mainstream
7 Translator’s note: the original term in Portuguese was “machista”.
25
media in recent months, a fact that reinforces their opportunistic nature, which only
deals with the periphery interests when they are convenient.
Researchers: You told us in an interview in the past that the approach of

journalists when they came for the agenda was not necessarily the most respectful.
What do you think were the impacts of this mediatization on the “Top 10” problem?
Were there positive sides too?
Women in Fight Collective: In the Grajaú, the impacts were more negative than
positive. We cannot deny that the media gave visibility to the issue and, in a way,
provoked the population to debates in informal spaces (buses, supermarket) ... There
was also a CPI on the Top 10, but honestly, we do not know very well how it is since we
had difficulty following closely. The media gave a certain focus to this issue and made
adults think “Does it exist?”. Negatively we can see this side of the criminalization of
poor, mostly black youth. There is a punitive discourse in our society, and the media has
promoted it with the “Top 10” as well.
Community Library Pathways to Reading/Sowing Rights: Generally, the

mainstream media are looking for stories to sell. And at the time, some journalists,
instead of relating the Top 10 debate to sexism, preferred to treat it as if it were one of
the tragedies of the periphery when, in fact, it is a phenomenon that is also happening
in private schools. Because what is behind is sexism, misogyny, which exist among
social classes. The good part of the media talking about the topic is that it reaches
other audiences, puts the discussion out there, and shows that there is a problem. We
believe that when the mainstream media brings these kinds of reflections, it helps to
deconstruct what is naturalized. School administrators, for example, started to place a
little more importance on the subject, after it was approached by the media.
Researchers: It seems to us, too, that the media gave special attention, at that
moment, to the cases that were happening in Parelheiros and Grajaú, peripheries
in the outskirts of São Paulo. But because of other specific matters, or cases that
come to us, we know well that the unauthorized dissemination of intimate images
is a problem that affects several social classes, and even other age groups, beyond
adolescence. Do you think that the cases in Grajaú and Parelheiros, which you
accompany, have particularities, due to the age group and the locality?
Community Library Pathways to Reading/Sowing Rights: Yes, we believe that it

was noted that in a predominantly rural periphery region, such as Parelheiros, the
“Top 10” phenomenon was happening. The city of São Paulo knows very little about
Parelheiros; some people from São Paulo believe that springs and indigenous villages
summarize the region. They do not. Among the specificities of Parelheiros, there is not
reducing pregnancy in adolescence, placing them among the highest indexes in the
city. In Parelheiros there is also the lowest indices of public services. All this, we believe,
surprised and caught the attention of the media.
Women in Fight Collective: We believe that the particularities, in this case, are
the fact that we are talking about teenagers exposing teenagers, and the responsibility
26
of these boys should be directed to the field of reflection

on this act. I mean, not only in the sense of pointing to THE USE OF
“Internet exposure is a crime,” but to inform the impact TECHNOLOGIES
that the exposure of these girls’ sexuality generates in AS A TOOL FOR
their lives forever. Our collective believes in reflection DENUNCIATION,
and transformation, and the punitive system does not INFORMATION,
foster reflection, it only fosters the imprisonment of black TRAINING AND
youth. We also think that, besides making the people who
MOBILIZATION
create these videos responsible, through socio-educational
IS NEEDED AND
proposals and real sexuality education (!), it is necessary to
INEVITABLE
think about hosting the pain and anguish of these exposed
girls. This subject also relates to mental health.
Researchers: A question that seemed to us always very important was that

when we did our research, we interviewed several agents of the justice system who
worked in the peripheries of São Paulo. We question these agents, always, about the
problem of the dissemination of non-consensual intimate pictures in their area of
performance. Sometimes, and there were not that many, we received a response in
the sense of “this is not a problem here, because the young people around here do
not have mobiles phones/do not have Internet”, which seems to reveal a great lack
of knowledge about the reality of use of technology by young people, including in
the urban peripheries. How would you respond to such a statement? And how have
you seen the appropriation of the digital technologies by the young people you work
with? Is there any reflection being built around this?
Women in Fight Collective: Before answering this question, our exclamations were
“humpf”. For it is interesting to see how alienated these agents are from the reality
with which they work. We have mobiles phones, we access the Internet, we are in this
technological context as well. Of course, we have several difficulties to access the “virtual
world”, because in some regions the signal is bad or Internet companies refuse to install
it, but the peripheries do have a mobile phone, Internet and produce knowledge using
these media. This phrase is loaded with prejudice and a caricature view of the peripheries.
We wondered “who are these agents?” And “what kind of Justice this agent promote?”
Community Library Pathways to Reading/Sowing Rights: We believe that the

justice agents interviewed by you are misinformed. Despite being a rural region, about
50 km from the city center, and without public and cultural facilities... the technology
has arrived. Mobile phones have arrived a long time ago, occupied the space abandoned
by the State, offering public service of communication. In our perception, the use of
technologies as a tool for denunciation, information, training and mobilization is
needed and inevitable. It is obvious that we must always reflect on the uses. That is,
technology is part of our daily lives, but we need to think about ways to use them
to increase access to rights and citizenship. In the Library, we have reflected on how
these technological tools can contribute to promoting reflection and changes in our
community. We reflect on how technology can bring people together rather than isolate
them. We want to use technologies and their various resources as means to humanize
27
rather than dehumanize. Thinking about the Top 10, we created a methodology for
the deconstruction of stereotypes on the Internet: we picked up sexist phrases that
circulated on social networks and we met to think about answers and share on the
Internet. We have created a WhatsApp group to discuss and share themes related to
women’s rights, deconstruction of sexism and misogyny. This has been our way of
provoking the reflection that technology, the Internet, social networks can be our allies
and not our enemy or “weapon” to destroy and humiliate others.
Researchers: Although the topic of safe Internet use by youths has been
approached by experts in the legal and technological field, issues of gender and
sexuality on young people still seem to emerge timidly in these debates. We would
like you to tell us about the experience of your groups, considering your focus on
sexual education, and to comment on how this approach can contribute to policies
and actions to address the problem.
Community Library Pathways to Reading/Sowing Rights: The group chats in the

Sowing Rights group have been a space for the promotion of empathy and empowerment
of women. As we talk, share our pains, our scars, our fears, and also our achievements,
our strategies, we realize that we are not alone. And that none of us are so weak that we
cannot support another to walk, to move, to climb. It has been a rich space for learning
about women’s rights and building paths for collective action and community engagement.
In this group, there are men at various moments. We are convinced that men need to be
involved in this story. They need to learn not to rape, not to threaten. This year (2017), we
will start exclusive group chats with men, boys, teenagers and youths. At this moment, it
is happening some new edition of the “Top 10”. It even has the Top 15, including pregnant
girls, sometimes exposed dressed, but disqualified as
“sluts,” and publicly dehumanized on social networks.
We will also have conversations with educators and other WE ARE CONVINCED
professionals who must protect and guarantee the rights
THAT MEN NEED TO
of girls and women. We use technology, but one resource
BE INVOLVED IN THIS
that we do not give up is the book; informative, historical
STORY
and literary books are always present in our meetings, to
strengthen our roots and to boost our flights.
Women in Fight Collective: We have thought that neither these experts address
sexuality and gender nor have we addressed the safe use of the Internet. Perhaps
because we are acting right in the street, and with poor signal of mobile Internet, or
prioritize the contact face-to-face, often we do not approach our fight for the gender
equity of the technological questions. Among us, we discussed the need to bring the two
reflections, which are in fact a single one: the freedom and security of girls and women,
wherever they are (real or virtual). Recently we created a video called “I already sent
nudes”, and even the text that follows this video was created by Natália Neris [one of the
interviewers]. We are crawling in the discovery of this virtual world and the discussions
around it, but we know the importance of respecting privacy and guaranteeing security
in that environment.
Article originally written in Portuguese
28
_REFERENCES
Valente, M. G., Neris, N., & Bulgarelli, L. (2015). Not revenge, not porn: analysing the
exposure of teenage girls online in Brazil. Global Information Society Watch: Sexual
rights and the Internet. p. 74-79. Retrieved from <http://tinyurl.com/jdzod7p>
Valente, M. G., Neris, N., Ruiz, J., & Bulgarelli, L. (2016). O Corpo é o Código: estratégias
jurídicas de enfrentamento ao revenge porn no Brasil. São Paulo: InternetLab.
Retrieved from <http://tinyurl.com/z9gpwhu>
Valente, M.G., & Neris, N. (2016). Terra com Lei. Revista E-SESC, 241. Retrieved from
<https://goo.gl/CakhMK>
Jornal TVT (2015). Grajaú tem grafitaço feminista contra “Top 10” e machismo. Rede
TVT. Retrieved from <https://goo.gl/j7Bj0d>
Material produced by the collectives:
“I already sent nudes” (“Eu já mandei nude”), by the Women in Fight Collective.
Retrieved from <https://goo.gl/kOvmuH>
“Out Top 10 is feminist” (“Nosso TOP 10 é feminista”), by the Women in Fight Collective.
Retrieved from <https://goo.gl/kI64BE>
“Feminist Graffiti” (“Grafitaço Feminista”), by the Women in Fight Collective. Retrieved

from <https://goo.gl/ubrk56>
“WhatsApp Top 10 – Grajaú vs. Parelheiros – Abayomi Aba Campaign in favor of an

Alive Youth Black” (“TOP 10 do Whatsapp – Grajaú vs Parelheiros – Campanha Abayomi
Aba pela Juventude Negra Viva”). Retrieved from <https://goo.gl/GB55P> and <https://
goo.gl/T7PE1P>
29
MARIANA GIORGETTI VALENTE

Graduate, Master and Doctorate in Law
from the University of São Paulo (USP). She
was a visiting researcher at UC Berkeley
and is a researcher at the Center for
Law and Democracy (Núcleo de Direito e
Democracia) at Brazilian Center for Analysis
and Planning (Centro Brasileiro de Análise e
Planejamento, Cebrap).
NATÁLIA NERIS
Graduated in Public Policy Management
from the University of São Paulo (USP),
Master in Law from Getúlio Vargas
Foundation (FGV). She is a researcher at the
Center for Law and Democracy (Núcleo de
Direito e Democracia) at Brazilian Center for
Analysis and Planning (Centro Brasileiro de
Análise e Planejamento, Cebrap).
30
ACCESS AND
DIVERSITY
ACCESS AND DIVERSITY _ HUDSON LUPES RIBEIRO DE SOUZA
CONNECTING THE NEXT

BILLION...TO WHOM?
HUDSON LUPES RIBEIRO DE SOUZA

Graduating in computing engineering, Federal University of
Espírito Santo
hlupes@gmail.com
Brazil
32
_THEMATIC
Access and diversity

Digital inclusion
_ABSTRACT
This article brings the importance of a digital inclusion that

acts to democratize critical and autonomous awareness on
the use of information and communication technologies. We
support free software as a tool to ensure production of free
and shareable knowledge, essential step in the fulfillment of
both social and digital inclusions. It is also emphasized the
responsibility of governments, the private sector, and civil
society in order to preserve plural and representative spaces of
debate in Internet Governance — spaces that should consider
and embrace youth’s opinions and also highlight digital
inclusion in the expansion of Internet access.
Keywords: digital inclusion; Internet governance; free software
33
Workers who use their skills to create, generate and disseminate new knowledge
characterize the information society1. This technological society, socially organized in
the generation, processing and transmission of information, creates every day new
sources of market-demand productivity as a globalization requirement. It is based on
the intellectual development of individuals, who fulfill tasks to generate new knowledge
and skills that contribute to technological innovation, which is the leading engine of
world economic development (Alonso, Ferneda, & Santana, 2010). Therefore, it is from this
society and the capitalist system (that organizes and defines those workers) that issues
such as digital inclusion, freedom of expression, cybersecurity and privacy appear.
1_WHY INCLUDE?
The notion that individuals and nations will be “left behind” if they do not effectively
use Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has become strong as an
argument to justify the need to provide access to them — a strategy for persuasion of
those who are allegedly less aware of the crucial importance of technology. Turning lack
of interest in participation and people offline in ICT users become mandatory, and there
is no option aside from being included (Cogo, Dutra-Brignol, & Fragoso, 2014). Thus, the
Internet has emerged as the main tool to increase the globalized power of connection and
has already reached more than 3 billion people in the world (Internet Live Stats, 2017).
The concern of countries with the massification of broadband has a strong

economic bias. This infrastructure, without cost increase, is essential for modernizing
the economy, increasing productivity (especially
for small and medium-sized companies), ensuring
the competitiveness of economies in the globalized
RATHER THAN world, increasing labor skills through e-learning and
EXPERIMENTING expanding public services via the Internet (Dias, 2011).
WITH CURIOSITY,
RESEARCH AND As a rule, the purpose of digital inclusion initiatives
PRODUCTION, has been granting network access to minority groups
THESE PROJECTS who would find it very difficult to acquire and use ICTs
on their own. However, the will of those target groups
TURN THE ONLINE
to be included and their own understanding of what is
EXPERIENCE
inclusion tends to remain ignored. Many state and civil
INTO SOMETHING
society sectors that develop social and digital inclusion
CENTRALIZED, projects and policies often assume as a premise the
AUTOMATED AND principle that all groups want to be “included” and that
DIRECTED they share the same understanding of what “inclusion”
would be like (Cogo, Dutra-Brignol, & Fragoso, 2014).
1 Society is not static. Quite the contrary, it is constantly changing, and so is contemporary
society, which is established in a process of change driven mainly by new technologies. Some
authors identify a new social paradigm based on a precious asset, the information. They assign
it with different names, such as Information Society (also called Knowledge Society or New
Economy), a concept emerged in the late 20th century (Information Society, n.d.).
34
“Digital inclusion” projects, such as Facebook’s Free Basics — quotation marks used
to ensure the interpretation of irony —, delimit what may or may not be accessed by the
user under the pretext of free access. Rather than experimenting with curiosity, research
and production, these projects turn the online experience into something centralized,
automated and directed. Furthermore, even without giving the user the ability to define
access content, Facebook says “the websites are available for free without data charges
and include content on things like news, employment, health, education and local
information. By introducing people to the benefits of the internet through these websites,
we hope to bring more people online and help improve their lives” (Internet.org, 2017).
The availability of broadband, wireless connectivity, telecentres and mobile is

no guarantee that isolated persons will have a voice, that the poor will be rich, that
those marginalized will participate and that the devoid may be productive. Access
to technology does not promise that governments will allow greater freedom of
information and expression, that communication rights will be strengthened or even
that citizens will participate when they have an opportunity (West, 2007).
Silveira (2008) points out that digital emancipation advances a crucial issue, which
is the risk of digital inclusion ending up serving only for the expansion of the consumer
market for technology products and services. This may happen when digital inclusion
is limited to digital literacy, teaching the mechanical use of computer programs and
access to the Internet, preparing the student solely to know how to type a text and set
up a worksheet, and thereby, perform these tasks in the job market.
2_WHAT IS DIGITAL INCLUSION?
Digital Inclusion nowadays refers to the

population’s access to the digital world, in order to
CURRENTLY,
equate potentialities in a world diversified in geography
DIGITAL INCLUSION
or age, or whether socially and intellectually. This is an
PROGRAMS AROUND attempt to not only guarantee training of individuals
THE WORLD SHOW to use a device, but also to promote the practice of the
THAT THE ACTIONS rights guaranteed to each citizen, such as education,
SHOULD PRIORITIZE access to information and participation in the activities
COMMUNITY of the social nucleus that they are part of, ensuring
ENGAGEMENT the construction of their citizenship. The inclusion
of a society in the digital world should start from the
need to build a society of knowledge and easy, critical,
open and democratic access to information. Currently, digital inclusion programs around
the world show that the actions should prioritize community engagement, working in
a language accessible to diverse groups and meeting local needs (Lemos, & Costa, 2007).
Therefore, it is vital to reformulate digital inclusion projects and programs so they can
achieve empowerment, critical sense and meaningful learning 2.
2 According to Marco Antônio Moreira, meaningful learning is a process whereby new

information relates, in a substantive (non-literal) and non-arbitrary way to a relevant aspect of
the knowledge structure of the individual”. In other words, the new knowledge acquired is related
to the previous knowledge that the student possesses (Moreira apud Meaningful Learning, n.d.).
35
Warschauer (2002) argues that success when implementing a digital inclusion

project depends on combining four different factors:
1. Physical Resources: involve access to computers and telecommunications

connections;
2. Digital Resources: refers to digital material available online;
3. Human Resources: relates to issues such as literacy and education (including

the kinds of literacy required for computer use and online communication;
4. Social resources: community, institutional and social structures that support

access to ICT.
Inclusion means the capacity of free appropriation of tools. It is about creating

conditions for the development of critical, autonomous and creative thinking regarding
new information and communication technologies (Lemos, & Costa, 2007).
3_THE IMPORTANCE OF FREE SOFTWARE
A software has the power to completely define our communication; furthermore, its
design, functions, operations and interfaces are defined by programmers, who create
and keep it updated. The code, in general, is closed and incomprehensible to those who
use the software. It is an obscure, not transparent thing. The main software market was
structured around a property remuneration model designed by the denial of access to
the knowledge of its logically linked routines (Silveira, 2014).
From this perspective, how can individuals be included if they learn to use a
software but cannot know how it actually works?
In addition, how can inclusion projects propose a
contact between “marginalized” individuals and
proprietary software that is expensive enough to THE FREE SOFTWARE
make its use impossible to them? MOVEMENT IS
A CONCEPT OF
Although neglected by governments and COLLECTIVITY,
sometimes ignored by companies, the alternative WHERE ONE SEEKS
to an aware and collaborative inclusion is the
TO ENSURE THAT
use of Free Software. According to Teixeira (2010),
SOMEONE WILL
accepting the Free Software philosophy is accepting
NOT APPROPRIATE
the challenge of being an author, recognizing
themselves as a node of a collaborative network
THE PRODUCT OF
that, through reflexive experiences of authorship COLLECTIVE EFFORTS
and co-authoring, is refined and improved in a
dynamic of temporary autonomy.
A Free Software is characterized by the offer of four basic freedoms: (0) the freedom
to use the program, for any purpose; (1) the freedom to study how the program works,
being able to adapt it to its own needs; access to the source code is a precondition for
36
this; (2) the freedom to redistribute copies to help others; (3) the freedom to improve
the program and make it accessible to the general public; access to the source code is a
precondition for this (Open Suse, 2017).
The Free Software movement is a concept of collectivity, where one seeks to ensure
that someone will not appropriate the product of collective efforts; instead, it will be
controlled not only by the collectivity itself, but by the public domain (Almeida, & Riccio,
2011). In addition to the cooperative way of working, it is also about seeking, adding and
modifying what was said, written or recorded without a proprietary logic and without
the dynamics of accumulation and secrecy (Lemos, 2004).
Full access to a source code, one of the explicit freedoms of the Free Software,
implies giving up the “power” of the property in the name of the collective (Almeida,
& Riccio, 2011). It is from this kind of detachment that possibilities of free production
and construction of content, knowledge and programs arise, which must be done from
initiatives that present opportunities and possibilities of democratization arranged
through the use and development of the Free Software. Therefore, only digital inclusion
programs that ensure their learning process based on free, open and free tools, in fact,
promote the creation of accessible and shareable knowledge.
4_FROM INCLUSION TO GOVERNANCE
Undoubtedly, the Internet plays an important role in the development and

emancipation of social relations. Besides, it runs as an agent of transmission of content,
information and technology that expands every day. Because it is a large and embracing
network, it is necessary to involve individuals and collectives in the constitution of a
socially useful and purposeful tool.
From this, the Internet Governance (IG)3 plays a key role: to unite the private sector,
governments, academy and civil society to think and carry out actions to define the
evolution of a free, decentralized and accessible Internet.
The spaces of Internet Governance debate are the first that should be inclusive. After
all, why debate about governance and inclusion of “others” if, even before that debate,
they are already excluded? With this, it takes place, right there in spaces intended to
horizontalize Internet debating, the exclusion of realities which are subject to policies.
Unknown policies to rejected people. It is necessary for IG debate spaces to become more
plural, democratic and representative!
According to the “Youth@IGF 2015” Declaration, endorsed by youths from all over
Latin America and the Caribbean during the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) of 2015
in Brazil, access to ICTs should take place “[...] ensuring the inclusion of the vulnerable
youth population through an unlimited, affordable and quality access”; it can become
“an effective tool to for social and human development in the region” (Youth Observatory,
3 Internet Governance is the development and application by governments, the private sector, and
civil society in their respective roles of shared principles, norms, rules, decision-making procedures,
and programs that shape the evolution and use of the Internet (Internet Governance, n.d.).
37
2015). In this context, it is essential to reassure the importance of Latin American youths’
protagonism in the policymaking process, both in the government’s legislative spaces
and in forums and congresses, as well as in the execution of digital inclusion projects.
It should be highlighted that young people are not the future of governance, but rather
the present; from the perspective of young people throughout LAC, we can create a more
democratic and accessible Internet.
It is up to Internet Governance and all its stakeholders to demand and execute

policies to benefit local developments and guarantee the right to the digital inclusion,
a right that must be ensured, respecting the plurality and the regional cultural
specificities, while promoting freedom of expression, open public data, accountability
of governments, democratization of information and literacy.
If the IG community does not consider from the beginning that its processes
should be accessible and that achieving it requires reinvention, then not even the rights
of the billions of people already connected will get expanded. Connecting even a few
people demands thinking of Internet Governance from the Digital Inclusion approach.
_REFERENCES
Almeida, D., & Riccio, N. C. R. (2011). Autonomia, Liberdade e Software Livre: algumas
reflexões. In Bonilla, M. H. S., & Pretto, N. D. L. (Orgs.) Inclusão digital: polêmica
contemporânea. Salvador: EDUFBA. p. 127-144
Alonso, L. B. N., Ferneda, E., & Santana, G. P. (2010). Inclusão digital e inclusão social:
contribuições teóricas e metodológicas. Barbaroi, (32). p. 154-177. Retrieved from <http://
pepsic.bvsalud.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0104-65782010000100010>
Cogo, D., Dutra-Brignol, L., & Fragoso, S. (2014). Práticas cotidianas de acesso às TIC:
outro modo de compreender a inclusão digital. Palabra Clave, 18(1), p. 156-183. Retrieved
from <https://dx.doi.org/10.5294/pacla.2015.18.1.7>
Dias, L. R. (2011). Inclusão digital como fator de inclusão social. In Bonilla, M. H. S., &
Pretto, N. D. L. (Orgs.) Inclusão digital: polêmica contemporânea. Salvador: EDUFBA. pp.
61-90.
Information and Communication Technologies (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved

on July 13, 2017, from <https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tecnologias_da_
informa%C3%A7%C3%A3o_e_comunica%C3%A7%C3%A3o>
Information Society (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved on July 13, 2017, from <https://
pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociedade_da_informa%C3%A7%C3%A3o>
38
Internet Governance (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved on July 13, 2017, from <https://
pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governan%C3%A7a_da_Internet>
Internet Live Stats (2017). Internet Users. Retrieved from <http://www.internetlivestats.

com/internet-users>
Internet.org (2017). Free Basics By Facebook. Retrieved from <https://info.internet.org/

pt/story/free-basics-from-internet-org/>
Lemos, A. (2004). Cibercultura, cultura e identidade: em direção a uma “Cultura

Copyleft”? Contemporânea: Revista de Comunicação e Cultura, 2(2).
Lemos, A., & Costa, L. (2007). Um modelo de inclusão digital. O caso da cidade de
Salvador. In Lemos, A. (Org.). Cidade Digital: portais, inclusão e redes no Brasil.
Salvador: EDUFBA. pp. 35-48.
Moreira, M. A. apud Meaningful Learning (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved on July 13,

2017, from <https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aprendizagem_significativa>
Open Suse. Software Livre e de Código Aberto. Retrieved from <https://pt.opensuse.org/

Software_Livre_e_de_C%C3%B3digo_Aberto>
Silveira, S. A. (2008). A noção de exclusão digital diante das exigências de uma

cibercidadania. In Hetkowski, T. M. (Org.). Políticas públicas & inclusão digital.
Salvador: EDUFBA.
Silveira, S. A. (2014). Para Analisar o Poder Tecnológico Como Poder Político. In Silveira,
S. A., Braga, S., & Penteado, C. (Orgs.) Cultura, política e ativismo nas redes digitais. São
Paulo: Editora Fundação Perseu Abramo.
Teixeira, A. C. (2010). Inclusão digital: novas perspectivas para a informática educativa.

Ijuí: Editora Unijuí.
Warschauer, M. (2002). Reconceptualizing the Digital Divide. First Monday, 7(7).

Retrieved from <http://journals.uic.edu/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/967/888>
West, A. R. (2007). Technology Related Dangers: The Issue of Development and Security
for Marginalized Groups in South Africa. The Journal of Community Informatics, 2(3).
Retrieved from <http://ci-journal.net/index.php/ciej/article/view/272>
Youth Observatory (2015). Youth@IGF 2015 Declaration. Retrieved from <http://igf2015.

br/declaration/
39
HUDSON LUPES RIBEIRO DE SOUZA

Cycling activist, blogger, participant in
extension programs, militant and student
of Computer Engineering at the Federal
University of Espírito Santo (UFES). Born in
Guarapari, State of Espírito Santo, Brazil,
he is a former member of the Digital
Citizenship Center at UFES (NCD-UFES, by
its initials in Portuguese), where he had the
first approach with researching on digital
inclusion and where he also met, through
an NCD friend, Internet Governance and the
Youth@IGF Program. He took part, in 2016,
in the founding of the Youth Observatory.
40
ACCESS AND DIVERSITY _ JULIANA DE FREITAS GONÇALVES
OPEN DATA AND THE

POWER OF VIGILANT
CITIZENS
JULIANA DE FREITAS GONÇALVES

Student of Digital Communication at the University of Vale do Rio
dos Sinos
julianadfg@gmail.com
Brazil
41
_THEMATIC
Access and diversity

Multistakeholder Cooperation
_ABSTRACT
The Access to Information Law, which is in force in Brazil

since 2012, allows any private individual or legal entity to have
access to public data. That law, along with the technological
development and the protests that took place in the country
since 2013 supported the increase of non-profit initiatives
that gather volunteers interested in taking a more engaged
role within the Public Power. While this process considerably
empowers citizens, it still has numerous flaws and it is
insufficient when it comes to supporting a more qualified and
participative citizenship.
Keywords: open data; citizenship; Public Power
42
The Brazilian Access to Information Law, or Law number 12.527 (2011), was created
to make the public administration more transparent and efficient, to increase social
participation and monitoring, as well as decrease current corruption levels. In force
since May 2012, the law allows any person or legal entity to have access to public data.
The law encompasses the three powers (Judiciary, Legislative, and Executive) at the
municipal, state and federal levels, Courts of Auditors, Public Prosecution Offices and
non-profit private entities. It also guarantees the citizens access to information for free
and without the need for explicit reasons.
The concept of public data stems from a definition by the United Nations (UN),
which classifies the access to information as a fundamental human right, an already
internationally established idea by the Declaration of Human Rights. Information
is a key point for the development of citizenship, allowing citizens to be engaged in
policies; information is also a basic requirement for the legitimization of democratic
governments. Furthermore, the technological progress is at the heart of the increase of
open data adoption through transparency portals, whether due to the new possibilities
of storage and organization, or the new ways in which relationships are established
between the citizen and the state. These relationships have been created by means that
facilitate the communication between both parts in a way that is substantially faster
and more dynamic – mainly if we consider social media. The Internet’s ecosystem
promotes environments more open to debate, and it encourages more citizens who
are willing to discuss multiple subjects to be engaged, given the facility to find any
kind of information from a search engine. These new technical possibilities, combined
with the recent troubling cases of corruption in Brazil – placed the 79th position in
the ranking of corruption perception in the world in
2016, a worsening of three positions compared to the
previous year (Salomão, 2017) – help to increase the
THE CONCEPT OF
citizenship awareness framework of the population,
PUBLIC DATA STEMS
which understands the importance and the strength
of its role as a monitoring agent of public affairs. The
FROM A DEFINITION
Brazilian Access to Information Law is another step BY THE UNITED
towards social encouragement. NATIONS (UN),
WHICH CLASSIFIES
Combined with the popular movements started THE ACCESS TO
in Brazil since 2013 – which brought into the political
INFORMATION AS
arena an ‘empowerment’ of entities until then
A FUNDAMENTAL
restricted to an audience with a higher education
HUMAN RIGHT
(Meirelles, 2017) –, is expected that all these available
resources provide permanently grow of the number of
citizens engaged in monitoring public. An increase in the non-profit initiatives that
bring together those interested in being more active in monitoring public expenditures
is also expected. In Brazil, some of these initiatives include:
1. Social Observatory of Brazil (Observatório Social do Brasil)1: a network of

about three thousand volunteers in 19 Brazilian states, trained and technically
1 Available at <http://osbrasil.org.br/>
43
supported to supervise the use of public funds in the municipal spheres. The
focus of the organization is the fiscal control of purchases, contracts, and
other expenses made and taken by public administrations. According to the
Observatory, this work save more than R$ 300 million annually (about 91
million dollars);
2. Operation Supervised Politics (Operação Política Supervisionada)2: an NGO with

over four thousand volunteers across the country and abroad that primarily
monitors the expenditures of the Quota for the Exercise of Parliamentary
Activity – a compensation budget for members of parliament and senators.
That quota is available for the politicians in the activities undertaken as part
of the exercise of their mandate, namely food and accommodation expenses,
amounts which are released once the respective expenses are proven. According
to the organization’s website, more than R$ 5.5 million (about 1.67 million
dollars) of public funds have been saved so far;
3. Love Serenade Operation (Operação Serenata de Amor)3: also focused

on monitoring the expenditures with the Quota for the Exercise of the
Parliamentary Activity. The organization uses artificial intelligence in a robot
called Rosie, programmed in Python, which identifies suspicious money
returns to be subsequently audited through human labor. In terms of figures,
until the middle of February 2016, more than 500 reports had already been
made and more than R$ 3,000 (about 910 dollars) had already been returned to
public accounts;
4. Open Accounts Association (Associação Contas Abertas)4: an association that

monitors the expenditures of the Union, encompassing the three powers –
Executive, Legislative and Judiciary. It also offers advisory and training so that
society, in general, may specialize in monitoring public budgets and finances..
All these initiatives use the Brazilian Access

to Information Law to oppose spending, improve
management and stop irregular practices. The very OF UTMOST
existence of the law already works as an obstacle for IMPORTANCE IS
politicians who wish to engage in illicit conducts, since QUALIFIED ACCESS
every data is made publicly available. However, that TO THE DATA
alone is not yet sufficient and ideal to handle the entire
situation. With all this available data, it is necessary
that the ability to analyze it increases as well. This is important not only when it comes
to creating new initiatives, but also regarding resources and infrastructure that are
compatible with the ever-growing demand for data to be scrutinized. It is essential to
keep going the increase in the interest of the citizens, which goes on being encouraged
2 Available at <https://luciobig.com.br/>
3 Available at <https://serenatadeamor.org/>
4 Website of the Association available at <http://www.contasabertas.com.br/>
44
by the outrage with recent events – such as the Operation “Car Wash” (Operação Lava
Jato)5 –, but, to that end, some changes must still take place.
Of utmost importance is qualified access to the data; a certain level of professionalism

is necessary so that citizens may understand how to reach the information and
adequately use it. This movement also includes more accessible language and user-
friendly interfaces on the transparency websites. Data that cannot be found or worked
on loses its usefulness and harm the initial objective of transparency – which only
exists when citizens can actually use what they hold in their hands.
In a newspaper article published on the Gazeta do Povo in February 2017 (Brembatti,

& Marchiori, 2017), the importance of perfecting the citizens’ ability to analyze public
data is demonstrated. Débora Sögur Hous, a student at the Federal University of
Paraná (UFPR), used the Transparency Portal of the Federal Government6 to monitor its
payments to the university. She found some information that seemed strange, but it
took a deeper knowledge of the matter so that the suspicions could be confirmed. Débora
took two courses at the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Abraji), two
at the Brazilian Bar Association (Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil) and a workshop with
a group of journalists called Livre.jor7. According to the article, it was only then that the
student was able to turn visible an entire network of suspicious payments, which ended
up being confirmed later, through an operation developed by the Federal Police, called
Operation Research, and which ended with the imprisonment of 29 individuals.
Another skill becoming increasingly necessary and is already considered the new
way of alphabetization in a connected world, is coding. Initiatives such as the Serenade
of Love Operation show how useful and efficient an algorithm can be in dealing with
the gigantic quantity of available data in a way that conventional human labor could
never deliver. Furthermore, other forms of transparency that should be demanded from
governments require technical skills to, for example, audit algorithms used to make a
draw or in other official decisions. Citizens need to acknowledge and take hold of their
right to know; this also requires demanding public initiatives that turn these skills
into accessible tools that are available in a context of equality without economic, racial
or gender prejudice. This is another urgent matter in the struggle for the reduction of
inequality and for a better education.
Besides, even with all the progress concerning open data, we are still far from
having reached a satisfactory state of affairs. According to a report by the Ministry of
Transparency, Oversight and Comptroller-General of Brazil (2016), between 2012 and 2015,
the Brazilian Access to Information Law has been used for 334,463 requests of access,
of which 333,854 have received responses – an efficiency rate of 99.8 %, which includes
accepted, denied and non-responded requests. However, even with the existence of the
5 Reviewer’s note: Group of investigations run by the Federal Police of Brazil, ongoing since 2014,
aimed at identifying corruption and money laundering cases involving politicians and companies,
such as construction companies and Petrobras.
6 Available at <http://portaldatransparencia.gov.br/>
7 Available at <http://livre.jor.br/>
45
law, an important quantity of data is incorrect, missing or hard to understand. Along

with the difficulty to access the Internet in many places throughout Brazil, not every
data is available in the same place, even with the existence of an official website of the
very government for this purpose, which makes using this data difficult, and increases
the necessary time to find the desired information.
Another report, from the Web Foundation in partnership with Transparency

International, published in 2017, concludes that the open data policies in Brazil are
not yet satisfactorily aligned with the country’s anti-corruption efforts, given that the
available data has not been fully explored, not even by the very public servants of the
government; therefore, they are still simply regarded as a reporting and accountability
tool, rather than as an important weapon in the fight against corruption (Transparency
International, 2017).
Finally, it is necessary an increase in the awareness-raising and citizen engagement

regarding political matters, which goes beyond electing candidates every four years.
The search for a more qualified citizenship includes, currently, a discussion about
topics that are directly linked to Internet Governance, which have only reached a small
and insufficient audience for a country that calls itself democratic.
_REFERENCES
Brembatti, K, & Marchiori, R. (2017). Estudante detectou sozinha desvio milionário de

bolsas que a UFPR não viu. Gazeta do Povo. Vida e Cidadania. Retrieved from: <http://
www.gazetadopovo.com.br/vida-e-cidadania/estudante-detectou-sozinha-desvio-
milionario-de-bolsas-que-a-ufpr-nao-viu-52c7c52x896li4rb2qkrjeona>
Brazilian Access to Information Law (Lei de Acesso à Informação, nº 12.527) (2011,

November 18). Regula o acesso a informações previsto no inciso XXXIII do art. 5o, no
inciso II do § 3o do art. 37 e no § 2o do art. 216 da Constituição Federal; altera a Lei no
8.112, de 11 de dezembro de 1990; revoga a Lei no 11.111, de 5 de maio de 2005, e dispositivos
da Lei no 8.159, de 8 de janeiro de 1991; e dá outras providências. Retrieved from: <http://
www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2011-2014/2011/lei/l12527.htm>
Meirelles, G. (2017). Engajamento de cidadãos e entidades tem efeito positivo na

cobrança por eficiência no poder público. Fecomercio. Economia. Retrieved from:
<http://www.fecomercio.com.br/noticia/engajamento-de-cidadaos-e-entidades-tem-
efeito-positivo-na-cobranca-por-eficiencia-no-poder-publico>
Ministry of Transparency, Oversight and Comptroller-General of Brazil (Ministério da

Transparência, Fiscalização e Controladoria-Geral da União) (2016). Relatório sobre a
46
implementação da Lei nº 12.527: Lei de Acesso à Informação. Retrieved from: <http://

www.acessoainformacao.gov.br/central-de-conteudo/publicacoes/relatorio_4anos_
web.pdf>
Salomão, L. (2017). Brasil está em 79º lugar entre 176 países, aponta ranking da
corrupção de 2016. G1. Mundo. Retrieved from: <http://g1.globo.com/mundo/noticia/
brasil-esta-em-79-lugar-entre-176-paises-aponta-ranking-da-corrupcao-de-2016.
ghtml>
Transparency International (2017). Open data and the fight against corruption in Brazil:
report. Retrieved from: <https://www.transparency.org/whatwedo/publication/open_
data_and_the_fight_against_corruption_in_brazil>
JULIANA DE FREITAS GONÇALVES

22 years old, undergraduate student in Media
and Communication with a license in Digital
Communication by the University of Vale
do Rio dos Sinos. She began her studies on
Internet Governance in 2015, and her main
topics of interest are privacy, digital culture,
gender, diversity and data intelligence.
47
DIGITAL
INCLUSION
DIGITAL INCLUSION _ GEORGINA A. GUERCIO
E-INCLUSION AND DIGITAL

DIVIDE, VULNERABILITY AND
SOCIAL EXCLUSION: A PATH
FOR SOCIAL REINSERTION OF
THOSE WHO TRANSIT OR HAVE
TRANSITED AN EXPERIENCE IN
PENITENTIARY INSTITUTIONS?
GEORGINA A. GUERCIO
Lawyer graduated from the Faculty of Law of the National Uni-
versity of Cuyo,
Mendoza, Argentina.
georgina.g.33@gmail.com
Argentina
49
_THEMATIC
Digital inclusion
Digital rights
_ABSTRACT
This article aims to make visible preconceptions from which

the treatment of digital exclusion usually starts, as well as
its incidence of social exclusion. Factors that are considered
essential to know, understand and apply practical solutions
to the current problem of the digital divide are analyzed,
putting the focus of attention not only on the mere access
to technologies but their appropriation through education.
Specifically, the observation of this dynamic, and the proposals
that arise revolve around the prison population and their
prospects of social reintegration.
Keywords: digital divide; deprivation of liberty; exclusion
50
1_THE DIGITAL DIVIDE AND THE NEW PARADIGM OF

TECHNOLOGY
The information society and its innovative language, with its inevitable and
overwhelming progress, has strongly impacted on the model from which social problems
are addressed, both from their identification and in the proposal of possible solutions.
ICT (Information and Communication Technologies), and specifically access, knowledge
and better use of them, have begun to cement broad differences in the opportunities for
development and growth both from an individual and social projection, at the same
time that they have generated a new group of excluded: those who do not access and/or
dominate technology and fall into the so-called “digital divide”.
The United Nations (UN) already mentioned in its World Summit in 2003 1 that
what we call “digital divide” can be synthesized in the division between those who
can effectively use the new tools of information and communication, such as the
Internet, and they cannot. Taking into account this conceptualization and without
losing sight of subsequent reformulations on these guidelines and nuances that
these can acquire according to Buchmueller et al. (2011), would be atomized into
two large groups: the so-called “onliners” and “none-liners.” The complexity and
richness of the analysis that this distinction provokes does not stop here since there
are multiple edges that must be considered if we
understand that it is not just a quantitative problem,
restricted to access to information technologies
and infrastructure for it, but that the phenomenon THE ISSUE
unfolds in a context of economic, social, cultural AROUND THE
and political inequalities prevailing in societies, of DIGITAL DIVIDE
which the digital divide participates. IS EFFICIENTLY
CONFINED TO
Contrary to this reductionist vision, from
TWO GENERAL
which the study of increasingly complex social and
DIMENSIONS:
technological manifestations is usually faced, it is
possible to resize the question in treatment and add
INFRASTRUCTURE
other variants such as, the business culture to guide (CONNECTIVITY)
the economic action to the network, the capacity and AND THE POOR
effectiveness for the management and maintenance ACCESS AND
of network resources, cooperation, capital investment DEVELOPMENT OF
- for the creation, management and maintenance of TECHNICAL SKILLS
the network - together with a legal framework and FOR THE USE OF
adequate planning, professional training, quality ICT (SPECIALIZED
content and the own language. Last but not least, TRAINING)
users with skills and competencies that allow them
to use the network efficiently. These sketched notes,
1 The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was a summit organized by the United
Nations in two phases; one took place in Geneva (2003) and another in Tunis (2005). One of its
main objectives was the treatment of the global digital divide, which separates rich countries from
poor countries, by disseminating access to the Internet in the developing world.
51
and without being exclusive and exhaustive, undeniably show that we are facing a
multidimensional phenomenon in which, although it is valid to directly relate the
digital divide with access to ICT (infrastructure, accessibility and usability to link to the
network of networks), its background responds to social processes that require renewed
interpretations based on the incidence and transforming capacity of technology.
As it emerges from the observations made above, the search for an integral
approach requires not only the contemplation of the technological component, but also
the synergistic and reciprocal result of the economy, politics, and culture, in addition to
the necessary consideration of factors such as geography, age, sex, language, education,
employability, and physical integrity. In spite of everything pointed out, if we examine
our realities it is not accidental to find that the issue around the digital divide is
efficiently confined to two general dimensions: infrastructure (connectivity) and the
poor access and development of technical skills for the use of ICT (specialized training).
Understanding and the qualitative examination of the application and orientation that
users give to the resources provided are in the background, in fact, these concerns are
invisible in the discussion tables where the articulation of policies that can guarantee
sufficient responses is discussed, and all-embracing to the problematic. Logically, it
derives an ethereal, but current naturalization of a kind of “uncritical inclusion” that
does not ask about the “why” to promote access to ICT. Interpellations about these issues
and the assimilation of their need and relevance allow, among other things, to discover
and resignify the close relationship between knowledge and the use of ICT, evolution
that leads to the inclusion of the cognitive dimension in the conception and study of
the notion of digital divide (dimension to which, by the way, should also be added an
ethical positioning).
The lack of access to ICT, without a doubt, is a cause that is more conducive to real
equality of opportunities, since marginalizing the most disadvantaged social actors of
the benefits of the Internet today means closing the door to entry to the Internet, the
world of information and knowledge. We are talking then, not only about the digital
divide with all its implications but also about a cognitive divide. The latter is at the
mercy of the fast speed of technical advances and runs the risk of deepening, further
aggravating the social disintegration that now adds another form of exclusion; digital
social exclusion.
These paragraphs are intended to strip the reader of the idea that the mere fact
of giving a person the means to be in the network, causes, by osmosis, a process of
immediate personal improvement that eliminates the inequalities that underlie the
digital divide. We will try, therefore, to ponder the role of education as a process built
from the participation and involvement of all actors in society, whose goal is not only
to alphabetize in the informational but also achieve a critical mass of citizens that can
transform and transform society.
Education is a point where the digital divide and the cognitive divide converge, and
which allows us to address, with more excellent solvency and prospects of success,
the needs, and demands of those who hope to be part of the change. These projections,
however, are not deprived of some dichotomies; On the one hand, in the face of a
52
technology that is advancing by leaps and bounds, education evolves slowly and
through residual responses or in the worst cases with almost no impact; while, on the
other hand, as Rafael Capurro (2010) very well expresses, we are walking towards the
horizon of a digital ontology, which leads us to live an existential project whose social
consequences are difficult to foresee.
2_SOCIAL EXCLUSION, DIGITAL EXCLUSION
The studies aimed at analyzing the extent to which new technologies can contribute
to the inclusion of the most disadvantaged groups of society are usually based on an
approach to social exclusion, from ICT, which is exclusively related to the risk of falling
or deepening the digital divide. This biased perspective forgets to delve into the relevance
and positive impact that these have when accompanied by an appropriate training
that allows them, to those excluded, find in them the opportunity to generate and/
or strengthen individual inclusion spaces that safely they will influence the collective
sphere. These approaches are complementary and have as their axis the conception
of technology as an instrument that allows us to overcome barriers, and that opens a
range of unlimited possibilities, forging transformation alternatives towards a more
refined and cohesive society. Starting from this premise, it is useful first to make an
approximation to the concept of social exclusion.
The notion of social exclusion emerged in the mid-1970s as an attempt to overcome

the concept of poverty, and according to Sen (2000), it is understood in relation to
inequality and limitations in access to particular goods or services, in its interpretation,
exclusively economic considerations. This formulation is reflected analogously in the
terms used to define digital exclusion in its beginnings, and despite the criticisms and
subsequent contributions made to this conceptualization, the representations that
the definition transposes to the treatment of exclusion digital seem to prevail. Hence,
it becomes essential to overcome this superficial analysis to consider other factors,
since it may even happen that the groups that are digitally excluded are made up
of people who do not necessarily belong to collectives traditionally excluded from a
social and economic conception of exclusion, although It is true that the technological
vacuum coexists and increases the effects of social exclusion understood from a
traditional model.
Social exclusion is a much more complex problem that encompasses digital

exclusion, which, according to Frederick (1993), creates new models of inequality and
forms of division to the extent that it distances more and more those who can participate
democratically and indeed of the social dynamics, of those who do not even have a
place in them or do it partially. It is about them that we see, for example, the breaking
or erosion of two categories in which one of the keys for social insertion is based; the
relational or relational field and the labor economic sphere. Here, the role played by
ICTs takes on strength, as their appropriation and potential allow recovering lost spaces
within social life. However, it should not be deduced, without further consideration,
that digital inclusion implies the scope of social integration plus a significant advance
towards it. The Internet, especially, is presented as a factor of social mobility, and as
53
an instrument, it has demonstrated its penetration

and enormous capacity for changing the labor
SOCIAL EXCLUSION scenario; from there its incidence in the structuring
IS A MUCH and deepening of inequalities. This is one of the
MORE COMPLEX reasons why we must insist on weighing their use
PROBLEM THAT value as opposed to the exchange or commercial
ENCOMPASSES value that represents or can represent.
DIGITAL EXCLUSION,
The binomial inclusion/exclusion can be
WHICH, ACCORDING
reduced, although not in an independent way,
TO FREDERICK
through a severe rethinking of formal and informal
(1993), CREATES
education. Bearing this in mind, one of the first
NEW MODELS OF steps to be taken so that the so-called digital divide
INEQUALITY begins to diminish is to overcome the prejudice that,
on ICT and its contribution, the actors that hold in
their hands the possibility of acting and deciding.
It is essential to be aware that the impossibility of interacting with new technologies
feeds digital exclusion and that this, in turn, increases social exclusion.
3_INTERNET AND DEPRIVATION OF FREEDOM. ARE THEY

COMPATIBLE?
Identifying groups or subgroups of people particularly affected by the aforementioned

exclusion process, as will be done below, does not intend to ignore the structural and
multifactorial nature of the exclusion, it merely seeks to circumscribe and situate the
vision of a collective that is often overlooked, but very present and linked to the ever-
current political discourse on insecurity, justice and inclusion. Today is more in vogue
than ever, in an Argentina that daily discusses its criminal norms and the effectiveness
of repressive measures. The debate inevitably merits other reflections, which should
also accompany the controversy, such as, for example, an evaluation based on the
self-criticism of the figure of the institutions of confinement in the face of failure in
prevention and against deficient or null social reintegration.
If we undertake a search that leads us to understand these discouraging conclusions,

we will find, perhaps, more questions than answers. In those people whose social
vulnerability continually links them to the crime, or in those already subject to criminal
proceedings or purging a sentence, where does the personal factor start and end? And
the social element? The complex interrelation that takes place between individual,
social, cultural, historical and institutional circumstances, in general, makes it not
easy to speak of strictly personal factors that tend to a state of exclusion and consequent
delinquency. From this perspective, and without aspiring to exhaust the issue, one
of the many feasible proposals for addressing the issue, both from its cause and its
consequences, is the assessment of educational barriers that acquire new connotations
when linked to a technology that it demands a broad spectrum of knowledge, skills and
a vital attitude in which users cannot, and should not, stand up to changes as mere
consumers but as active subjects.
54
To contextualize and clarify whether digital literacy operates in the context of

deprivation of liberty and, in this way, how it does it or how it could do so; First of all, we
must understand that when we speak of reinsertion and social inclusion, the starting
point is the weighting of the before, the during and after the trajectories of life of the
inmates. Although during his stay in prison, the individual has the right to receive a
teaching, which puts him in value and allows him in the future to reinsert himself
into society as an active member, the context he inhabits does not favor him. In it, a
penitentiary logic prevails, marked, among other things, by the interactions based on
hierarchy and power, with a precise correctional function that often becomes arbitrary,
progressive loss of autonomy, homogenization, and institutional dependence on the
availability of time, and physical mobility. These factors, just outlined, are detrimental
to the fulfillment of any purpose that sets and collaborates with the discrediting of the
intrinsic value of education, accentuating the conception of it only as a means to obtain
benefits in the execution of the penalty. To these obstacles, and to those who share
with other groups, a peculiarity is added to it; the need to make education and work
compatible with the guarantee of safety.
Indeed, the penitentiary population is hybrid in terms of cultural baggage; Within

this mixture there is a vast majority who have an irregular training, who does not
show professional qualifications and whose social skills have been deteriorating due
to the effect that intramural life has on their behavior patterns, while a percentage
no less functional is illiterate. This scenario, a priori, compromises, and in most cases
precludes, the chances that in the future those deprived of liberty or subject to different
judicial measures can reenter social life and get a job, a scenario that is seen aggravated
by the lack of objectivity of the majority of society in the apprehension of this collective.
Considering that the potential and present inmates are subject to various types of
exclusion, the central issue here will be to think about the exclusion that is generated
after obtaining freedom, not only because of social stigmatization but as a consequence
of inadequate or non-existent training that hinders the already mentioned social and
labor reintegration.
Now, the travel through the ambitious paths of digital information literacy,
understood as a set of competencies that lead to an appropriate, reflective, critical
and responsible use of information and media, ideally complemented with technical
knowledge for the management and creation of programming languages; can begin
by discussing the fundamental development of three aspects: access to technology,
skills and attitude, which clearly affect the worsening or decrease of social and digital
exclusion that involves being in prison.
When discussing the possible access to technology, and especially to the Internet in
these areas, the heterogeneity of the difficulties in terms of open access to the Internet
is the first problem that arises, since the prison population must be isolated from the
outside world, except for the official channels, a requirement that apparently disagrees
with the claims pursued. This technological distancing, which means a stay in prison,
also poses an additional difficulty for inmates and former inmates, which further
complicates social integration, rehabilitation and employment, the latter is directly
55
related to the desire to desist from committing a crime, well, just giving up offense
does not necessarily imply a process of social inclusion. In this way, the importance
of overcoming the exposed collision is evident and reinforcing, on the other hand, the
influence of the acquisition of necessary tools to achieve a better quality of life; ICT can
be one of the answers.
In a generic sense, and regarding the use of computer tools and/or programming,
a good line of action for approaching them should not be standard or limited in time,
characteristics that seem to have no hold in prison if we take in consideration the
hindrances revealed. In spite of this, some proposals with concrete and compatible
prospects appear, on the one hand, with the need for security and isolation, which
implies the penalty of deprivation of liberty, and on the other hand, with the fight
against digital exclusion, these are:
- Basic computer training: teaching the most elementary aspects of using a PC.
This is an initial measure that can be widely disseminated, because it does not need
communication with the outside world, with low costs, and that also has the purpose
of updating previous knowledge that each inmate brings, but that the passage of time
between walls makes obsolete.
- Simulated navigation or restricted access to the Internet, taking into account

costs, respecting the restrictions of the penitentiary complex in question, but without
overlooking the horizon that is the search for digital inclusion.
- Use of specific tools, programming and training courses focused on possible

work opportunities, although ambitious as I propose, it could be a valid answer not only
to the demands of the market but also to the purposes of a renewed life. Regarding this
issue to ponder, and that is not minor, is that there is hardly any software adapted to
the needs and profiles of this population, in particular, the penetration of free software
is minimal as well as the degree of knowledge about it.
The viability and success of these proposals is subordinated, at least, to three

questions: Budgetary soundness, which allows and strengthens the growth that is
intended; the recognition that the widespread expansion of digital language makes
it necessary to teach skills that transcend the technical and instrumental knowledge
on which most of the current efforts in this field are focused. A true digital literacy
should not only consist in teaching how to use the computer and some applications,
but it should offer the basic elements for the development of capacities that allow to
revalue and question the uses assigned to the tools, besides allowing the understanding
and perhaps the domain of coding languages. Finally, the attitude with which ICTs are
confronted, without losing sight of the complexity of each individual reality and the
volitional component; this should aim to build spaces of freedom and vital criticism
without forgetting to contribute, from the place that is occupied, to the fabric of
cooperation networks.
However, unfortunately, precariousness, lack of financing, lack of preparation

of educators and the absence of projects that seriously confront the confinement
56
and its direct effect on the social and digital divide prevail, and that understand the
fundamental nature of the technology for our daily life, as well as its potential to
regenerate relationships and social equilibrium.
In Argentina, despite the fact that for more than a decade Educ.ar has promoted and
promoted a transformation in the teaching and learning processes, trying, on the one
side, to transcend the merely instrumental uses, and on the other, to determine what
type of competences was necessary to manage not to be a digital illiterate, his intentions
have been partially fulfilled. At the same time, the current Argentine government has
stated, formally, its intention to advance even more on this ground by announcing
programs that aim at labor insertion as the program “111 mil programadores”2. These
attempts, although meritorious, fail to satisfy the real and deep needs of society and
show that much remains to be seen, places to penetrate (for example, the initiatives
mentioned above have not managed to permeate the walls of the prisons), and more
to do. Some people even question whether the digital divide is an area for policy
intervention, or not, and if so, what are the appropriate measures to be taken. Faced
with this, it is reaffirmed that access to technologies is assumed, according to Foster
(2000), as “a capital civil right”; and consequently there is no doubt that society and
politicians should strive to narrow it. The crux of the matter is the good balance and the
good sense, not only of the private sector but also of the public (since in the success of its
policy lies partly the solution of the problem, but also its aggravation), to which must be
added the training of professionals in terms of theoretical content related to ICT, which
include methodologies and intervention strategies for a true e-inclusion.
4_FINAL THOUGHTS
The digital divide is nourished and fused with the deep divides that result from
inequitable progress and is inserted in a context that does not show much concern for
social redistribution. However, the promising horizon of the information society raises
a certain optimism anchored in the potential of a balanced and reasonable exchange of
information, but above all of the knowledge, and in the idea that technology is a driver
of development. According to Trejo Delarbre (2001), the so-called information society is,
therefore, reality and possibility; the latter is understood here as a possibility to identify
and advocate for knowledge as an indispensable social good, as well as the chance of
promoting good practices that emerge from the bosom of an active and committed
citizenship to transmute into positive and far-reaching public policies that face the
divide in an integral way, especially considering the role of well-understood digital
literacy. Of course, all this will be feasible if we assimilate that the transformation
that implies the diminution of the distances of the divide demands proportionally of
a conception of the relations settled in the cooperation, the respect, and the equity;
feedback that radiates beneficial effects and breaks into the core of social disparities.
From its transversality, ICT, beyond the profiles of the excluded population and
despite the criticisms that are conceived and the consequent apprehension that they
2 Watch on <https://www.argentina.gob.ar/111mil>
57
generate, contribute and provide valid and advantageous solutions. Precisely in the
theme that this text covers, you can see how they could undoubtedly add to the inclusion
of the most disadvantaged groups, operating from the relational and labor, becoming a
means to achieve specific adaptive, educational, and re-socializing objectives. Likewise,
the concept of digital literacy is added and accompanied, which is revolutionary insofar
as it points to a training that exceeds mere instrumental competencies; and in the
specific case of the group that experiences or has experienced a deprivation of liberty,
seeks to promote the acquisition of skills that are linked to the search for autonomy,
self-criticism and awareness of individual social responsibility.
This will be viable only with an appropriate appropriation of the TIC, objective that
will be achieved if human resources and solid materials amalgamated exist with a
correct direction of the knowledge and the forms that are used for their use. Although
the peculiarities of the context of confinement will inevitably be present, to achieve the
proposed goals, one must try to penetrate into the workspace and approach the subjects,
as much as possible, as far as possible, the adversities. The inadequacy of the merely
technical profiles for this task is highlighted, and it is advisable to take a step towards
a pattern of digital social literacy, which takes on this challenge also from an ethical,
pedagogical dimension and recognizing its political implications.
This challenge requires the deepening of the design and evaluation of the applied
methodologies, from a perspective that embraces the transformative power of these
initiatives that, on the one hand, open the doors that lead to the reality of a free and
integrated life and that it is plausible if we think
about the benefits of the use, generation and critical
transmission of information shared through ICT;
THE PROMISING
and that, on the other, close those that lead to
HORIZON OF THE
recidivism.
INFORMATION
SOCIETY RAISES Currently, if we consider the general picture,
A CERTAIN of which the problems of exclusion of the
OPTIMISM aforementioned group are part, the dilemma lies
ANCHORED IN between forming a society of users of technology
or an organization that incorporates a new way of
THE POTENTIAL
conceiving, creating and using that knowledge; to
OF A BALANCED
focus on collaboration and participatory processes,
AND REASONABLE
in which priority is given to accessibility, among
EXCHANGE OF other things, sustainability, meaningful use,
INFORMATION, social appropriation, empowerment and social
BUT ABOVE ALL OF innovation. Proposing, without further ado, access
THE KNOWLEDGE, to ICTs, skipping the necessary interdisciplinary
AND IN THE IDEA conversations about the end of their uses, hardly
THAT TECHNOLOGY leads to the solution of the digital divide that
IS A DRIVER OF feeds back social divides, hence the failure and
DEVELOPMENT ineffectiveness of many of the State initiatives,
including those related to criminal matters, which
58
demonstrate that the social divide as a condition of the digital divide and vice versa,
responds to a social and political model plagued by decisions taken from an erroneous
approach and stripped of real and plural multistakeholder.
Only by democratizing knowledge can we face this situation, this will allow us to
promote sustainable development in education, integration, equality of opportunities,
security, and justice.
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60
GEORGINA A. GUERCIO
Research scholar and university professor.
Collaborator in the University Education
Program in Confinement Context of the
National University of Cuyo.
61
DIGITAL INCLUSION _ MAUREEN MERCHÁN DE LAS SALAS
ICT PUBLIC POLICIES

FOR GENERATION OF
DIGITAL CAPABILITIES IN
YOUNG PEOPLE FROM THE
PERSPECTIVE OF HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT
MAUREEN MERCHÁN DE LAS SALAS

Telematics Engineer, specialist in Telecommunications Law
maureenmerchan@gmail.com
Colombia
62
_THEMATIC
Digital inclusion
_ABSTRACT
This article aims to reflect on the role of public ICT policies

promoting inclusion and digital appropriation to improve the
lives of young people, taking as a point of reference for analysis
some concepts on public policies and the development approach
proposed by the United Nations Development Programme and
with it, the development of digital capabilities for young people
who interact daily with Information and Communication
Technologies (ICT), until they become agents of change in their
communities.
Keywords: digital inclusion and appropriation; digital

capabilities; public policies
63
1_DEFINITIONS
1.1_PUBLIC POLICIES
Defining public policies is not a simple task,

its definition has varied according to the historic
moment, focus and purposes. However, it is important THE PARADIGM
to mention some authors with the objective of OF HUMAN
understanding how government decisions impact the DEVELOPMENT
lives of citizens, which are a course of government FOCUSED ON
action or inaction in response to public problems YOUNG PEOPLE
(Kraft, & Furlong, 2007), with which social, economic, OUTLINES THE NEED
participatory, political, etc. problems can be solved, TO GUARANTEE
and are planned and implemented by the institutions
DEVELOPMENT
that are part of the State, where public policy is
OPPORTUNITIES
presented in the form of an action program, specific
FOR THE
to one or several public or governmental authorities
(Thoenig, 1999).
GENERATION AND
STRENGTHENING OF
According to the above and for the proposed THEIR CAPACITIES
analysis in this article, public policies are the
designed, planned, implemented and managed
roadmap by State entities, to solve problems of public interest for citizens, being an
integrating process of decisions, actions, inactions, agreements and instruments
(Gavilanes, 2009).
1.2_HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Human Development is a paradigm of development, in which people have the

possibility to develop their maximum potential and carry out the life they want,
the definition of the United Nations Development Programme mentions that it is a
process in which the opportunities of the human being are broadened; the three most
essentials are to enjoy a long and healthy life, acquire knowledge and have access to
the resources necessary to achieve a decent standard of living (UNDP, 1990). However,
Human Development suggests that there are other opportunities to which all people
must have access; and in our case young people. These opportunities are political,
economic and social freedom to be creative and productive (ibidem).
The objective of ensuring that we all have the same opportunities is to develop
capabilities. For UNDP, the development of capacities is a process by which individuals,
organizations, and societies obtain, strengthen and maintain the necessary
competencies to establish and achieve their own long-term development objectives
(UNDP, 2008). Thus, for young people, the development of skills is a crucial process for
decision-making, for example, regarding the life they wish to lead, participation and
democratic organization, the improvement of their living conditions, the employment
generation, among other.
64
In summary, the paradigm of human development focused on young people outlines

the need to guarantee development opportunities for the generation and strengthening
of their capacities, with the aim of allowing them to lead the life they want, taking as a
point of reference the human being and not the expansion of wealth and income.
1.3_DIGITAL DIVIDE
The digital divide will have different definitions according to space or focus. To begin
with we must mention that, the difference in access to ICTs between people, countries,
men and women, children, youth and adults, exists as a result of socioeconomic
inequality, problems of income distribution, investment in infrastructure and the
educational level of the region (Economic Commission for Latin America and the
Caribbean [ECLAC], 2002), complementing.
The definition of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

(OCDE) corresponds to “the gap between individuals, households, businesses and
geographic areas at different socio-economic levels with regard both to their
opportunities to access information and communication technologies (ICTs) and to
their use of the Internet for a wide variety of activities” (OCDE, 2001:5). Although, this
is not the only approach that we are interested in incorporating into the analysis, it is
important to mention other concepts related to the information society when we refer
to the “gap between individuals and societies that have the resources to participate in
the information era” (Chen, & Wellman, 2003).
1.4_DIGITAL INCLUSION
As I mentioned, the digital divide is the difference in access to Information and

Communication Technologies (ICT) between people, when they access ICTs they
initiate a process of digital inclusion, which is like a set of public policies related to
the construction, administration, expansion, offering of content and development
of local capacities in digital networks (Robinson, 2005) and is related to personal
growth by offering people a more critical and entrepreneurial perspective for personal
development and of the communities in which they live (Duarte, & Pires, 2011).
2_YOUNG PEOPLE AND ICT, CURRENT SITUATION
2.1_THE DIGITAL DIVIDE IN FIGURES
In consideration of the most recent measurement of ICT development of the

International Telecommunication Union, in the world there are connected to the
Internet 3.2 billion people (43% of the population) (ITU, 2016), that is to say that more
than half of the population still does not have access to Internet. This situation varies
according to the country or the geographical region, noting that the disparity between
rich and poor countries is reflected in the growth of their technological infrastructures.
Consequently, the Republic of Korea is the country with the most significant number of
connections, while the Republic of Chad (in Central Africa) is the country with the least
technological development, occupying the 167th position.
65
Regarding the differences in Internet access between rich and poor countries, it
is argued that the price of telecommunications services plays a fundamental role in
reducing the digital divide, despite the fact that the prices of mobile broadband services
have fallen between 20% and 30% during 2015, the developing economies present
problems since their mobile services represent more than 20% per capita gross national
income. In the American region, the digital divide has differences among its different
economies, with the United States and Canada being the countries with the highest ICT
Development Index (IDI) and, Nicaragua and Cuba, the last two respectively.
The price that people must pay to access telecommunications services is a

determining factor in reducing the digital divide. According to the IDI ranking of the
International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Colombia ranks 75th worldwide
and 14th in the region, improving its position concerning the 2010 ranking, but not
surpassing countries such as Uruguay, which is located in position number 4.
When comparing the percentage of monthly income required for ICT services in
households in Colombia and Uruguay, it is confirmed that at lower prices, a smaller
digital divide exists. For example, in Colombia for a household to have access to fixed
and mobile1 ICT services, it is needed to invest 34.50% of monthly income, compared to
the 24.85% required in Uruguay (Katz, 2015). Additionally, mobile services become more
expensive due to taxes, affecting access to mobile ICT services for people at the base of
the pyramid, including young people, this analysis serves to highlight the importance it
could have for the universalization of broadband, the elimination of tax burdens (ibid.).
In addition, considering the figures of the Labor Market of the Youth (Mercado
Laboral de la Juventud) of the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE,
by its initials in Spanish, 2016)2, which stated that during 2016 the youth unemployment
rate in Colombia was 15.3%, it can be inferred that expensive prices and tax rates of
mobile and fixed Internet plans are strong barriers for young people to access ICT.
2.2_INTERNET ACCESS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
Continuing with the figures presented in the previous section, I take as an example
the results of the 2013 Latinobarómetro survey of the Economic Commission for Latin
America and the Caribbean (2013), which shows that 34.6% of young people in the
region access the Internet every day, while 26.3% do it occasionally. In other words,
approximately 60% of young people between the ages of 16 and 29 have had access to
technology, surpassing in some ways the digital divide. However, the distribution of
access to ICTs of young people varies according to their socioeconomic status: half of
youngs in the highest stratum (48%) of the region use the Internet every day, and 28%
do it occasionally; just over a quarter of middle-class youth (27%) use the Internet every
day and 28% occasionally (Sunkel, 2015). These figures are high compared to the Internet
1 Includes: two smartphones with the cheapest data and voice plan, paid TV and fixed
broadband connection.
2 This report provides information on the indicators and labor market behavior of young people
aged 14 to 28 years.
66
access of young people from the poorest strata, since only 13% use the Internet every day
and 18% occasionally (ibid.).
3_ICT AND YOUTH PUBLIC POLICIES
It should be remembered that, since the 1990’s, with the emergence and subsequent
massification of the Internet, governments have designed public policies and programs
to reduce the digital divide, given that the digital divide and exclusion are inheritances
of socioeconomic inequality, the disparity in the distribution of income and the low
educational level that have marked the region in the Latin American case (ECLAC, 2002),
which is why it is not surprising how these situations affect young people by limiting
their possibilities for development and incorporation into the information society.
Public policies have made important efforts with the aim of improving the Internet
access rates of people, assuming that by achieving universal access to the Internet it will
be possible to improve the economic growth rates of their respective countries. This is
based on the behavior that has had the economies of countries that have tried to reduce
the digital divide. In this regard, The World Bank notes that in 2009 the multinational
Google generated 19,000 jobs in the 20 countries where the main Internet search engine
is present, as well as the most visited search engine in China (Baidu.com), created 6,000
jobs (World Bank, 2010).
For its part, in Latin America, reduction of the digital divide has supported the
modernization of its productive, industrial and commercial processes. The generation
of a job in the ICT sector supports the creation of 2.4 jobs in other economic activities.
Chile has shown that the reduction of 10 points in the digital divide helped with a 2%
decrease in the unemployment rate (Katz, 2009).
It is undeniable that ICTs have changed the way we relate and its use reflects
the inequities and injustices of the societies in which they are inserted. It should
be recognized that ICTs are not negative or positive for society, rather they take the
form and direction of the society in which they are introduced, giving shape to social
relationships (Gómez apud Kuttan, & Peters, 2003).
The opportunities that young

people have to access the Internet not
REGARDING THE DIFFERENCES only depend on their social inequality,
IN INTERNET ACCESS poverty, and educational level. Also,
BETWEEN RICH AND the way they take ownership of the
POOR COUNTRIES, IT IS technology and develop skills to
ARGUED THAT THE PRICE participate in the information society
OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS depends on the medium in which
they start using ICT. For example,
SERVICES PLAYS A
the United Nations Educational,
FUNDAMENTAL ROLE IN
Scientific and Cultural Organization
REDUCING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
(UNESCO) states that inequalities,
stigmatization and discrimination
67
are effect of inequalities of gender, ethnicity, language, disability, and place of residence.
They affect development processes, so they need to be worked carefully in the virtual
environments in order to not contribute to accentuate the divides; on the contrary, they
must support their elimination (UNESCO, 2010).
In short, the reduction of the (first) digital divide in young people continues to be
a task that demands efforts of many sectors and actors of society, beginning with
governments and the public policies they design to guarantee universal access to ICTs,
the telecommunications operators (public and private), businessmen, schools and
universities and, of course, the young people themselves. It is also necessary to design
public policies for digital inclusion or reduction of the second divide, which refers to the
differences between groups according to their skills and abilities to use technologies
effectively, and where is the possibility of youth to take advantage of the opportunities
offered by new technologies (Sunkel, 2015).
Incorporating into our analysis the perspective of human development, in which

it is proposed to offer people (and in our case young people) the possibility of carrying
out the life they want, with the strengthening of capacities as process by which
people, organizations, and societies obtain, strengthen and maintain the necessary
competencies to establish and achieve their own development objectives over time
(UNDP, 2008, p.4). It worths reviewing how ICT public policies really strengthen the
digital capacities of young people or reduce the second digital divide, not only by
acquiring technical and operational skills but also by computer skills that help them
actively participate in the construction of their life project. From public policies, the
digital inclusion should be contemplated with the approach of the Association for
Progressive Communications [APC], which support, in its letter on Internet Rights, that
[it] can help create more egalitarian societies. It can strengthen

educational and health services, local business, public
participation, access to information, good governance and poverty
eradication. […] Civil society organisations (CSOs), governments
and regulatory agencies should be aware of the internet’s
potential to reinforce existing inequality (APC, 2006)
Digital inclusion policies should generate capabilities in young people to help them
overcome situations of vulnerability, exclusion, poverty, bullying, etc., as well as build
the road to access to information and knowledge society. Aligned with that, UNESCO, in
its report “Towards Knowledge Societies” mentions that reducing the digital divide will
not be enough to reduce knowledge divides, a more complex issue than just developing
technological infrastructure (UNESCO, 2005)3. As a mechanism to facilitate reduction
of poverty, the entry into the Information Society and, above all, the socioeconomic
mobility of those who learn to make critical use of ICTs, the discussions about reducing
the digital divide must be deeper, regarding uses and their impacts, having basic digital
3 “Closing the digital divide will not suffice to close the knowledge divide, for access to useful,
relevant knowledge is more than simply a matter of infrastructure – it depends on training,
cognitive skills and regulatory frameworks geared towards access to contents”.
68
literacy to achieve better learning processes, having more tools in the workplace and
also exercising our citizenship (UNESCO, 2013).
4_CONCLUSIONS
The divide, the inclusion and the digital appropriation are consecutive and
differentiated stages of the process that seeks
to introduce people in the information society.
These processes are applied in society through
public policies, to solve problems such as
DIGITAL INCLUSION
exclusion – in this case, digital exclusion.
POLICIES SHOULD
Young people, as citizens, should enjoy the GENERATE
right to access the information and knowledge CAPABILITIES IN YOUNG
society, and public policies should guarantee PEOPLE TO HELP THEM
access to ICT for young people in conditions OVERCOME SITUATIONS
of vulnerability and poverty, reducing prices OF VULNERABILITY,
of Internet services and navigation devices, EXCLUSION, POVERTY,
progressively reducing taxes in a general or
BULLYING, ETC
sectored way.
Subsequently, ICT policies must guarantee

the generation of to capabilities through digital
literacy. For young people to overcome the social problems of their communities it is not
enough to deliver mobile devices with an Internet connection; this alone will not solve
the problems of inequality, exclusion, illiteracy, unemployment, political participation,
among others, that young people face on a daily basis. Only the generation of digital
capabilities in the digital inclusion stage could transform the devices into tools and
begin to change the situations mentioned.
Digital appropriation will be the stage when young people make critical use of ICT,
developing reflective skills about their environment, social needs of their communities,
their role in participatory democracy, organization and classification of information for
generation of knowledge and they will become agents of change. The main objective of
ICT policies for young people is to encourage the formation of agents of change.
Finally, in each of the stages above and for the formulation and design of ICT public
policies for young people, their active participation is essential. It would be contradictory
to formulate a policy focused on youth without first knowing their needs, problems and
perspectives regarding the use of technology. For this, it is urgent to diagnose existing
public ICT policies, what youth issues they address, which state institutions are in charge
of them, the progress made, civil participation in its design and implementation etc. In
the same way, it is still important and necessary that young people begin to organize
ourselves civilly to participate actively in democratic processes, with perspectives that
respect cultural, social, economic, political, gender, age and educational levels.
69
_REFERENCES
Association for Progressive Communications (2006). Carta de APC sobre Derechos en

Internet. Retrieved from <http://bit.ly/28S2Cbu>
Chen, W., & Wellman, B. (2003). Charting and bridging digital divides: comparing
socio-economic, gender, life stage, and rural-urban Internet access and use in eight
countries. Toronto: Toronto University. Retrieved from <http://bit.ly/2qhls7T>
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (2002). Los Caminos Hacia
una Sociedad de la Información en América Latina y el Caribe. Libros de la CEPAL, 72.
Punta Cana. Retrieved from <http://bit.ly/2rfBUnL>
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (2005). Oportunidades
digitales, equidad y pobreza en América Latina: ¿Qué podemos aprender de la
evidencia empírica? Estudios Estadísticos y Prospectivos. Santiago de Chile. Retrieved
from <http://bit.ly/2r6zZVv>
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (2013). Latinobarómetro
Informe 2013. Santiago de Chile. Retrieved from <http://bit.ly/1bxZdfc>
Duarte, F., & Pires, H. F. (2011). Inclusión Digital, Tres Conceptos Clave: Conectividad,
Accesibilidad, Comunicabilidad. Revista Electrónica de Recursos de Internet Sobre
Geografía y Ciencias Sociales. Barcelona University. Retrieved from <http://bit.
ly/1uubNXh>
Gavilanes, R. V. (2009). Hacia una nueva definición política del concepto de “política
pública”. Revista Desafíos. Bogota: Rosario Univeristy. Retrieved from <http://bit.
ly/2pzrGSb>
Gómez, R. apud Kuttan, A., & Peters, L. (2003). From digital divide to digital opportunity.
Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press.
Gómez, R., & Martínez, J. (2001). Internet... ¿Para qué? In Martínez, J. Internet en
América Central: Análisis de entornos nacionales. San José: IDRC. Retrieved from
<http://bit.ly/2pMBcwa>
International Telecommunication Union (2016). Medición del Desarrollo de las TIC:

Nuevas tendencias, nuevos desafíos. Actualidades de la UIT, 1. Hiroshima. Retrieved
from <http://bit.ly/2rg94Us>
Katz, R. (2009). El Papel de las TIC en el Desarrollo. Propuesta de América Latina a los
Retos Económicos para la Fundación Telefónica. Madrid: Editorial Ariel. Retrieved from
<http://bit.ly/2rfQOun>
Katz, R. (2015). Iniciativas Para el Cierre de la Brecha Digital en América Latina.

Telecom Advisory Services LLC to ASIET. Retrieved from <http://bit.ly/2qGrMay>
Kraft, M. E., & Furlong, S. R. (2007). Public Policy: Politics, analysis, and alternatives.
2nd edition. Washington D.C.: CQ Press. p. 5.
70
National Administrative Department of Statistics (Departamento Administrativo

Nacional de Estadística) (2016). Mercado Laboral de la Juventude. Colombia
Government. Retrieved from <http://dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-por-tema/178-
english/sociales/cultura/2922-mercado-laboral-de-la-juventud>
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2001). Understanding the

Digital Divide. París: OECD Publications. Retrieved from <http://bit.ly/2qGJAT9>
Robinson, S. S. (2005). Reflexiones sobre la Inclusión Digital. Revista Nueva Sociedad,

195. Buenos Aires: Fundación Foro Nueva Sociedad. Retrieved from <http://bit.
ly/2rffu57>
Sunkel, G. (2015). El acceso de los jóvenes a la cultura en la era digital en América

Latina. In Trucco, D.; & Ullmann, H. (eds.) Juventud: realidades y retos para un
desarrollo con igualdad (pp. 171-206). Libros de la CEPAL, 137. Santiago de Chile:
Comisión Económica para América y el Caribe. Retrieved from <http://bit.ly/1LNfdZA>
Thoenig, J. C. (1999). El análisis de las Políticas Públicas. Revista Universitas, 93. p. 75.
Retrieved from <http://bit.ly/2rfYpci>
United Nations Development Programme (1990). Desarrollo Humano Informe. Bogotá:

Tercer Mundo Editores. Retrieved from <http://bit.ly/1GfuSU0>
United Nations Development Programme (2008). Desarrollo de Capacidades, nota de

práctica. Nueva York. Retrieved from <http://bit.ly/1PV36S3>
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (2005). Towards

Knowledge Societies. París. Retrieved from <http://bit.ly/1qKCpCs>
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (2013). Building

Inclusive Knowledge Societies. A review of UNESCO’s action in implementing the WSIS
outcomes. París. Retrieved from <http://bit.ly/2qhw1YK>
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World. Washington D.C. Retrieved from <http://bit.ly/1wQP3lx>
MAUREEN MERCHÁN DE LAS SALAS

Telematics Engineer, specialist in
Telecommunications Law and candidate
for Master in Human Development, Latin
American Faculty of Social Sciences,
71
CYBER-
SECURITY
CYBERSECURITY _ ARTHUR EMANUEL LEAL ABREU
NUANCES OF PRIVACY
IN THE DIGITAL ERA
ARTHUR EMANUEL LEAL ABREU

Bachelor’s degree in Law from the Vitória Law University (FDV)
arthurlealabreu@hotmail.com
Brazil
73
_THEMATIC
Cybersecurity
Digital rights
New problems of the Internet
_ABSTRACT
In this current digital era, there is a need to reinterpret

fundamental rights, contextualizing them in the virtual
environment. This article analyzes the right to privacy,
as established by the Brazilian Federal Constitution, and
its nuances in the digital environment. Although the Civil
Code establishes the prevention of voluntary limitations to
personality rights, there is a possible way to exercise the right
to privacy when sharing private aspects of life on social media.
This study also looks over at the specific case of celebrities, who
may use social media to recover control over the narrative of
their own stories.
Keywords: Internet; privacy; social media
74
We are currently living in a digital era, grounded on the Internet, which arranges
instant connections between people and data, regardless of whether they are
physically close or far away from each other. With the Internet, we notice a permanent
intensification of the information flow, which redefined the way society communicates,
both in their most restricted circles and with the biggest audience possible.
Consequently, the revolution led by the Internet has reached the fundamental
rights of human beings, such as reputation, image, and, especially, privacy. After all,
as Stefano Rodotà (2013, p.11) stated, today, the simple fact of ‘being in society’ can no
longer be separated from a continuous flow of information diffused from a person
towards countless directions. This allows to interlocutors the possibility of building
their own “truths” regarding the data sender.
Therefore, it is necessary to rethink fundamental rights, contextualizing them in

a digital era that keeps changing how social relationships are built. With the current
wide spreading of the Internet, there are new outcomes to consider for both physical
and virtual contexts.
In our legal framework, the Federal Constitution of the Republic of Brazil (1988) lists
the fundamental rights on article 5, subsection X: the intimacy, private life, honor,
and image of people are inviolable; the right to compensation due to material or moral
damage caused by the violation of such rights is assured.
Although there are no explicit mentions of the word “privacy,” the text assures
constitutional protection to people’s intimacy and private lives. According to Marcel
Leonardi (2012, p.83), this legislative choice aims to prevent that, from the scope of
constitutional protection, could conceptual divisions formulated by the doctrine make
escaping a fraction or a marked area of people’s lives. Thus, it enables a wider custody,
regardless of the distinction between the concepts of intimacy and private life.
With that, the constitutional protection of all aspects of a human being’s privacy is
reaffirmed regarding the most intimate aspects of a person and what they share with their
many social circles, from the smallest to the largest ones. Following José Afonso da Silva’s
(2005, p.206) line of thinking, he says he would rather use the expression right to privacy
in a general and wide way, in order to embrace all these manifestations of the intimacy,
privacy, and personality scopes, which were established by the constitutional words.
Besides the Federal Constitution, the legislator has also emphasized the protection
of privacy, establishing it as a personality right on the Brazilian Civil Code. If article 21
reiterates the inviolability of private life, as it is supported by the Constitution, article
11 predicts that except for the cases considered legal, the personality rights are non-
transferable and irrevocable, and their exercise cannot undergo voluntary limitation
(Law n. 10.406, 2002).
The law intends to protect the rightsholder, preventing them from renouncing from
these fundamental rights, from accepting inadmissible restriction or from voluntarily
limiting their personality rights. Schreiber (2013, p. 27), however, argues that art. 11
exaggerates when it excludes each and any “voluntary limitation” from the exercise of
75
the personality rights. This exclusion would make not only the reality television shows
illicit but would also outlaw way more ordinary activities, such as exposing personal
data on social media, such as Twitter and Orkut.
Attempting to clarify the previously mentioned law, the Statement n. 4 of the 1st
Civil Rights Journey (Jornada de Direito Civil) of the Federal Justice Council of Brazil
(2002), says that the exercise of the personality rights may undergo voluntary limitation
if not permanent or general. Under this perspective, the rightsholder may themselves
restrict the exercise of their personality rights in a delimited and non-permanent way,
to their own interest. Then, it would be acceptable to limit their privacy, such as, for
example, when using social media.
In fact, exposing on social media such as Facebook and Instagram, currently the
most popular platforms, can seem at first sight the opposite of what one seeks to protect
through the constitutional guarantee of privacy. However, we should understand that
part of the nuances of the right to privacy in the digital era relies on allowing a person
to have control over how much of their private life they share on the Internet.
On the one hand, it is necessary to

recognize a trend, portrayed in the following
IT IS NECESSARY
words by Polish sociologist Zygmunt Bauman
(2011, p. 41), who passed away in 2017:
TO RETHINK
currently, it is not so much the possibility of FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS,
betrayal or privacy violation that scares us, CONTEXTUALIZING THEM
but the opposite: closing all the exits from our IN A DIGITAL ERA THAT
private world, turning it into a prison. “Being KEEPS CHANGING HOW
a celebrity” (that is, being constantly exposed SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS
to the public eye, without the need or right ARE BUILT
to privacy) is today the most widespread and
popular model of success.
What happens is that, even under the exposure on social media, one cannot consider
a general surrender of privacy. It is needed to always have in mind that privacy is
about individual voluntary disposition. They can choose to have aspects of their private
life shared on a small scale, with their closest friends, or at a large scale, with an
unrestrained audience. However, the person should have control over what they are
sharing and with whom they are sharing.
In our society, with tools such as Instagram, anyone can be catapulted to the
condition of “celebrity,” as Bauman mentioned. However, it is important to stress that
any person, even celebrities, have the right to privacy. According to Anderson Schreiber
(2013, p.44), if the occupation or success of a person exposes them to the public’s interest,
their right to privacy must not be reduced, but doubly assured. Just because a particular
person is a celebrity – wrongly named a “public person” – that fact cannot be used as an
argument to legitimize privacy invasion, here included not only the household space of
development of the person’s intimacy but also the many aspects of their daily routines
and private lives.
76
In the case of celebrities, social media has

become an instrument of direct communication
PART OF THE
with their “audiences,” or those who follow their NUANCES OF THE
lives. Thus, the possibility for celebrities to have RIGHT TO PRIVACY
control over the narrative of their stories arises. IN THE DIGITAL
After all, no one can deny, according to Schereiber ERA RELIES ON
(2013, p. 130), the growing voracity of photographers ALLOWING A
and cameramen – a reflex, obviously, of the PERSON TO HAVE
audience’s eagerness – to images that expose CONTROL OVER
celebrities’ intimacy. All over the world, specialized HOW MUCH OF
magazines reveal much more than these famous
THEIR PRIVATE
people’s faces, feeding a continuous interest of
LIFE THEY SHARE
readers for the lives of celebrities.
ON THE INTERNET.
Under the fear of privacy invasions, it’s fair
that celebrities themselves take the initiative
of sharing previously selected aspects of their private lives. That way, they may at
least ensure previous control of the content that will be published, as well as how the
audience will receive it.
A recent, well-known example was the announcement made by the American

singer Beyoncé Knowles about her second pregnancy. The artist chose to disclose her
pregnancy exclusively through her Instagram account. An image, published on February
1st, 2017, turned the most-liked in the history of the platform, with 10.9 million likes.
These stats corroborate Anderson Schereiber’s lesson about the public’s interest in
the private lives of celebrities, such as singers, actors, politicians, athletes, and other
prominent positions. Over the last few years, many of these famous people chose
to give up part of their privacy and disclose aspects of their private lives in order to
avoid persecution from press agents, who are persistent on extracting information.
The consensus is, since their private lives will be taken to the public anyway, the
information might as well be molded by the person who owns the right to share it.
Therefore, we conclude that the use of social media with the exposure of many
aspects of an individual’s private life does not represent a resignation to their right to
privacy. On the contrary, we must see such conducts as an effective exercise of rights,
that assures a person’s privacy, since that person now has control over their narrative,
sharing some angles of their lives that they wish to disclose and, at the same time,
keeping public eyes away from other aspects of their intimacy.
As Marcel Leonardi (2012, p.29) says, we are living in a transitory moment. Almost
all Law officers are still not familiarized with the Internet. Therefore, there is much
room for progress when it comes to understanding classic fundamental rights when
inserted in the virtual environment.
Along with the legal perspective, it is needed to approach this subject in a

sociocultural view, so people will understand that the rightsholder also have duties.
77
Such idea is based on reciprocity, such as the case of an individual who has their
intimacy preserved on social media and also respects the intimacy of others in the
same virtual universe (Duque, Pedra, 2013, p. 68). That way, the virtual environment will
become more civilized, and the Internet will be an even more beneficial tool, enabling
us to healthily share and access to information.
_REFERENCES
Bauman, Z. (2011). 44 cartas do mundo líquido moderno. Rio de Janeiro: Zahar.
Brazilian Federal Constitution (Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil) (1988).

Diário Oficial da República Federativa do Brasil, Brasília, DF. Retrieved from <https://
www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/constituicao/constituicao.htm>
Federal Justice Council of Brazil (Conselho da Justiça Federal) (2002). Enunciados

aprovados na I Jornada de Direito Civil. Retrieved from <http://daleth.cjf.jus.br/revista/
enunciados/IJornada.pdf>
Duque, B. L., & Pedra, A. S. (2013). A harmonização entre os deveres fundamentais de

solidariedade e o espaço da liberdade dos particulares no exercício da autonomia
privada. In: Duque, B. L. et al. (Orgs.) (2013). Constituição de 1988: 25 anos de valores e
transições. Vitória: Cognorama.
Law no. 10.406 (2002, January 10). Institui o Código Civil. Diário Oficial da República
Federativa do Brasil, Brasília, DF. Retrieved from <http://www.planalto.gov.br/
ccivil_03/leis/2002/L10406.htm>
Leonardi, M. (2012). Tutela e privacidade na Internet. São Paulo: Saraiva.
Rodota, S. (2013). O direito à verdade. Civilistica.com, 3. Retrieved from <http://

civilistica.com/o-direito-a-verdade>
Schreiber, A. (2013). Direitos da personalidade. 2. ed. São Paulo: Atlas.
Silva, J. A. da. (2005). Curso de direito constitucional positivo. 25 ed. São Paulo:
Malheiros.
78
ARTHUR EMANUEL LEAL ABREU

Graduate student in Language, Technology,
and Teaching from the Federal University
of Minas Gerais (UFMG), and in Compliance,
Anti-corruption law, and Public
Administration Control from the Vitória
Law University (FDV). Bachelor’s degree in
Law from FDV. Member of the FDV Teaching
and Learning Lab (Laboratório de Ensino e
Aprendizagem, LEAD-FDV). Interested in Civil
Law, privacy, and the Internet. He was a
tutor on “Law of Succession” (2015), “Family
Law” (2016), and “Environmental Law”
(2017) matters on FDV. Member of the team
which represented Brazil at the National
Geographic World Championship, held in
Mexico City, Mexico, in 2009.
79
CYBERSECURITY _ NATALIA MENDOZA SERVÍN
ONLINE PERSON, PRIVACY

AND DATA PROTECTION
COMPARED TO HUMAN RIGHTS
OF THE FOURTH GENERATION:
A CHALLENGE FOR THE
NATIONAL TRANSPARENCY
SYSTEM OF MEXICO
NATALIA MENDOZA SERVÍN

Legal advisor on personal data protection in the “Coordination of
Transparency and General Archive” and collaborator in the civil
society association Article 12.
natmese@gmail.com
Mexico
80
_THEMATIC
Cybersecurity
Digital rights
_ABSTRACT
The National Transparency System in Mexico is responsible

for promoting, among others, policies on the right to privacy
and protection of personal data in the country. However, it is
necessary that these policies contemplate the challenges that
information technologies highlight regarding the threat they can
pose to personal information.
Keywords: personal data protection; privacy; information

technology
81
“Freedom basically refers to private decisions that do not affect

anyone else [...] For that reason, we see in the private sphere the
most characteristic space of freedom. Defining an activity or a
decision as a private matter means saying that it is free, in the
modern sense of the word: oblivious to any form of public control”.
Fernando Escalante Gonzalbo
1_THE CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM AND THE NATIONAL

TRANSPARENCY SYSTEM
On February 7, 2014, it was published in the Official Gazette of Mexico1 the

constitutional reform about transparency, designed as an answer to the serious
problem of corruption in the country. The reform broke up with a previous abrupt policy
that was very distant from the highest standards of transparency known at global level
and that brought with it the lack of credibility of the citizens towards the State.
Along with the reform, many benefits came to the Mexican state. To mention a few
examples, the National Institute for Transparency, Access to Information and Personal Data
Protection (INAI) was granted full autonomy, empowering it to promote unconstitutionality
actions before the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, among others new attributions.
Also, new laws on transparency and data protection were created (Romero, 2014).
Those previous actions, alongside with others, constitute the National Transparency
System of Mexico. And while it implies an abysmal and extremely complex challenge
for the State authorities, it is also true that its design and execution do not represent
disadvantages or objections. On the contrary, it has been complemented and perfectly
merged with other national projects such as “Connected Mexico” (“México Conectado”)
(Secretariat of Communications and Transportation, 2017) and “Open Data” (Open Data
of the Government of the Republic, 2017), which constitutes the first step to transitioning
to open government and proactive and engaged transparency.
Notwithstanding, it is important to point out that one of the possible issues, or one
of the most significant challenges of the National Transparency System, is to guarantee
the privacy and protection of personal data towards the significant threat that ICTs
(Information and Communication Technologies) may represent on this topic.
Why speak of privacy and protection of personal data if the system is about
transparency? It turns out that the National Transparency System should also be
understood as the National System of Transparency, Access to Public Information and
Protection of Personal Data2
1 Decree by which various provisions of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States
are reformed and added, in matters of transparency (2014).
2 Besides, it would be necessary to add the public archives subject, since the proper functioning
of these makes it possible to turn transparency and the right of access to information a reality.
Nevertheless, Mexico has a National Archive System, supervised by the General Archive of the
Nation, which is linked always with INAI.
82
It is true that the constitutional reform gave particular emphasis to transparency and
the right of access to information, however, the National Transparency System also includes
all issues related to them, including privacy and protection of personal data3, reason why
this text addresses the challenges that the project will have on privacy against ICT.
2_RIGHT TO PRIVACY, PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA

AND ICT
Since the present paper aims to identify the challenges existent between the right
to privacy and data protection compared to ICTs, we will not go into detail in the
discussion about the balance of the right to information and the right to privacy and
data protection. However, it is important to remember that ICTs are events of substantial
meaning in many aspects of human life, including those related to the right of access
to information, accountability, and transparency, in such a way that they have been
considered human rights of the fourth generation (García Mexía, 2014). However, an
arbitrary use and inadequate regulation of these rights also entail a range of serious
effects on other rights that are the object of this analysis.
The so-called big data 4, cloud computing 5, the Internet of Things 6, the open data 7
and social networks 8, among others, should be meticulously regulated by the Mexican
authorities so their use will not violate the privacy of the person online regarding
its openness, especially because the currently trade of personal data is an important
market element to the sectors dedicated to various branches of negotiation, including
for State authorities themselves9.
3 For further information: <http://www.snt.org.mx/>
4 According to Mckinsey Global Institute (2011 apud Joyanes, 2013), big data is the data set whose
size is beyond the capabilities of typical database software tools to capture, store, manage and
analyze.
5 In accordance with article 3, section VI of the General Law for the Protection of Personal Data
Held by Obligated Subjects (2017), cloud computing is the model of external provision of on-demand
computing services, which involves supplying infrastructure, platform or computer software,
distributed in a flexible way, through virtual procedures, in dynamically shared resources.
6 Cuauhtémoc Vélez Martínez (2015), of the Institute of Engineering of the National

Autonomous University of Mexico, considers that the Internet of Things aims to achieve that
every device, using sensors and data network, may be connected at any time and place with
another device or person, all this to maintain a total monitoring and control of the processes
that each of these devices perform.
7 In accordance with the provisions of article 3, section VI of the General Law on Transparency
and Access to Public Information (2015), open data is public digital data that is accessible online
and can be used, reused and redistributed by anyone interested.
8 Santamaría (2008) points out that a social network is a social structure made up of nodes -
usually individuals or organizations - that are linked by one or more types of interdependence,
such as values, points of view, ideas, financial exchange, friendship, kinship, conflict, trade,
among others.
9 The best-known example is the case of Edward Snowden, who accused the United States of
83
As a starting point, the Federal Law for the

Protection of Personal Data Held by Individuals (2010),
FOR THE the General Law for the Protection of Personal Data
RESOLUTION OF in Possession of Obliged Subjects10 (2017) and the state
CASES DERIVED laws on the subject do not foresee clear protection
FROM ICT, IT IS mechanisms for privacy and personal data. Actually,
POSSIBLE THAT in many occasions, it seems that such laws are
THE LAWS DO NOT exceeded by ICT; the only instrument of such nature
CONTAIN SPECIFIC that has been explicitly contemplated in a law is the
cloud computing11, leaving in limbo tools offered by ICT
ANSWERS
and that could become highly damaging to the privacy
of people, since there is no adequate legal regulation.
At the moment, the Mexican legislation on the protection of personal data offers
what is necessary so that any person can defend themselves from interference with
their privacy arising from actions offline and even from some online. However, for the
resolution of cases derived from ICT, it is possible that the laws do not contain specific
answers. Therefore, the arguments and interpretations of guarantor bodies regarding
data protection laws are fundamental. Those bodies should perceive a solution to the
problems that ICTs will cause.
3_CONCLUSIONS AND PROPOSALS FOR DATA

PROTECTION AND PRIVACY IN THE NATIONAL
TRANSPARENCY SYSTEM
As we have seen, ICT constitutes a fundamental pillar to achieve the optimal state
of transparency, accountability, access to information and integral development of
individuals. In other words, they significantly benefit and strengthen the National
Transparency System in the matters above. Notwithstanding, the challenge regarding
the protection of privacy and personal data in Mexico still has pending commitments and
questions regarding ICT, since the higher legal matters in the topics contemplate legal
mechanisms that allow a real protection of the right to privacy and online data protection.
For this reason, it is considered that the answer to this class of problems that may
arise, or that already exist, can be a good legal engineering, a good argumentative quality
and interpretation by the Mexican judges, as well as an effective system of sanctions.
Therefore, it is proposed that the National Transparency System, in its mode of protection
of privacy and personal data, consider the following figures in its regulatory agenda:
violating privacy and liberties on the Internet against the world’s population. However, it is not
intended that this is a pretext to block ICTs as in the case of the Stop Online Piracy Act (S.O.P.A).
10 Reviewer’s note: According to Article 1 of this law, “obligated subjects” are, at the federal, state
and municipal levels, any authority, entity, body or agencies of the Executive, Legislative and
Judicial power, autonomous entities, political parties, fiduciary and public funds.”
11 Article 12 of the General Law for the Protection of Personal Data in Possession of Obliged Subjects.
84
3.1_DIGITAL IDENTITY
The identity is defined by the Royal Spanish Academy as the set of features of an
individual or a community that characterize them compared to others.
Everyone has the right to an identity that can be composed of name, surname or
nationality, among other data. All these features make the individual unique; they
make them a creditor of certain types of rights and obligations.
In offline life, at every moment we must accredit our identity for everyday situations,
such as entering work facilities, cashing checks or even making complaints that affect
the person directly.
In that same sense, and in times where it is almost impossible for human beings
not to interact with ICT, it is essential to delimit the digital identity. This means
determining all the information that makes an individual unique online, in order to
guarantee rights and also obligations to the rest of the users.
The proposal consists of the Mexican legislator defining the digital identity,
establishing characteristics and elements subject to the protection that allow outlining
what should be safeguarded from a person because it is part of his sphere.
3.2_RIGHT TO BE FORGOTTEN
Mexico, as Europe, just began to analyze this type of issue, which Is the possibility
to people remove information from the Internet that affects their free development.
The Mexican legislator must assess whether it is necessary to implement the right
to be forgotten as an autonomous figure or if the right to the cancellation of personal
data is a sufficient and appropriate means of defense in such situations.
3.3_SPECIALIZATION OF ESTRATEGIC PEOPLE IN LEGAL

AND GUARANTOR BODIES
The judges in matters of privacy and protection of personal data must know and
understand the operation of ICT so that their arguments and interpretations of the laws
are appropriate, relevant and guarantee the rights of their owners always.
3.4_NETWORK SECURITY
The authorities of protection of personal data, in their respective spheres

of competence, shall promote policies and actions to guarantee the security of
the personal data handled in their databases by the obliged subjects or, where
appropriate, individuals.
It is true that the laws on protection of personal data of Mexico provide security
measures to protect personal information. However, it is considered essential to
promote and study such actions as seen from the needs posed by ICT.
85
3.5_PRIVACY BY DESIGN
Embody the privacy inside the information systems (García Mexía, 2014). The
former Commissioner of Information and Privacy of Ontario, Canada, Ann Cavoukian,
considers privacy by design as the implementation of privacy from three areas of
application: information technology systems; responsible business practices and
physical design and network infrastructure, based on the ever growing and systematic
effects of information and communication technologies, and large-scale network
data systems.
In this sense, the authorities should promote that

those who own personal data think that everything they
IT IS ESSENTIAL
want to implement within the institutions, comply with
data protection laws, adding that protecting privacy is
TO DELIMIT THE
a good investment for them as well12. This means that DIGITAL IDENTITY
both the owner of the data and the institution earn by
protecting privacy.
3.6_STRENGTHEN THE DATA PROTECTION CULTURE
Data protection laws in the country delegate to the guarantor bodies the power to
train institutions as well as ordinary people on the subject. However, it is necessary to
emphasize how ICT can affect the privacy of people, as well as the solutions and means
of defense that can be exercised in case of suffering any mishap in this regard.
In the words of Dr. Villarino Marzo, we must achieve that in a total Internet
environment by default, privacy is be also offered by default. That is our great challenge.
_REFERENCES
Araujo Carranza, E. (2009). El derecho a la información y la protección de datos

personales en México. Mexico: Porrúa.
Decree by which various provisions of the Political Constitution of the United

Mexican States are reformed and added, in matters of transparency (Decreto por
el que se reforman y adicionan diversas disposiciones de la Constitución Política
de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, en materia de transparencia) (2014, February ).
Diario Oficial de la Federación. Retrieved from: <http://www.dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.
php?codigo=5332003&fecha=07/02/2014>
12 Besides that they will avoid legal sanctions, it is important to point out that the holders show
increasing interest in those services that protect their privacy.
86
Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States (Constitución Política de los Estados
Unidos Mexicanos) (1917, February 5). Última reforma publicada en 24 de febrero de
2017. Cámara de Diputados del H. Congreso de la Unión. Retrieved from: <http://www.
diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/1_240217.pdf>
Federal Law for the Protection of Personal Data Held by Individuals (Ley Federal de
Protección de Datos Personales en Posesión de los Particulares) (2010, July 5). Cámara
de Diputados del H. Congreso de la Unión. Retrieved from: <http://www.diputados.gob.
mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/LFPDPPP.pdf>
García Mexía, P. (2014). Derechos y libertades, internet y tics. España: Tirant lo Blanch.
General Law for the Protection of Personal Data in Possession of Obliged Subjects (Ley
General de Protección de Datos Personales en Posesión de Sujetos Obligados) (2017,
January 26). Cámara de Diputados del H. Congreso de la Unión. Retrieved from: <http://
www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/LGPDPPSO.pdf>
General Law on Transparency and Access to Public Information (Ley General de

Transparencia y Acceso a la Información Pública) (2015, May 4). Diario Oficial de la
Federación. Retrieved from: <http://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/ref/lgtaip/
LGTAIP_orig_04may15.pdf>
Joyanes, L. (2013). Big data. Análisis de grandes volúmenes de datos en organizaciones.

Mexico: Alfaomega.
Muñozcano Eternod, A. (2010). El derecho a la intimidad frente al derecho a la

información. México: Porrúa.
Novoa Monreal, E. (1989). Derecho a la vida privada y libertad de información. Un

conflicto de derechos. México: Siglo XXI.
Open Data of the Government of the Republic (Datos Abiertos del Gobierno de la
República) (2017). Datos. Retrieved from: <http://www.datos.gob.mx>
Pérez Luño, A. (2014). Nuevas Tecnologías y derechos humanos. El tiempo de los derechos
4. México: Tirant lo Blanch.
Romero, C. M. (2014). Implicaciones de la reforma constitucional en transparencia. Red

por la Rendición de Cuentas (RCC). Retrieved from: < http://rendiciondecuentas.org.mx/
implicaciones-de-la-reforma-constitucional-en-transparencia/>
Santamaría González, F. (2008). Posibilidades pedagógicas. Redes sociales y comunidades

educativas. TELOS. Cuadernos de comunicación e innovación. Número 76. Retrieved from
<https://telos.fundaciontelefonica.com/telos/cuaderno.asp@rev=76.htm>
Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (Secretaría de Comunicaciones y

Transportes) (2017). México Conectado. Retrieved from: <www.mexicoconectado.gob.mx>
Téllez Valdés, J. (2009). Derecho informático. México: Mc Graw Hill.
87
Vélez Martínez, C. (2015). Internet de las cosas. Gazette 2015 may. Engineering
Institute of the National Autonomous University of México. Retrieved from <http://
www.iingen.unam.mx/es-mx/Publicaciones/GacetaElectronica/Mayo2015/Paginas/
Internetdelascosas.aspx>
NATALIA MENDOZA SERVÍN

Graduated from the Master’s Degree in
Transparency and Protection of Personal Data
by the University of Guadalajara. Law degree
from the University of Guadalajara (Mexico).
88
DIGITAL
RIGHTS
DIGITAL RIGHTS _ JULIETA COLOMBO GARDEY + ANTONELLA MAIA PERINI
CITIZEN PARTICIPATION
IN THE REFORM OF THE
REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
OF INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATIONS
TECHNOLOGIES IN ARGENTINA
JULIETA COLOMBO GARDEY

Graduate in Political Science and International Relations, University
of San Andrés
julicolombo@gmail.com
Argentina
ANTONELLA MAIA PERINI

Master in International Relations Europe-Latin America, University of
Bologna
antomperini@gmail.com
Argentina
90
_THEMATIC
Digital rights
Contents and cultural assets on the Internet
_ABSTRACT
This article investigates the initiatives of regulatory reform

of information and communications technologies (ICT)
presented in 2016 in Argentina. It will be considered their
capacity to ensure citizen participation, limit market
concentration, ensure political and/or economic independence
of the media regulator and guarantee the full enjoyment of
the right to free expression and information. We conclude
that the reorientation of public policies, particularly the call
for participation in consultation and debate processes, are
insufficient to guarantee the assimilation of citizen’s demands
and that these mechanisms contribute to the increase of legal
uncertainty and the concentration of the market.
Keywords: information and communications technology;

regulation; citizen participation
91
1_BACKGROUND
Some years ago, both at the regional and international levels, multiple human
rights organizations (including the Organization of American States, the United Nations
and their respective Rapporteurs) have emphasized the importance of the right of free
expression and information as a human, individual and collective right, whose defense
constitutes one of the essential columns for the construction of more solid and inclusive
democracies. Therefore, many countries, reverberating these postulates, have adapted
their regulations to international standards on freedom of expression.
In Argentina, however, the principles that sustain these democratic aspirations

have not yet been able to materialize, while the process of defining the legislation that
will regulate the media and information technologies remains; regulations that will
work as the material support of that fundamental human right (Loreti, 2014).
The Argentinian case is a clear example of how certain historical aspects of political
systems can meaningfully, and in the long term, condition the form and standards of a
media system operation. Since the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with the emergence
of the first media (the written press and the radio), political decisions regarding media
regulation have been characterized by a constant volatility because of particular interests,
detachment from democratic principles and the non-inclusion of social demands. These
elements shaped the media system, allowing, by action or omission, the consolidation of
a commercial, hyper-concentrated and little-participative system. The early adoption of
a business model contributed to a decision-making process reduced to the preferences of
private groups - who held the economic power and owned media companies - and those
of public power - political actors with the ability to determine the “game rules” of the
media system (Mastrini, 2009; Colombo Gardey, 2016).
Over the time these conditions have almost completely and systematically annulled
the possibilities of citizens to express their interests when the rules that regulate the
process of production and exchange of information were defined. Thus, who should be
the holder of the right to communication have been excluded from the process.
The paradoxical state of marginality of citizens undermines one of the fundamental

elements of democracy, according to Robert Dahl (1989): the equality of opportunities
for individuals to decide and act with freedom, based on access and understanding of
information that allows them to manage their preferences.
This situation deepened with time in Argentina, beginning with the continuous
concessions made by different governments to the companies that now are “mega-
media” and dominate the market of information and communications technologies (ICT).
A balance between economic and political interests changed in Argentina in 2009,

when a conflict between the Clarín Group and the government of Cristina Fernández de
Kirchner took place. As a result, the Law on Audiovisual Communications Services (Ley
de Servicios de Comunicación Audiovisual, [LACS]).
92
2_LAW ON AUDIOVISUAL COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES: A

TURNING POINT?
That law becomes highly relevant when we consider that it is, after many reform
projects, decrees-law and necessity and urgency decrees, the second law that has
passed through all legislative procedures and a parliamentary debate process1. It is also
the only law that generated debates in the public space, and the first one that aspired to
the regulation of mass media as a defense of a human right.
However, the most remarkable aspect about the LACS - which replaced, after 29
years, the old decree-law established in 1980 by the military dictatorship headed by
Jorge Rafael Videla - is that it emerges under really exceptional conditions.
In 2009 happened the confluence of various factors, among which we can briefly
highlight the emergence of a conflict between the agro-export sectors and the Kirchner
government, due to the increase of taxes over exportations, causing the rupture of the
relations - until now friendly - between the government and the Clarín Group. These
circumstances opened a window of opportunity for the resurgence of demands for the
“democratization of communications”, carried out by civil society groups that since the
return to democracy had claimed the need to reform the decree-law imposed during the
last de facto government. These demands were opportunely resumed by the ruling party
in order to promote a new regulation of the media capable of reducing the influence that
Clarín - aligned to the interests of the agro-export sectors - exerted on public opinion
(Colombo Gardey, 2016).
The law was sanctioned on October 10, 2009, within a Congress favorable to the
ruling party and in concurrence with the growing regional claims in Latin America
regarding the democratization of media systems.
Years later, in December 2014, Law No. 27,078, known as “Digital Argentina,”
was passed. It replaced the National Telecommunications Law (Ley Nacional de
Telecomunicaciones), No. 19.798, which since 1972 regulated this sector. This first attempt
to adapt to convergent technologies presented different nuances. On the one hand, the
law established the need for the regulation and opening of the telecommunications
market, as well as the inclusion of the net neutrality concept. On the other hand, the
text was vague and inaccurate, insufficient for the protection of privacy and personal
data. It also granted excessive power to the enforcement authority2, validated an
allocation regime tied to the Executive Power. It allowed, at the same time, an increase
1 The only similar precedent is Law No. 14.241 on Regulation of Broadcasting Services, sanctioned
in 1953 by Juan D. Perón.
2 This law gives the enforcement authority - and through it, the government - a high discretion in
matters such as the definition of what is understood by business actors “with a significant market
position” (ambiguous expression) from which you can take measures such as the regulation of
market prices, you can request disinvestments, etc. This type of wording, which allows the discretion
of the State or the entities implementing the rules in the field of communication, moves away from
the aspirations of democratization and transparency of the LSCA.
93
in concentration, while authorizing telecommunications companies, as well as

audiovisual and digital media operators, to acquire property within other sectors of the
ICT market, with little demanding conditions.
Towards the end of Cristina Fernández’s term, six years of fragile application of the
LACS had elapsed. Among other factors, this happened due to legal actions filed and
a weak political will to pursue democratic ends after the implementation of the law.
Moreover, the sanction the “Digital Argentina” Law, which contradicted aims set by LACS.
Faced with the urgent need to adapt to the processes of technological convergence
and the growing trend towards the concentration of the ICT market, the assumption of
Mauricio Macri as president, on December 10, 2015, posed new challenges that led him
to take two firm decisions. Only 19 days after taking office, he published the Necessity
and Urgency Decree No. 267. This was followed by the creation of the Commission
for the Preparation of the Bill for the Reform, Updating and Unification of Laws No.
26,522 and No. 27,078 (from now on the Commission), as established in the article 28
of the Necessity and Urgency Decree mentioned. Although the Decree also stipulates
the presentation of a preliminary draft within 180 days from the constitution of the
Commission, the latter requested the extension of the term, but, until now, it has not
yet raised any draft bill.
One year after the creation of the Commission, Mauricio Macri signed the Necessity
and Urgency Decree No. 1340/16, whose objective was the reform of laws No. 26,522 and
No. 27,078. The government said that these modifications sought to overcome issues such
as distortions in competition, high costs, and damages for users, to create a regulatory
context tuned with the development of the media and telecommunications industry.
The current process of regulatory reform reaffirms once again the democratic
aspirations of the international regulations to which Argentina has followed and
also expresses the will to supply the need for adequate regulation of technological
convergence, correcting inconsistencies and overlapping areas of previous laws (LACS
and Digital Argentina). The guiding principles of such reform, which will guide the
definition of the preliminary draft law, are contemplated in Resolution 9/2016.
Next, we will consider three aspects that, in our opinion, play a fundamental role
regarding State’s responsibility to guarantee the full enjoyment of the human right
to freedom of expression and access to information. We aim to analyze government’s
initiatives on regulatory reform presented in 2016, in order to evaluate if they are
adequate to international regulations principles subscribed by Argentina.
94
3_FUNDAMENTAL ASPECTS TO GUARANTEE THE FULL

ENJOYMENT OF THE RIGHT OF FREE EXPRESSION AND
ACCESS TO INFORMATION
3.1_THE PARTICIPATION OF CITIZENS IN THE MEDIA,

INCLUDING THE PROCESSES OF DEFINING THE
REGULATORY FRAMEWORK OF INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES, ALL TYPES OF
DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED.
Citizen participation is a crucial factor for the strengthening of democratic systems

where freedom of expression is guaranteed. That not only allows to enrich the processes
based on the knowledge, ideas, and experiences of the citizens but also to boost their
role in public affairs. Therefore, we cannot think of elaborating a law of freedom of
expression without creating the necessary conditions for a space for public debate that
genuinely incorporates all sectors.
The guiding principles of the Commission that approximate this objective refers
to public control and social monitoring of the new regulatory framework as well as
guarantees for citizen participation and respect for the principle of federalism. This
Commission proposed to open the process of reformulation of the regulatory framework
to the interested parties, contemplating an instance of direct citizen participation.
The Commission organized a meeting with the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of
Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR); carried out 20
participatory meetings, collecting the contributions of 76 organizations; 2 international
seminars with 16 national and international experts gathered in 5 discussion panels; 5
academic debates in Buenos Aires, Cuyo, Córdoba, Jujuy and Rosario, where 26 specialists
participated in 8 panel discussions; received 3 additional contributions; and, finally,
made a digital consultation (#SumáTuAporte) from September 22 to December 15, 2016,
from which received 700 opinions, up to 300 characters each, of registered citizens.
As Bello Arellano (Inter-American Association of Telecommunications Companies,

ASIET in Spanish) argues, the formulation of a regulatory framework must ensure
the protection of consumers, from the quality of services to the protection of their
data (National Communications Agency, ENACOM by it is initials in Spanish3). Then,
although not exclusively with this objective, the voice of citizens is essential in the
process of legislative regulation, not only as civil rights holders but also as end
users. Therefore, a digital space of consultation limited in characters and number of
3 Reviewer’s note: Enacom is described on its website as an autarchic and decentralized entity
operating under the Ministry of Modernization of the Nation. Its purpose is to drive the process of
technological convergence and create stable market conditions to ensure access to all Argentinians
to the Internet, mobile and fixed telephony, radio, post offices and television. Enacom was
created in December 2015 through Decree No. 267, which established the agency as regulator of
communications in order to ensure quality service to all users. Source: <https://www.enacom.gob.
ar/institucionales_p33>
95
interventions, lacking complementary consultations in physical and public spaces,

has been proved insufficient.
If we take into consideration the actors invited to join in the participatory meetings,
we observe that they were, mainly, commercial chambers (18), business associations,
commercial associations or cooperatives (15) and non-profit organizations (16). To a
lesser extent, worker’s unions (8), public entities (8) and federations and confederations
(5) participated. Among these actors, the most represented areas or industries were
telecommunications and Internet (14), TV broadcasting (9) and radio transmission
(8). This is not a surprise since those companies are in a dynamic core as the ones
with the most favorable externalities (Becerra, 2017). However, it should be noted that
the actors focused on issues related to the protection of civil rights and democratic
strengthening represented only 11.8 % of the participants. Organizations representing
the interests for gender equality put particular emphasis on the need to include in the
regulatory framework, transversely, sectors with the least possibility of participation
and representation in the media, as well as the incorporation of a non-sexist language
in the drafting of the new law (ENACOM).
On the other hand, if we analyze the few 76

organizations participating in biweekly meetings,
STATE MUST HAVE
we can note that 3 of them have a global reach, 5 a
local scope, 62 a national scope and only 6 of them
AN ACTIVE ROLE
a subnational scope. Moreover, among the latter, SO THAT THE
5 represent the interests of actors from the city of ADMINISTRATION OF
Buenos Aires and/or the province of Buenos Aires. It COMMUNICATION
is possible, then, to notice an under-representation SERVICES DOES
of the provinces in the participatory meetings. NOT GENERATE
An aspect no less important, considering that SITUATIONS
federalism was taken as one of the guiding principles OF ABUSE OF A
of the Commission. Provincial representation was DOMINANT POSITION
remarkable only during the academic debates, in
which participated universities and chairs of Jujuy,
Córdoba and Santa Fe, among others,
Finally, considering the series of meetings mentioned above and in view of the
publication of Decree 1340/16, which seems to skip the necessary deliberative step in
strengthening a regulatory framework on media, it is worth asking to what extent
citizen participation in the process of elaboration of the preliminary draft law is not
reflected only in the discursive plane, in contradiction with the practice. As stated by
Santiago Cantón, former Rapporteur of Freedom of Expression and former Executive
Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the participation of
citizens and other interested actors must provide an exchange of ideas, otherwise, a
freedom of expression law would be only complying with the formalities, but mainly
he would be looking to avoid real participation (ENACOM).
96
3.2_THE REGULATION OF AUDIOVISUAL COMMUNICATION

SERVICES BASED ON AN ACTIVE ROLE OF THE STATE,
WHICH GUARANTEES THE ENJOYMENT OF THE RIGHT
TO FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND, IN A TRANSPARENT
WAY, ENSURES PLURALITY (NUMBER OF VOICES)
AND PLURALISM (DIVERSITY OF VOICES), LIMITING
CONCENTRATION.
The role of the State as guarantor of rights supposes that it must regulate, monitor
and act in the face of possible violations of freedom of expression. As it refers to essential
services for the citizen, the State must have an active role so that the administration of
communication services does not generate situations of abuse of a dominant position
while promoting universal access to said services.
For its part, the guiding principles of the Commission establish that the definition of
democratic criteria for the assignment of licenses is necessary; the neutrality, openness
and competitiveness of the networks; the plurality and diversity of audiovisual content;
and the guarantees of political, religious, social, cultural, linguistic and ethnic pluralism
in the media.
However, Decree 1340/16 presents a series of worrying measures, since they favor
the market concentration, a fact that acts to the detriment of plurality and pluralism
within the ICT media system.
Article 3 protects for 15 years the last mile4, a standard defined by European regulation,
for example, as a cause of unfair competition, since it favors the protectionism of
certain actors for many years.
On the other hand, the dominant industries are favored by looser assignments
of access and exploitation of the radio-frequency spectrum. In fact, it postpones the
obligations of companies that acquired spectrum licenses for 4G three years ago, which
is a free access pass for large media companies. Also, it allows telephone companies
to operate cable TV licenses and, conversely, cable operators operate mobile phone
licenses.
All this makes possible the market convergence when historically dominant players
can access new concentrated markets by marginal cession of their principal market.
These regulations not only affect the rules of entry for smaller actors but also affect
plurality and pluralism, ignoring international principles of protection of freedom of
expression5. In this sense, during the participatory meetings, many positions were
4 Reviewer’s note: last mile refers to the part of a network infrastructure that allows
the connection between backhauls (intermediary infrastructure) and the end-user of a
telecommunications services.
5 Principe 12 of the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression: “Monopolies or

oligopolies in the ownership and control of the communication media must be subject to anti-trust
laws, as they conspire against democracy by limiting the plurality and diversity which ensure
97
raised to reflected the need to open the market and develop a regulatory framework
that allows this, as well as ensuring the maintenance and access of various actors to
the ICT market and the generation of content with linguistic, ethnic and geographical
diversity, among others.
It should be noted that many actors invited to the participatory meetings raised
concerns related to both the current market concentration and the existing tensions
to ensure pluralism. The positions covered ideas ranging from the protection of low-
power media - which today represent 70% of Argentina’s communication companies
- and of small broadcasting companies in areas with little access to the Internet, to the
protection of content on different media.
Precisely about content regulation, it is alarming the absence of meetings to look

over article 77 of LACS, which introduces the concept of “content of relevant interest”.
This situation deserves two comments. The first is related to the legal uncertainty
generated by the uncertainty about the validity of said article of the LACS that, in theory,
continues to be part of the media legislation but, in practice, requires meetings - that
are not being carried out – when the State must fulfill its role as guarantor of universal
access to said contents; it is in those meetings in which the State should determine
which contents of relevant interest would be transmitted by the open TV, because they
are of national public interest, such as football, for example. Considering this aspect is
highly relevant; if not treated according to what the law demands, Article 77 could be
disused or be eliminated at the time of drafting the new regulations.
3.3_THE EXISTENCE OF A REGULATORY ENTITY WITH

POLITICAL, ECONOMIC OR ANY OTHER KIND OF
INDEPENDENCE CAPABLE OF VITIATING ITS ACTIONS.
The Necessity and Urgency Decree 267/15 ordered the creation of the National
Communications Agency (ENACOM) to replace the Federal Authority for Audiovisual
Communication Services (AFSCA in Spanish) and the Federal Authority for Information
and Communication Technologies (AFTIC in Spanish). Then; the decree established a
single regulating agency for audiovisual communication services and information and
communication technologies.
As regards its composition, four of the seven ENACOM board members are appointed
by the National Executive Power, while the remaining three are appointed by the
Bicameral Commission for Promotion and Monitoring of Audiovisual Communication,
Telecommunications Technologies and the Digitalization of the Congress of the
Argentinian Nation at the proposal of the parliamentary blocs, corresponding one to the
majority or first minority, one to the second minority and one to the third parliamentary
minority (which gives it a fifth possibility of appointment to the party of government).
the full exercise of people’s right to information. In no case should such laws apply exclusively to
the media. The concession of radio and television broadcast frequencies should take into account
democratic criteria that provide equal opportunity of access for all individuals.”
98
Board members have a four-year mandate and can be removed by the National
Executive Power directly and without expression of a cause. Currently, the ENACOM
board is made up of an official majority: Miguel de Godoy (PRO), Heber Martínez (PRO),
Silvana Giudici (PRO) and Alejandro Pereyra (PRO), Miguel Ángel Giubergia (UCR), Claudio
Ambrosini (Frente Renovador) and Guillermo Raúl Jenefes (FpV). Likewise, the ENACOM
is monitored by the General Syndicate of the Nation and the General Audit of the Nation.
This panorama indicates three irregular aspects regarding the nomination process,
the composition and the attributions of the national regulator, as elements that can
condition their independence. First, the procedure by which the creation of the same
was arranged and the consequent merger of the pre-existing control bodies, that is,
the AFSCA and the AFTIC, through a Necessity and Urgency Decree, which bypassed the
democratic and deliberative instances of legislative treatment. On the other hand, the
National Executive Power not only had broad interference on the creation and regulation
of the agency, but the nature of the board nomination violates the guarantees of political
independence since it is mainly made up of members of the executive party. Finally, it
is this same Power that can revoke the mandate of all board members, without the need
to specify the causes, generating an apparent imbalance of power.
Concerns about the violation of international standards, among them regarding

autonomy, independence and plurality, motivated many civil society organizations
to file a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Edison
Lanza, Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, stated that the board composition
and prima facie attributions, as it was designed then, did not comply with freedom of
expression standards because it should be protected from any political or economic
interference (Becerra, 2016). Santiago Cantón, former Rapporteur of Freedom of
Expression and former Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights before the signing of Decree 1340/16 warned in one of the participatory
meetings that make the control of freedom of expression dependent on the Executive
Power is an error, since it cannot control the body in charge of supervising it (ENACOM).
Along the same line, and using the same space, Francisco Godinez Galay, of the National
Network of Alternative Media (Rede Nacional de Meios Alternativos, RNMA), said that
no legislation that gives the Executive Power automatic majority or arbitrary decision
power over its conformation should be endorsed (ENACOM). Among the dangers that
this entails for freedom of expression are the lack of legitimacy of the regulatory
agency and the lack of control over the powers of the Commission, aspects that could
lead to decisions that favor the allocation of licenses of the media in which the board
participates or to media that are related to the government.
The new decree 1340/16, also, assigns greater powers to ENACOM. Although the
“quadruple play” service package (fixed telephony, mobile, cable TV and Internet
service) will be valid for Rosario, the City of Córdoba, the Federal Capital and Greater
Buenos Aires, ENACOM will be able to enable it in the rest of the country (Article 5).
Also, the decree not only assigns the regulator the capacity to command the rules of
administration, management, and control of the radio-frequency spectrum but also
gives it the power to assign and manage spectrum frequencies and authorizes it by
establishing compensation, obligations of deployment and coverage (Article 4).
99
4_CONCLUSIONS
The oscillation of the ICT regulatory framework, characterized by the overlapping

of norms, their constant modification and the prevalence of ambiguities, inaccuracies,
and inconsistencies between the guiding principles and government practices, has
only led to more significant legal uncertainty in this area. The previous regulation
was extinguished while a mechanism for the elaboration of a new law was promoted,
promising a guarantee to the inclusion of the stakeholders. Although the process has
not been finalized yet and the draft bill has not yet been presented, the decree that
delimits their results has already been signed.
As we have mentioned, participatory meetings, academic exchanges, and

international meetings, among other mechanisms, have provided the Commission
with valuable and representative inputs for the interests of the stakeholders involved in
the telecommunications and media market. Likewise, digital queries have incorporated
the demands of 700 end users.
However, it is not only necessary to increase the levels of citizen participation

as users but also guarantees that the demands presented in the meetings will be
genuinely incorporated into the preliminary draft of the new law, especially because
Decree 1340/16 establishes some regulations contrary to the proposals mentioned during
the meetings. In addition to this, as affirmed by Becerra and Mastrini (2017), the core
of small, medium and cooperative players in the telecommunications, Internet and
audiovisual industries have a great regional representative status in the country and
generate positive externalities both economic and social. Despite this, according to
experts, unlike the giants of telecommunications and the audiovisual industry, this
sector did not affect the new decree, and its attention appears neglected by state policies.
Despite a discourse full of references to convergence, competition and the following

search to bring and include diverse voices in the participatory process to generate a
regulatory framework according to a plural market, the real trend seems to enhance
concentration according to agreements highly beneficial for the mega-media that
already have a dominant position in the market. The government directly ignores the
problem of excessive ownership concentration of communication resources (some
of them, public), and it is that dynamic core that is most affected by the new rules
(Becerra, & Mastrini, 2017).
We need to understand that the actions are taken so far, rather than promoting
competition or investments attraction from new players, favor the expansion of the
two or three dominant companies in each sector (fixed telephony, mobile telephony,
broadband and paid television), increasing the power of the conglomerates and,
therefore, contributing to the concentration.
About all the above, it is worth noting the existence of a well-known discursive
change at the governmental level regarding the objectives of communicational policy.
Despite both governments - Cristina Fernández and Mauricio Macri - have proclaimed
criteria of democratic participation as the axis of their policies, the former highlighted
100
- at least on the discursive level - the need to expand the number of voices in the
public space through divestment of the dominant market companies, while the latter
and current government says to be oriented to the strengthening of the conditions of
economic competition and to adequate adaptation to the convergent processes.
Experience has shown us how the political will of the Kirchner government was
insufficient for the crystallization of a communicational democracy, while its actions
tended to the implementation of a system of rewards and punishments from which
they favored political allies - owners of media companies -, and they tried to silence
opposition voices.
In these instances, we face a new issue, before which we must, as citizens, act
promptly. We need to identify early action indications aimed at the concentration that
decrease plurality and pluralism, as well as monitor government actions to demand
more legal security at all stages of the development of the new standard, respecting the
principles that conform international standards in the field.
_REFERENCES
Becerra, M. (2016). Audiencia en la CIDH sobre los DNUs de Macri. Retrieved from
<https://martinbecerra.wordpress.com/2016/04/08/audiencia-en-la-cidh-sobre-los-
dnus-de-macri/>
Becerra, M. (2017). A falta de inversiones, lluvia de decretos. Retrieved from <https://

martinbecerra.wordpress.com/2017/01/02/a-falta-de-inversiones-lluvia-de-decretos>
Becerra, M., & Mastrini, G. (2017). Inseguridad jurídica en comunicaciones. Retrieved

from <http://www.letrap.com.ar/nota/2017-2-10-inseguridad-juridica-en-
comunicaciones>
Colombo Gardey, J. (2016). ¿Camino a la democratización comunicacional o al perpetuo

cambio normativo? (Unpublished undergratuate thesis). University of San Andrés,
Buenos Aires.
Dahl, R. A. (1989). Democracy and its Critics. 6th ed. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Decreee 1340/16 (2016, January 18). Normas básicas. Implementación sobre

comunicaciones convergentes. Retrieved from <http://servicios.infoleg.gob.ar/
infolegInternet/anexos/270000-274999/270115/norma.htm>
Digital Argentina Law (Ley Argentina Digital) (2014, December 19). Ley No. 27.078.
Desarrollo de las Tecnologías de la Información y las Comunicaciones. Retrieved from
101
<http://www.saij.gob.ar/desarrollo-tecnologias-informacion-comunicaciones-ley-
argentina-digital-desarrollo-tecnologias-informacion-comunicaciones-ley-argentina-
digital-nv9937-2014-12-16/123456789-0abc-d73-99ti-lpssedadevon>
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (2000). Declaration of Principles on

Freedom of Expression. Retrieved from <http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/expression/
showarticle.asp?artID=26 >
Law on Audiovisual Communications Services (Ley sobre Servicios de Comunicación

Audiovisual) (2009, October 10). Ley No. 26.522. Retrieved from <http://servicios.infoleg.
gob.ar/infolegInternet/anexos/155000-159999/158649/norma.htm>
Loreti, D., & Lozano, L. (2014). El derecho a comunicar. Los conflictos en torno a la
libertad de expresión en las sociedades contemporáneas. 1 ed. Buenos Aires: Siglo
Veintiuno Editores.
Mastrini, G. (Ed.) (2009). Mucho ruido, pocas leyes. Economía y políticas de

comunicación en la Argentina (1920-2007). 1 ed. Buenos Aires: La Crujía.
National Communications Agency (Ente Nacional de Comunicaciones) (2016). Comisión

Redactora para la Nueva Ley de Comunicaciones. Retrieved from <https://www.enacom.
gob.ar/leydecomunicaciones>
National Telecommunications Law (Ley Nacional de Telecomunicaciones) (1972, August

22). Ley No. 19.798. Retrieved from <http://servicios.infoleg.gob.ar/infolegInternet/
anexos/30000-34999/31922/texact.htm>
Necessity and Urgency Decree 267/15 (2016, January 4). Creación del Ente Nacional de
Comunicaciones (ENACOM). Retrieved from <http://www.saij.gob.ar/creacion-ente-
nacional-comunicaciones-enacom-creacion-ente-nacional-comunicaciones-enacom-
nv13584-2015-12-29/123456789-0abc-485-31ti-lpssedadevon>
Resolution 9/16 (2016, March 1). Resolución para la creación de la Comisión para la
elaboración del proyecto de ley de reforma, actualización y unificación de las Leyes Nro
26.522 y Nro 27.078. Retrieved from <http://servicios.infoleg.gob.ar/infolegInternet/
anexos/260000-264999/260465/norma.htm>
102
JULIETA COLOMBO GARDEY

Julieta Colombo Gardey holds a degree
in Political Science and International
Relations from the University of San Andrés,
Argentina. Diploma in International Defense
of Human Rights from Henry Dunant
University, Switzerland. She currently works
in the General Audit of the Nation, the
highest technical body of external control of
the national public sector of Argentina. She
is also a member of the Youth Observatory.
ANTONELLA MAIA PERINI

Antonella Maia Perini holds a degree in
International Relations from the University
of San Andrés, Argentina, and a Master’s in
International Relations in Europe - Latin
America from the University of Bologna,
Italy. She is a specialist in political
innovation, open government and Internet
governance. She works as co-coordinator
of the #InnovaPolíticaLatam project of
Southern Affairs (Asuntos del Sur). She
is a member of the Youth Observatory, a
member of ICANN’s Non-Commercial Users
Constituency (NCUC) and an ICANN fellow.
103
DIGITAL RIGHTS _ SILVANA CRISTINA RIVERO
CONSUMER PROTECTION
IN THE DIGITAL ECONOMY
SILVANA CRISTINA RIVERO

Lawyer from the Buenos Aires University, Master in Business Law
at San Andres University
silvanacrivero@gmail.com
Argentina
104
_THEMATIC
Digital Rights
New problems of Internet
_ABSTRACT
The Information and Communication Technologies are

incorporated into a structural change existing at an economic
level. This new environment proposes the challenge of adapting
the consumer protection in a rising digital economy. The
creation of uniform rules, policies, and practices to protect the
users in an effective way is indispensable in the search for the
strengthening of online consumer security and trust, and thus,
the development and improvement of the digital economy.
Keywords: consumer protection; consumer defense; digital

economy
105
1_INTRODUCTION
The incorporation of the Information and Communication Technologies (hereafter

ICTs) is related to productive structures and foreign commerce guidelines more intensive
in technology-produced goods, that is, to a structural change in an economic approach.
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) considers
the digital economy as part of a new vision of development that may operate as a
catalyst of a structural change, promoting long-term investment, diversification of
the productive structure and greater convergence in productivity levels of the whole
economy (ECLAC, 2013).
This new digital environment demands an adjustment of the current consumer

protection, as well as the incorporation of the inherent issues of a rising digital
economy. For this reason, the formulation of uniform rules, policies, and practices
that tend to protect the customers in an effective way and provide guidance about fair
commerce activities must exist, (ECLAC, 2016) for the strengthening of online consumer
security and trust, and then the development and improvement of the digital economy.
In this context, the recommendations of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation

and Development (OECD, 2016) about consumer protection in e-commerce aim for the
countries to update their consumer protection laws to face the new risks that online
commerce proposes, including applications and transactions between consumers
(peer-to-peer or P2P).
In this order of ideas, there is a need for

similar protection seen in traditional transactions,
regarding transparency and effectiveness, also to THERE IS A NEED
people who shop on the Internet. The guidelines, FOR SIMILAR
in the new recommendations published by OECD, PROTECTION SEEN
include matters of e-commerce under a Business to IN TRADITIONAL
Consumer (B2C) scheme, as well as those performed TRANSACTIONS,
between consumers (P2P). REGARDING
Simultaneously, in this panorama surrounded
TRANSPARENCY
by ICTs, one must consider discrimination amongst AND
consumers, due to, for example, their geographic EFFECTIVENESS,
location, by practices that go from the geographic ALSO TO PEOPLE
blockage to discriminatory offers in all of the shopping WHO SHOP ON THE
and online payments sectors. The latter is also a topic INTERNET
to address in the establishment of the rules and
policies that must prevail in this environment.
106
2_CONSUMER PROTECTION AND CHALLENGES IN THE

DIGITAL ECONOMY
Among the elements that must be protected in an environment characterized

by ICTs use there is the technology neutrality principle, which involves demanding
interoperability among different products and/or services offered, a relevant issue
towards the deliberate non-interoperability of systems by providers, who limit
consumers’ choices.
We can also identify a need to ensure the net neutrality, which is an important
step to guarantee to consumers an open access to the Internet and that identical types
of traffic will be treated equally. One of the usual ways to define the term is the non-
discrimination of contents, applications, and services by Internet service providers.
According to this rule, the user should not notice differences when navigating at a
website or another.
Another important issue is the pursuit of reduction of barriers that slow down
the cross-border e-commerce development, regarding to the rules for regulation of
cross-border parcel shipment and taxes to sale of goods and services, that, due to
their fragmentation and to the lack of transparency, difficult e-commerce, which is
characterized by crossing borders (European People’s Party Group, 2017).
On the other hand, consumers need to have access to easy-to-use mechanisms

to solve disputes arisen from national and/or cross-border contracts in e-commerce.
In this context, alternative Online Disputes Resolution mechanisms (known as
ODR), arise as a viable option to solve disputes derived from e-commerce. ODRs are
processes that incorporate the use of the Internet or any other kind of ICT for disputes
resolution. Examples in countries of the region are Concilianet1 in Mexico and Sernac2 in
Chile. At a regional level, we can find the Regional Program of E-Resolution for Digital
Economy Disputes, provided by the Latin American Institute of E-Commerce (Instituto
Latinoamericano de Comercio Electrónico)3, while in Europe there is the ECC-Net4. This
kind of mechanisms can improve the access to solutions in the digital environment
while increasing the speed and effectiveness in which those procedures are made, as
well as minimizing costs (World Intellectual Property Organization, 2000).
Among the objectives pursued by these alternatives, there is the one associated with
the protection of consumers that have been damaged by online companies, particularly
when the damages are of low economic value and that the dispute has transnational
focus. Additionally, they aim to promote the expansion of e-commerce, especially
1 For further information: <http://concilianet.profeco.gob.mx/Concilianet/comoconciliar.jsp>
2 For further information: <http://www.sernac.cl/>
3 For further information: <http://www.einstituto.org/nuestras-iniciativas/programa-regional-

redodr>
4 For further information: <http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/solving_consumer_disputes/non-

judicial_redress/ecc-net/index_en.htm>
107
regarding small and medium companies, providing simpler mechanisms for dispute
resolution (Gonzalez, 2012).
Another aspect that needs to be considered when pursuing the safeguard of online
consumer rights is the one associated with the portability of people’s digital life, which
involves the possibility to demand the release or transfer of anything under consumer
ownership, from mobile phone number to the data provided to a particular online
platform. Then, the consumers do not get attached to the services of one single provider
and can always rely on the freedom to choose different online products and/or services
offered by several providers.
Also, it is worth demanding fair commerce practices in the new digital environment.
Some of them, according to the OECD recommendations, are associated with not
distorting or hiding contractual terms and conditions that could affect the decision
of buying or trying to hide identity or location. Those practices should not result in
deceptive practices related to the compilation or use of personal data, including not
specifically informing that the service is provided in exchange for a compensation
which escapes the traditional monetary.
Besides, special care must be taken in the marketing activities directed to children
or other vulnerable consumers, such as seniors. Another example is associated with
looking for safe products online since many countries have online those who have been
declared unsafe in offline market. Therefore, those who operate in the digital market
should cooperate along with government agencies to prevent those practices from
spreading (OECD, 2016, p. 10-12).
Likewise, new products and/or services available to users, such as IoT devices,
demand a strict compliance with the duty of information from providers, who should
be aware of consumers’ need to better understand the features and limitations of these
new products. In this respect, the United Kingdom Information Economy Council has
elaborated a voluntary recommendations framework designed to consumers, in order
to respond to user’s expectations and provide them with appropriate information about
their rights and obligations on IoT ecosystem (BT, 2014) (OECD, 2015).
Another example of the duty to inform in this context is providing clear information
about the conditions related to the acquisition and the use of digital content such as
online music and movies, which are often sold with legal or technical limitations of use
(Koopman, Mitchell, & Thierer, 2015).
Finally, it is worth mentioning a model that has provided power to the consumer
in terms of e-commerce, the reputational feedback mechanisms, those that provide
the user an opinion agency. This tool has such an importance that a great number
of brands that operate in this digital ecosystem rely on it to establish trust among
providers and consumers.
108
3_FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
This current process, related to offering independent answers to the evolution of

new technologies, involves the risk of losing regulatory coherence, possibly resulting
in costs increase and ineffectiveness in regulatory compliance for those involved. For
consumers, great complexity and fragmentation of regulation could difficult their
activities in the digital economy.
A regulatory framework with a wide approach, in order to tie rules and/or

mechanisms for the protection of the consumer and thus consolidate its security
and trust in the new digital outline, would offer a more appropriate environment for
companies and customers.
In this instance, the role of the agencies of consumer protection is essential.

They must simultaneously take care of users in their online activities and achieve
cooperation with other countries entities for information exchange and resolution of
cross-border disputes.
The ecosystem provided by the multistakeholder model, ruling in the Internet

Governance, is essential for acquisition of consensus and cooperation between all
stakeholders involved in the digital community.
The behavior of consumers goes hand in hand with the actions and growth of the
private sector, and it is necessary for their mutual rights and obligations to find fair
balance for both, bearing in consideration the fact that digital economy benefits both
users and providers, so their development and success rely on a digital market where
security and trust between actors generate greater advantages for the Information Society.
_REFERENCES
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (2013). La Economía
digital para el cambio estructural y la igualdad. p. 99. Retrieved from <http://www.
cepal.org/ilpes/noticias/paginas/3/54303/Economia_digital_para_cambio.pdf>
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (2016). La nueva
revolución digital: De la Internet del consumo a la Internet de la producción. eLAC 2018
La revolución digital. Santiago. p. 95. Retrieved from <http://repositorio.cepal.org/
bitstream/handle/11362/38604/4/S1600780_es.pdf>
European People’s Party Group (2017). Los consumidores en la economía digital.

Retrieved from <http://www.eppgroup.eu/es/our-priority/Los-consumidores-en-la-
econom%C3%ADa-digital>
109
Gonzalez, W. N. (2012). Mecanismos alternativos de resolución de controversias en

línea: hacia un sistema mundial. Heurística Jurídica. p. 106-107. Retrieved from
<http://erevistas.uacj.mx/ojs/index.php/heuristica/article/view/1241/1071>
Koopman, C., Mitchell, M., & Thierer, A. (2015). The Sharing Economy and Consumer
Protection Regulation: The Case for Policy Change. 8 J. Bus. Entrepreneurship & L. 529.
p. 541. Retrieved from <http://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/jbel/vol8/iss2/4>
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2015). Perspectivas de la

OCDE sobre la economía digital 2015. Paris. p. 311. Retrieved from <http://www.oecd.org/
sti/ieconomy/DigitalEconomyOutlook2015_SP_WEB.pdf>
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2016 Consumer Protection

in E-commerce: OECD Recommendation. OECD Publishing, Paris. Retrieved from
<https://www.oecd.org/sti/consumer/ECommerce-Recommendation-2016.pdf>
World Intellectual Property Organization (2000). Estudio sobre Comercio electrónico y

Propiedad Intelectual. Geneva. p. 31. Retrieved from <https://goo.gl/16b12u>

Legal and Public Policies advisor for
the National Direction of Policies and
Development of Internet from the Ministry
of Modernization of the Nation (Argentina)
and partner of Maryva law firm, specialized
in Law and Technology. She worked for
Carranza Torres & Associates, a law firm
specialized in Intellectual Property; as part
of the services provided by this firm, she
has worked in MercadoLibre L.L.C. as in-
house Attorney. Currently, she teaches in
the Technological Business Course of the
Faculty of Law and Social Sciences.
110
DIGITAL RIGHTS _ JUAN DANIEL MACÍAS SIERRA
A FIELD OF LAW TO
INTERNET GOVERNANCE
JUAN DANIEL MACÍAS SIERRA

Law degree from the University of Guadalajara, Mexico
juanmacias.sierra@gmail.com
Mexico
111
_THEMATIC
Digital rights
_ABSTRACT
This article briefly analyzes the relevance of having a field

of Law dedicated to the study of issues related to Internet
governance. On the one hand, this approach is questioned from
the perspective of the Computer Law and. On the other, there is
a commitment towards the strengthening of a field of Law still
under construction and more suitable for the governance of the
Internet: Internet Law.
Keywords: Internet governance; computer law; Internet law
112
1_INTRODUCTION
As a young lawyer, I decided to get involved with Computer Law almost from the
middle of my university career. The articles I have written and the ideas I have had
arisen from the perspective of this field of Law. The subjects related to the Internet were
not an exception since Computer Law always seemed to fill the methodological needs
of my analyses.
In academics, I am a loyal supporter of questioning everything, even if it is

something I strongly agree with. I do it with an intention to strengthen what is already
done and, where appropriate, improve it. Additionally, I seek to continuously improve
my critical thinking in order to contribute to the discussions that take place in Law and
new technologies.
This time, I share a reflection that came from a recent questioning: What right is
required for Internet governance?
2_INTERNET LAW IN RESPONSE
The Internet brings challenges that should not be ignored or minimized by the
Legal science. Computer Law does not ignore but minimizes those challenges when
considering them in the same field related to computing and technology in general.
As a first idea, I would say that the issues pertaining to the Internet and its
governance should be addressed from the perspective of an exclusive field of Law.
This should not be taken as a hyperbole, due to the wide range of challenges derived
from the expansion and growth of the Internet, and its relevance as the main driver of
innovation and development today.
Notably, the social reality arising from the socialization of the Internet is complex.
From a legal perspective, its study is not filled by using any of the existing fields of Law,
since none of them fulfill the degree of specialization demanded by topics pertaining to
Internet governance.
Computer Law also lacks that degree of

specialization. In principle, this is a field of the
legal sciences that includes computing, and not
COMPUTER LAW
the Internet as an instrument and as an object of DOES NOT IGNORE
study (Téllez Valdés, 2009, p. 19). While it is true that BUT MINIMIZES
computing has a close relationship with the Internet, THOSE CHALLENGES
it is also true that the latter reveals specific issues WHEN CONSIDERING
that should not be analyzed from the perspective THEM IN THE SAME
provided by the former. FIELD RELATED TO
COMPUTING AND
The term, Computer Law, by itself, evokes
computer science and this in turn to the automatic
TECHNOLOGY IN
processing of information. What concerns the GENERAL
development and evolution of the Internet does not
113
lie exclusively in the action of a computer, but also in the decisions made by people.
In this context, the term Computer Law is imprecise, since it strictly refers only to
information processed by computers, but not to the accumulation of human actions
that shape the development of the Internet as the primary technological tool of this era.
Computer Law, in fact, is a very general field of Law for the study of issues related
to the governance of the Internet. Recall that the Computer Law was born to respond,
from the legal field, to a social reality built by the irruption of computers. Why not think
that, with the emergence of the Internet, a new field of Law is required to give answers
to the social reality built up to now?
Recently, I had the opportunity to read an excellent article by Dr. Pablo García Mexía,
entitled “Internet Law.” In that article, Internet Law is designated as a very new, global,
quickly adaptable, highly specialized and expansive field, an option that legal science
offers to solve the most persistent issues related to the Internet (García Mexía, 2016).
The author, similarly, alludes to a fascinating reason why it would be worth adopting
Internet Law: those who exercise it should be highly familiar, from a multidisciplinary
perspective, with the digital world, so that the norm that they propose, the defense they
channel or the sentence that they emit can reach a minimum technological sense: in a
word, they could just ‘work’ (as in engineering the machine is required) when applied to
a technical reality (a search engine, a link, an algorithm, etc.) (García Mexía, 2016, p. 28).
From a broad view, thinking within Computer Law about the challenges that the
Internet brings could result in decisions with little or no “minimum technological
sense”, which could threaten the development and evolution of the Internet, turning it
inoperative due to the very nature of the network. Therefore, it would be worth thinking
about a specialized Internet law.
While it is true that in the article by Dr. Pablo García, there is no reference to the
value of Internet Law for Internet governance, the truth is that there is, while the degree
of specialization forces those who exercise it to know the technical characteristics of
the Internet and the aspects of social, economic and political development that it keeps.
In effect, the analyses carried out by lawyers specializing in Internet Law should be
closely related to the broad approach of Internet governance.
In short, Internet governance requires a specialized field of Law that provides a

methodological framework for the study of the Internet from legal science. The Internet
Law, recently adopted and still under construction, could be the starting point that
helps the development and evolution of the Internet go hand in hand with the decisions
taken in the legal field.
Among the issues addressed by Internet Law, in a non-limiting approach, are

net neutrality, e-commerce, protection of online personal data, cybersecurity,
intermediaries’ responsibility, freedom of expression, etc. In other words, I would say
that everything that happens on the Internet and has to do with its development and
evolution should be seen from the viewpoint of Internet Law.
114
3_CONCLUSION
The Internet Law appears as the answer that best suits the needs of Internet
governance. Other legal fields, such as Computer Law, are imprecise and leave aside the
specialization required in the study of topics about the Internet.
It would be worthwhile to rethink the intersection of Law with the Internet and
be aware that their meeting point is complicated and will continue to increase in
complexity, as long as the Internet continues to be the central column of innovation
and development. Furthermore, the challenges arising from the social reality built by
the Internet make clear the need for a specialized field of Law to take charge of them.
Internet governance will hardly be sustained if those who are committed to it lack
the specialization that the Internet demands. This applies to those lawyers and youths
who seek to contribute to the development of the Internet as a means to promote
technological innovation and strengthen human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
_REFERENCES
García Mexía, P. (2016). El Derecho de Internet. In Bes, F. P. Derecho de Internet.

Barcelona: Atelier. p. 17-37.
Téllez Valdés, J. (2009). Derecho Informático. México: McGraw Hill.
JUAN DANIEL MACÍAS SIERRA

Information analyst in the Presidency
of the Republic of Mexico and Secretary
General of the Multidisciplinary Academy
of Law and Technologies A.C. Incorporated
member of Internet Society Mexico,
member of the Youth Observatory and the
Ibero-American Federation of Law and
Computer Associations.
115
CONTENTS
AND CULTURAL
GOODS
CONTENTS AND CULTURAL GOODS _ CLAUDIA C. ARRUÑADA SALA
DIGITAL CROWDFUNDING
AS AN EXAMPLE FOR THE
CONSTRUCTION OF SOCIAL
CAPITAL AND THE GROWTH OF
COMMUNITIES
CLAUDIA C. ARRUÑADA SALA

Academic in the Communication Department of the Ibero
claudia.arrunada@gmail.com
Mexico
117
_THEMATIC
Contents and cultural goods
_ABSTRACT
For the construction and consolidation of societies, it is needed

cohesion and participation of people in the development of the
social fabric. Social cohesion is manifested in the engagement
of organizations or social networks, in the rules of interpersonal
trust and reciprocity. When these conditions come together,
the collective action, the common resolution of problems in a
community, is simplified. In this article, we discuss the impact
of the Internet in the construction of social capital using a new
form of contribution, the crowdfunding, popularized by digital
platforms.
Keywords: digital crowdfunding; social capital; cultural assets;

Internet
118
1_INTRODUCTION
Countries need people to get involved in growing; people themselves must

understand that not all the responsibility of a nation lies with the government, even
less if that government is not inspected by society itself. Although in the beginning,
when the idea of government and democracy in Greece was born, the mass was
considered an element that little or nothing should be taken into account given its
inexperience to make government and mandate decisions (Rabotnikof, 2011), today its
voice and action are needed so that things work and action is stimulated. And currently,
government-society co-responsibility becomes evident: one relies on the other for
mutual development.
The participation in the nations growth lies in the collaboration that people make
for people (Fukuyama, 1996); you cannot demand something you do not know or you
have not lived. It is not fortuitous that democracy is “the power of the people”, and
that people are needed to bring about efficiency in governments. Thus, what makes
democracy work is precisely community life (National Electoral Institute [INE], 2014.
p.84), and this can only be achieved through the union of people.
The sociological phenomenon that brings people together through collaboration is

identified as “social capital”. In detail, it is the variable that measures the collaboration
between individuals and groups of a collective formed by people, and the derivation or
generation of opportunities from this collaboration (Díaz, 2015). It is through interaction,
grounded in relationships of trust and respect between people that social networks are
built to construct the social capital. Activities such as participation in clubs and choirs
encourage the effectiveness of democratic institutions (Putnam apud INE, 2014. p 84).
The agent is the citizen who participates. If a citizen is not an agent, that is, they are
not dedicated, do not take sides, do not put into action what they know for the benefit
of the community, they do not build citizenship or social capital.
Given the deepness of the network connection made from computers linked together
as nodes, one of the most rational ways that this paper considers when connecting
people with the community in a process of instigating an action is through the Internet.
2_CROWDFUNDING AND CYBER TRUST
There is an issue regarding the confidence that society has in institutions of

power. It is not a new or complex issue to realize since that all the time media release
information that discredits them. Most of the citizens in the world do not trust their
governments or their parliaments, and an even greater group of citizens despises
politicians and parties and believes that their government does not represent the
popular will (Castells, 2009, p.374).
The vote of confidence granted from people to a figure of governmental power seems
to be extinguished, causing impotence and frustration, resulting in the demanding of
other forms of communal support or pursuit for a better living situation. In a world
with many needs and where most of the people live submerged behind a screen, the
119
present paper proposes right there a reborn of the sense of community. According to
Lipovetsky and Serroy (2009, p. 269) the current and tomorrow individual, permanently
connected by mobile and laptop, with these screens is in the center of a reticulated
tissue whose amplitude determines their daily life activities. Could the screen that
holds captive looks an intermediary for the communities to reform? An example of
this is in the economic sustainability network that nowadays has a great boom, better
known as crowdfunding.
Crowdfunding is a phenomenon where individuals or groups present a project to

the community in search of funds. Everything that implies the financial support of
a multitude for a specific purpose is. In the digital world, mass collection has been
adopted by the population through the Internet. Now, one or many owners of a project
or an idea (which can be artistic, business, some personal health need, a patent or
a desire that seeks to be fulfilled) will make it manifest in a platform to request a
specific monetary amount (which they will call “goal”) with arguments that will try
to convince the global public to participate by donating some of the figures suggested
there, in exchange, most of the time, for a reward according to the donation and the
mere satisfaction of having been part of something.
Since everything happens through the Internet, the operation works at a meager
cost; the platforms that disseminate the project will only charge a percentage of the
monetary “goal” finally obtained. In case the project does not reach the total collection
of the economic objective, neither the beneficiary nor the platform gets money, and
the proceeds are returned to the grantees. Recently, some of them charge a higher
percentage (9% vs. 5% of others) for granting the beneficiary the money collected, even
if it is not the amount that his goal established. The transaction is secure, and the
interested party has a good chance of receiving the amount he needs (Steinberg, 2012).
Through digital crowdfunding a need is socialized so that the Internet community

decides if it should be carried out; with this, we establish that building a community
can be done online because, as Lipovetsky says, the network of screens has transformed
our way of living, our relationship with information, with space-time, with travel
and the consumer: it has become an instrument of communication and information,
an almost necessary intermediary in our relations with the world and with others.
Living is, increasingly, stuck to the screen and connected to the network (Lipovetsky
& Serroy, 2009, p 271).
The crowdfunding became popular with the rock bands of the British and American
independent scene that had followers but were not commercial enough for a record
label to bet on them. In 1997, the British neo-progressive rock group Marillion1 was the
pioneer of this initiative: when they found themselves in financial straits, they wrote
an email addressed to the database of their fans, asking them if they would agree to pay
a copy in advance of his new album. The response was unexpected and decisive: they
1 The Virgin record label dedicates an article in its magazine about it. This is the league where
you can consult: “How Marillion pioneered crowdfunding in music” <https://www.virgin.com/
music/how-marillion-pioneered-crowdfunding-in-music>
120
received 12,000 orders for a disc that was just beginning to be planned. Since it was paid
by the people, the band did not have to submit to the creative pressure of a record label,
nor did they have to assign copyright or lose utility points in paying a third party for the
promotion and distribution of the material.
Unlike the crowdfunding of Marillion, the way in which this practice currently
operates in a digital format is more sophisticated and no longer necessarily depends
on the possession of a database, but a good promotion strategy. Digital funding
platforms are nothing else but well-made web pages in large servers that allow hosting
information and act as intermediaries in a closed economic transaction through online
payment services, such as PayPal, and digital payments by credit card. The most famous
platform of them is Kickstarter.
Although the rapid and constant evolution of the Internet makes us believe that the
network of networks has always existed and has evolved as slowly as the other media;
it’s not like that, and Kickstarter proves it. The idea was born in 2002 within the head of
Perry Chen, who was looking for ways to bring innovative shows to cities that are not so
popular (and which apparently are not included in concert schedules), looking for fans
to pay in advance for bringing the artists. When trying to implement it so that a famous
jazz duet went to New Orleans, it did not work. But the failure left a very fixed question
in his head: What would happen if there was a space to upload proposals in search of
people to support them? Chen looked for Yancey Strickler (programmer) and Charles
Adler (designer), and the three gave life to the first online crowdfunding platform in
20092: Kickstarter, which has gone through all kinds of projects where several of them
have reached and have even raised a million dollars.
A well-known case of a successful collection on Kickstarter is that of Amanda

Palmer, plastic artist, performance, composer, rocker, activist and now also a writer.
The story of Amanda Palmer is peculiar because it mixes the idea of economic support
with the formation of a close community with people from all over the world thanks to
the Internet (Palmer, 2014). Palmer, like many, began as a street artist, then a variety
show part-time in a bar and then touring different towns in the northern United
States (starting from her native Boston). At each stop and each concert, gathered the
data of the attendees to “connect” with them through two channels: an email and her
blog, which, in the first decade of the new millennium were the most popular digital
media: read the daily stories of strangers in different countries strengthened ties and
created communities.
The Internet does not discover new things, it merely magnifies and massifies them.
The popularity of Amanda Palmer and her band, Dresden Dolls, grew analogous and
digital to the point of being “discovered” by a record company that offered to record and
distribute their first commercial material. The dream ended almost as soon as it began:
her contract was rescinded because the material did not sell as expected, even though,
according to the band, it raised more than what could have been expected in life (Palmer,
2 The story is told by Strickler on the fifth anniversary of Kickstarter, here: <https://youtu.be/
qcR_UHV0tKE>
121
2014). In a moment of emotional weakness and

ALTHOUGH need for empathy, she posted the situation on her
SUCCESSFUL, blog, and so the networks that followed her knew
AMANDA PALMER’S of the problem; the support went from the moral
PROJECT WAS NOT to the microeconomic, where the fans sent checks
or gave envelopes with a few dollars at the end
IMMUNE FROM
of the concerts without pressure or retribution.
PUBLIC MISTRUST
From this, Palmer decided to formally ask for help
AND THE THOUSANDS
through a project on Kickstarter that sought to
OF TROLLS THAT raise the necessary for a record; finally, she ended
QUESTIONED FOR up receiving ten times more than what he asked3.
WHAT WOULD SHE What was it that brought together more than a
USE THE MONEY FOR million dollars from an excited group of fans?
The relationship between people. Amanda Palmer
herself writes that fame does not buy confidence;
only the connection with the other builds it (Palmer, 2014, p. 236).
In practical terms, the Internet functions as the largest intermediary that connects
individuals in a large multinodal source4; but, finally, they are the ones who decide
if they are involved with a cause or not. Crowdfunding is not charity, as some want
to think, stated Amanda Palmer; adding that her “supporters” were buying a product
(Palmer, 2014 p. 237). In the case of Amanda Palmer, the monetary results coincided
with the number of followers in her database and social networks; it was they who
contributed the money because there was a direct relationship with the project: the
interest to support a new material of the artist. Finally, the network or platform is not
the one that generates trust, but the people.
Although successful, Amanda Palmer’s project was not immune from public
mistrust and the thousands of trolls that questioned for what would she use the money
for. Her social networks and blog were flooded with complaints and insults, questions
about how to manage a project, speculation about their lifestyle and other issues. The
detractors did not really understand that the proceeds would leave little use (economic)
for the artist: everything would go to the rewards offered and to develop the product that
was already prepaid. In the face of criticism, Palmer argued that effective crowdfunding
is not about trusting the goodness of strangers, it’s about trusting in the goodness of our
own people (Palmer, 2014 p. 224).
3_THE CASE OF MEXICAN CROWDFUNDING
Mexico is known at first sight as a generous country. And we are, yes, when
“giving” implies doing it only once and for particular and ephemeral events: natural
disasters, possible economic difficulties of someone close to us, temporary situations
3 The full story is told by Amanda Palmer in one of the TED Talks with the highest number of
visits: <https://youtu.be/xMj_P_6H69g>
4 I use the term “node” as Castells coined it to name people who relate to the Internet.
122
we can cooperate without keeping a commitment. When helping involves organizing or

continually participating to achieve an objective, the situation changes. Michael Layton
and Alejandro Moreno (2010) affirm that we Mexicans live in a paradox of “giving”
because we can organize different donations to solve a problem as well as circulate
emails demanding a “no” to the rounding of values5, qualifying it as fraud, in an
absolute philanthropic ambiguity.
In Mexico, it is a reality that solidarity and the spirit of help are manifested in
a disjointed manner and with limited impact, as stated by Layton & Moreno (2010,
p.14). It is not by chance that this happens. From the time of the conquest until our
days we have lived with the idea that “others”, mainly the government or the church,
are the ones who should take charge of the less wealthy. Also, corruption and impunity
undermine confidence. Culturally we confuse “philanthropy”, understanding it as
the love for the human race that is expressed in a constructive way in the altruistic
help to those who need it more than oneself, without expecting something in return,
says Layton & Moreno (2010, p. 15). It may be expressed with charity, an obligatory
help within a religious vision offered to orphans, widows and sick people, considered
“helpless”, or with assistance, which is a temporary relief to solve a need; philanthropy
focuses on, according to Zúñiga (2005, p .7), proposing and developing acts that improve
the quality of life of a person or a group, and promote works that benefit the community
rather than helping isolated individuals. The Mexican citizen does not have the habit of
helping in the long term; it seems that the contribution should be only occasional and
with an undeniable impact so that it does not diminish their trust (Layton, & Moreno,
2010). In this context — of a country deeply hurt by corruption, that does not have a
cultural sense of the donation and does not know the difference between a recurrent
project of social empowerment and giving eventual alms to a person — it was born in
2011 Fondeadora, the first digital Mexican crowdfunding platform (Ramsey, 2013).
Fondeadora was structured similarly to other global companies: it is a digital space

that allows an interested person to upload their project in such a way that people can see it
and decide to support it economically or not. The monetary exchange will be made through
Fondeadora, charging a percentage for displaying the project online, dissemination among
its databases and general operation. Unlike international examples that even allow couples
without resources to create an initiative and raise funds to organize the wedding of their
dreams, Fondeadora was born to support mainly artistic projects, social empowerment and
citizen initiatives (aimed mostly at ecology). To support personal philanthropic projects
(such as health issues, help for a student’s education, etc.), Fondeadora created a subsection,
“Fondeadora Gente”, which resulted in “Donadora”.
The platform was well received, even though in Mexico only 57.4% of the population
has access to an Internet connection (Excelsior, 2016) and there is a likely resistance of
Mexicans to online payment to the point that they implemented payment terminals in
the convenience store “OXXO” so that those interested could contribute without needing
5 Translator’s note: The habit of rounding values in Mexican street commerce due the lack of
coins is controversial, as some sellers promise to distribute the amount that the consumer paid
more to charity projects, but many do not prove that.
123
a credit card or having to face the fear of registering it on the Internet (Ramsey, 2013).
Today Fondeadora has delivered more than 5 million pesos to those who have achieved
their goals6.
But, like the case of Amanda Palmer, reaching the goal is not random and, contrary
to what is thought, dissemination does not always help the social health of the project.
Being part of the network in the convergence of the community with new technologies
gives you exposure, but also leaves you vulnerable. However, as we stated, the operation
of digital networks to find funds that result in social projects can result in actions that
benefit in the construction of the social fabric, that encourage citizen participation and
that strengthen societies through called “social capital.” In the words of Robert Putnam,
associative life is one of the characteristics of social capital, not only because through
organizations and associations social links and networks are established, or work is
carried out under common objectives or interests, but also because, through them,
they develop norms of reciprocity and trust, as well as patterns of cooperative behavior
(Putnam apud Layton & Moreno, 2010, p 113).
Mistrust and lack of participation in Mexico

are phenomena that should be examined
IN THE GENERATIONAL carefully to overcome and not interfere with
CHANGES AND IN the construction of social capital, as both
THE STRENGTH OF complement each other when preventing
changes to be developed aimed at strengthening
THE MILLENNIAL
the social fabric. In other words, to combat the
GENERATION WE HAVE
social vices of Mexicans, who, in the words of
AN OPPORTUNITY
Paz y Ramos, are skeptical social beings, little
FOR SOCIAL CAPITAL organized and immersed in their own solitude
THROUGH THE DIGITAL (Paz y Ramos apud Layton, & Moreno, 2010. p.
CONSOLIDATION 95). On this, Craig and Cornielius, mentioned
in the INE’s Citizenship Quality Report, stressed
the importance of non-political attitudes, such
as trust and social participation, for the foundation of a democratic political system.
When examining the Mexican case, they found similar points to those that Layton and
Moreno, and Paz y Ramos had already set. They indicate that there is little democracy in
Mexico because there is little citizen participation, a weak community life and citizens
with little capacity to organize other than through corporate channels (INE, 2014, p. 84).
In this regard, it is worth emphasizing that, although the lack of participation and
mistrust of the Mexican is proven and evident, it should also be considered that it can
be changed, since there are elements that demonstrate it, such as the fact that there are
more than 50,000 Mexican Civil Society Organizations contributing to the reconstruction
of the social fabric in the country from their different altruistic activities. Layton and
Moreno show that the land is not arid, as social capital has continued to operate in the
rural sectors of the country.
6 At the end f 2016, Kickstarder bought Fondeadora.
124
It is only a question of permeating it: the sense of community is widely developed in

rural areas of our country; one possible explanation for this phenomenon is perhaps the
extensive social network that some communities have as a product of the traditional
values that accompany them, such as stewardship, strong common networks, strong
sense of solidarity, and exchange relationships through the so-called ‘compadrazgos’
(Layton & Moreno, 2010. p.140).
Thus, it is clear that, although the Mexican situation is complicated, it is not an arid
land that cannot be rescued through collaborative work and mass funding, such as the
one proposed by crowdfunding.
The key is to assimilate that this integrated society that evolves is built from citizens.
Participation has already been spoken of as the fundamental axis for democracies to
establish, strengthen and grow; the governmental institution is consolidated from
society. In this regard, what must be worked on is the engagement of citizens in Mexico
to understand that government is not everything, it is not the everlasting problem
solver, nor should it bear the full responsibility of a nation (it is important to stress that
this do not make government immune from its responsibilities and duties as the head
of a country). The point is: to sustains itself, a country depends on the collective work
between its people and its institutions, the participation of the people who collaborate
FOR the people, and the strengthening of the networks of the social fabric.
In the generational changes and in the strength of the Millennial generation we

have an opportunity for social capital through the digital consolidation. According to
the Generational Theory of Strauss-Howe (1997), the so-called Millennials, individuals
born between 1982 and 2004, are the first generation of educated, diligent people,
aware of the historical developments and failures from knowing what their parents
and grandparents lived, which makes them more sensitive and connected to a culture
of communal and sustainable growth. The archetype of which they are described is
heroic. However, being individuals who care and involve also makes them meticulous
and exigent; the digital instantaneity they have grown in makes them also people with
impatient and very demanding. Putting them in the sphere of crowdfunding will make
them support a campaign if the purpose seems honorable, always demanding accounts
and feedback on what has been done with the funds.
4_CONCLUSIONS
“The way we think and feel determines the way we act. And
changes in individual behavior and collective action undoubtedly
influence and gradually modify the rules and institutions that
structure social practices”7
(Castells, 2009, p. 393)
7 Translator’s note: originally in Spanish, the sentence is “La forma en que pensamos y
sentimos determina la forma en que actuamos. Y los cambios en la conducta individual y la
acción colectiva sin duda influyen y modifican de forma gradual las normas e instituciones que
estructuran las prácticas sociales”.
125
Throughout this work, it has been explained the importance of the social capital
as a fundamental ingredient for the construction and consolidation of societies
growth. Social capital is developed based on the participation of people in and for their
communities, in the search for benefits for all. Community social action activates
the interest and knowledge of local issues and the search for a collective work or the
requirement for government institutions to solve them. Castells points out in his book
“Communication and Power” (“Comunicación y Poder”) that for a population to assume
a cause it must live it. Likewise, it is indicated several authors’ analysis on the Mexicans
inherent distrust, which is provided mainly by the corruption that has predominated
in the country for several years; the uncertainty caused by the changeable party system
of government that oversees its own interests; and the cultural vice that one has with
respect to the other: in Mexico, people, among themselves, are not considered reliable.
What could be the solutions to these issues? By taking digital crowdfunding as an

example, we identify that the society participation towards a cause works, and can
remain. This leads us to conclude that a good way to motivate participation is through
activities where mutual assistance is demanded. When we understand the needs, it is
possible to solve them and stimulate actions that will eradicate them, or even demand
attention to the government. We also identify that transparency will be a significant
factor for the relationship of trust to grow and remain.
In this regard, there is much to work. Starting from the idea that the road for
the construction of social capital is in the communities, they have to assume the
responsibility of building social trust through transparent activities and resources that,
following the logic already analyzed in this work, sooner or later will carry the society
to a search of transparency mechanisms in every sector.
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espacio público en la teoría política contemporánea. Mexico D.C.: UNAM. pp. 27-47.
Ramsey, E. K. G. (2013). Fondeadora, una forma de costear proyectos imposibles. Animal

Político. Retrieved from <http://www.animalpolitico.com/2013/02/fondeadora-una-
forma-de-costear-proyectos-imposibles/>
Steinberg, S. (2012). The Crowdfunding Bible: how to raise money for any startup, video
game or Project. United States. Overload Entertainment, LLC. Read.Me
Zúñiga, V. (2005). La filantropía en los Estados Unidos. El modelo filantrópico

estadounidense como una alternativa para crear una cultura altruista en México.
Universidad de las Américas, Puebla. Retrieved from <http://catarina.udlap.mx/u_
dl_a/tales/documentos/lri/zuniga_p_v/portada.html>
127
CLAUDIA C. ARRUÑADA SALA

Claudia C. Arruñada Sala is an expert in
Communication by the Iberoamericana
University, with more than ten years of
experience in promotion, management, and
institutional development, working mainly
for the Mexican federal government on
educational issues and national security.
Currently collaborates with different projects
of media analysis, linking, and philanthropy.
128
CONTENTS AND CULTURAL GOODS _ RAFAEL RÍOS NUÑO + JOSÉ B. GONZÁLEZ MAURICIO
THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION

AND COPYRIGHT:
PARADIGMS IN THE DIGITAL AGE
RAFAEL RÍOS NUÑO

Legal Adviser in the Coordination of Transparency and General
Archive of the University of Guadalajara
lic.rafaelrn@hotmail.com
Mexico
JOSÉ BENJAMÍN GONZÁLEZ MAURICIO

Deputy legal advisor in the Executive State Commission for Vic-
tims of Jalisco in Human Rights
lic.benjamin.gm@gmail.com
Mexico
129
_THEMATIC

_ABSTRACT
Currently, we are in a modern and globalized world, the

era of Information and Communication Technologies. The
information that circulates freely through the web has
facilitated the flexible and interactive learning in educational
institutions and favored the inhabitants of democratic states
for decision making. Notwithstanding the preceding, some of
these contents are protected by copyright. The controversy is
not new. However, issues that have sought to solve the problem
will be addressed by this article.
Keywords: right to information; copyright; ICT
130
“A society that is not well informed is not a society that is truly free”

Inter-American Court of Human Rights 1
1_INTRODUCTION
Ackerman and Sandoval (2015) show that the right to information evolved by
extending the power to freedom of opinion and expression, recognized in Article 19 of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), in Article 19 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and in Article 13 of the American Convention
on Human Rights or Pact of San Jose (ACHR). Furthermore, Cendejas (2007) states that it
is the freedom of expression that broadens its scope to perfect itself, to define faculties
that really make it useful and incorporate the scientific and cultural evolution of our
days and that are indispensable to consider; as well as to guarantee society truthful and
timely information as an essential element in the democratic and plural State.
The Supreme Court of the United States, in its most recent work of interpreting the
first amendment, established that freedom of expression entails the freedom to listen
and the prohibition on the State to limit the information to which the public can appeal
(Ackerman, & Sandoval, 2015, p.14).
It is important to note that one of the pioneering countries in the matter is surely
South Africa, by marking in section 32 of its Constitution that “everyone has the right
of access to a) any information held by the state; and b) any information that is held
by another person and that is required for the exercise or protection of any rights”
(Ackerman, & Sandoval, 2015, p. 23).
2_TENSIONS AND CONFLICTS OF THE RIGHT TO

INFORMATION AND COPYRIGHT IN THE DIGITAL ERA
Regarding the previously narration, by the principle of interdependence, the right to

information interacts and is nourished by different reasons such as education, culture,
and access to justice. However, it is unquestionable to express the possible tensions that
could relate to other rights such as privacy, protection of personal data, the image itself,
honor and the case at hand, copyright.
Within the universal platform, it is clear in article 27.2 of the UDHR the protection of
the creators of original works and the call to the member countries to promote, respect,
protect and guarantee these prerogatives. Dismembering the international corpus iure,
the authors have an additional recognition in article 15, clause c) of the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), in the Berne Convention, the
WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and in other international treaties administered by the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO); as well as in the Agreement on Trade-Related
Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) conducted by the World Trade Organization.
1 Compulsory Membership in an Association Prescribed by Law for the Practice of Journalism

(1985). In Advisory Opinion OC-5/85, 13 November, Washington, DC, Inter-American Court of Human
Rights, Series A, no. 5.
131
By the inter-American regional sphere, stand out numeral 14.1, clause c), of the
Protocol of San Salvador, the Inter-American Convention on the Rights of the Author
in Literary, Scientific and Artistic Works. Endorsing this imperative commitment, its
justiciability was recognized in the Palamara Iribarne v. Chile case of 2005, as it is evident
by Dr. Eduardo de la Parra Trujillo (2015), in paragraphs 102, 103 and 107, referring to the
fact that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights makes a progressive interpretation,
linking the copyright with the private property, the freedom of thought and expression
recognized in the Pact of San Jose.
As is well known, the tensions between the rights theme of the present incident
are not new, but because of the length of this paper we will not go into the substantive
study of the endless weighing of the right to information and copyright. So, this paper
only intends to be illustrative for the reader.
The issue arises when illegitimate reproductions are made on the web, or worse,
marketed in it, without the authorization of the author or the owner and due payment
to the creators. The holders of the copyright argue that this act of reproduction and
communication to the public severely harms their interests, primarily economic. On
the other hand, users are protected under the protection of the right to information,
culture, and education.
In the previous conflict, some proposals have arisen to give the proper harmonizing
treatment of the interests in collision. Dr. José Manuel Magaña Rufino (2013), according
to articles 9.2 of the Berne Convention and article 13 of the TRIPS Agreement, points out
the well-known rule of three steps of cumulative nature, which grants some exceptions
to copyright such as the citation of texts, when it comes to current events, a private
copy, a security backup and an anthology. However, the exceptions only cover the
complete reproduction of the work in some cases.
With the intention of protecting online works, rightsholders have had to use
technological protection measures based on the provisions of the WCP and the
WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT), a situation that has led to the
mobilization of several sectors, especially librarians and educational institutions. The
Connector Foundation and Open Connection have tried to reconcile, suggesting that the
information is delivered confidentially and said sectors could deactivate the protection
measure in case of digital preservation, private copy or when it passes into the public
domain. Also, Kenneth Crews (2008) proposes that in virtual or distance education, the
works are granted with the provisions that allow easy manipulation by students (open
formats), warning them that these actions should not extend beyond the community-
academic, nor should they be subject to any distribution or commercialization.
Currently, one of the most controversial proposals is copyleft2. Professor Diana

Arredondo Ramírez (2016) explains that it has arisen because of the free software
movement initiated by Richard S. Stallman in the 80s, in the USA. Copyleft is an
2 The term copyleft began to be used in the 70s as a humorous deformation of copyright,
alluding to the vindication of freedom against it.
132
open and flexible license that authorizes the use,

THE RIGHT TO modification, and redistribution of works or
INFORMATION programs, freely3 and demands that the same
rights be preserved in the modified versions.
INTERACTS AND
IS NOURISHED BY On the other hand, there is the position of
DIFFERENT REASONS Creative Commons, a non-profit organization
SUCH AS EDUCATION, whose free legal instruments allow sharing and
CULTURE, AND use of creativity, as well as knowledge, in order to
ACCESS TO JUSTICE provide infrastructure to maximize digital creativity
and innovation through authorized access. Unlike
copyright, where all rights are reserved, in the
Creative Commons, only some rights are reserved.
Changing the topic, it is important to analyze the legal policies driven by websites
such as Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. At first, the user is the owner of the contents
uploaded to the platform, but once they do it, they can grant websites an international,
non-exclusive, accessible and free license4 with sub-license rights, transferable so that
others can use, reproduce, modify or distribute them, even for commercial purposes.
However, these websites recognize and respect the intellectual property rights of third
parties. Therefore, they reserve the right to remove content that allegedly infringes
intellectual property rights, in its sole discretion, without prior notice and any
compensation to themselves (except for safe harbor).
Before beginning a process to remove illegal content from the Internet, Professor
Gerardo Muñoz de Cote (2016) suggests that the jurisdiction and the applicable law, the
complainant and the defendant, the infringed content, the costs and times, as well as the
action for dissemination (the Streisand effect5) should be analyzed strategically. Then,
a similar process, contained in the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act6) begins 1)
The content owner sends a warning to the ISP (Internet service provider); 2) ISP disables
the content; 3) ISP warns the alleged infringer of the claim; 4) The presumed offender
may send a counter notification (counter cleaner) to the ISP; 5) ISP restores access to the
content; 6) The owner starts a lawsuit claiming permanent disabling of the content; 7)
Legal action is sent to the ISP, which must permanently disable the content.
3 Freely, but not necessarily for free.
4 In some cases, the content can even be delivered “free of copyright”.
5 Reviewer’s note: The “Streisand Effect” is an Internet phenomenon that happens when an
attempt to censor or remove some content from the web ends up having the opposite effect,
resulting in its vast replication and access. It was designated by Mike Masnick in 2003, after a case
involving actress and singer Barbra Streisand. Alleging privacy concerns, she sued for 50 million
dollars a photographer and a website for them to remove an aerial photography on the Internet in
which her mansion on the California coast was visible. The news caused an expressive increase of
accesses to the photography, quickly taking an inverse proportion to the one the artist wanted.
6 United States Act that, among other matters, establishes limitations on the responsibility of
ISPs (Internet service providers)
133
2_EPILOGUE
a. One of the most acclaimed requests is undoubtedly what that the library sector,
the archives, and educational institutions carry out every day. It is important
to point out that these entities do not intend to ignore copyright at all, much
less infringe the law; however, what they seek is a harmonization of wills on
the part of the legislator, so that it may legally grant them better exceptions,
and thus they can fulfill their noble work of spreading information, culture,
and education, especially virtually or remotely.
b. Another controversial issue is the responsibility of ISPs. Professor Federico Pablo

Vibes points out that the debate resides in that if the intermediary provides the
technology that makes the infraction possible and also earns money with it,
then it contributes with the damage caused and must respond as a secondary
offender (Vives, 2015, p. 459).
To illustrate the previous point, Magaña (2015) highlights the decision of the Court
of Appeals for the Second Circuit of the United States in the Viacom v. YouTube. After the
interpretations made of article 512, clause c, of the DMCA, the Court ruled that the ISP
could not invoke the safe harbor exception since it did not react immediately to remove
or prevent access to the material. Likewise, the Court applied to the case, although with
certain limitations, the doctrine of voluntary blindness.
c. One of the challenges the rightsholders must face is determining the applicable
law and the competent court. In this purpose, Dr. Antonio Hidalgo Ballina (2013)
points out that the decentralized operation of the network of networks makes
it almost impossible today to apply and regulate human actions expressed by
the network itself, that is, the difficulty in applying the laws in the physical
territories. Fortunately, the Court of Justice of the European Union (Grand
Chamber), in the case Google Spain, SL, Google Inc. v. Spanish Agency for Data
Protection (Agencia Española de Protección de Datos), Mario Costeja González
(Magaña, 2015), claimed that although it is true that the case is a matter of
data protection and this jurisprudence is not binding on non-member States, it
could serve as soft law, since another issue in the litigation was precisely the
resolution of the competence and the jurisdiction towards the ISP. Therefore,
the Court decided that
Article 4(1)(a) of Directive 95/46 is to be interpreted as meaning

that processing of personal data is carried out in the context of the
activities of an establishment of the controller on the territory of
a Member State, within the meaning of that provision, when [...]
the operator of a search engine sets up in a Member State a branch
or subsidiary which is intended to promote and sell advertising
space offered by that engine and which orientates its activity
towards the inhabitants of that Member State [emphasis added].
134
Mexico did the same with another matter of protection of personal data, in file
PPD.0094/14 against Google Mexico, S. de R.L. of C.V.7 (Google Mexico), resolved by the
then-named Federal Institute for Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data
(Instituto Federal de Acceso a la Información y Protección de Datos Personales, IFAI in its
initials in Spanish)8. An individual wanted to make effective his right of opposition and
cancellation of personal data. Google Mexico argued in its defense that it is not the legal
entity that lends, or manages the operation of the search engine service “Google”, thus
directed the owner to go to Google International LLC and Google Inc., whose address is
in California, USA. However, the Mexican guarantor body did not consider this defense
valid and evidenced that according to the notarial instrument No. 38,627, Google Mexico,
S. de R.L. de C.V., is integrated by the partners Google International LLC and Google Inc.,
and also that in the instrument mentioned it is indicated the commercialization and
sale of online advertising and products and services of direct marketing, in Mexico or
abroad, on their own behalf or by third parties, as well as the provision of all types of
services through electronic means, including without limitation, services search engine
[emphasis added], instant messaging, email, storage, reproduction and retransmission
of data and similar services attached and related.
About the preceding, the then-named IFAI, revoked the response of Google Mexico,
requiring that the rights of opposition and cancellation of the owner must be turned
active and demanding the beginning of the procedure
for the imposition of sanctions. IFAI confirmed, then,
its competence and jurisdiction over the famous
NOR ARE THE RIGHTS search engine.
TO INFORMATION,
EDUCATION Concerning what was previously described
AND CULTURE and paraphrasing Dr. Federico Pablo Vibes (2015),
NECESSARILY innovation has brought new benefits that have
QUARRELED WITH contributed to information and communication.
However, if the intellectual property of third parties
COPYRIGHT
over contents is not respected, this means less
income for the rightsholders and, consequently, less
investment for the creation of new works.
Finally, it is worth saying that technology is not good or bad; it depends on the
use given to it; nor are the rights to information, education and culture necessarily
quarreled with copyright. Merely the former is conditioned in some cases that if a
protected work is to be used, it is necessary to have the permission of the rightsholder,
7 The full text of the resolution is available here: <http://inicio.ifai.org.mx/pdf/

resoluciones/2014/PPD%2094.pdf>
8 After the constitutional reform of 2014, the guarantor body was given full autonomy and it was
transformed into the National Institute for Transparency, Access to Information and Personal Data
Protection (INAI).
135
since they invest time, effort and even money to create their works. Therefore, it is
fair that their effort be acknowledged, asking previously for authorizations to use the
work for free or paying when appropriate, reiterating that the need for a right balance
between intellectual property and the free flow of information is undeniable.
_REFERENCES
Ackerman, J., & Sandoval, I. (2015). Leyes de Acceso a la Información en el Mundo.

Cuadernos de Transparencia. Vol. 07. Mexico: INAI.
Aguilar, J. (2008). Transparencia y democracia: claves para un concierto. Cuadernos de

Transparencia Vol. 10. Mexico: INAI.
Ballina, A. H. (2013). Derecho informático. Mexico: Flores Editor and Distributor.
Cendejas, M. (2007). Evolución histórica del derecho a la información. Revista de

Derecho Comparado de la Información, 10. Mexico: Instituto de Investigaciones
Jurídicas de la UNAM. Retrieved from <http://www.juridicas.unam.mx/publica/rev/
decoin/cont/15/art/art1.htm>
Conector Foundation, & Open Connection. (2016). Texto de observaciones del sector
bibliotecario nacional al proyecto de ley por la cual se modifica la ley 23 de 1982 y se
adiciona la legislación nacional en materia de derecho de autor y conexos. Retrieved
from <www.conector.co>
De la Parra, E. (2015). Libertad de expresión y acceso a la información. Colección de

Textos sobre Derechos Humanos. Mexico: CNDH.
Díaz, Á. (2008). América Latina y el Caribe: La propiedad intelectual después de los

tratados de libre comercio. United Nations, ECLAC. Retrieved from <http://repositorio.
cepal.org/bitstream/handle/11362/2526/S0600728_es.pdf?sequence=1>
Fernández, C., & Chaves, J. (2010). Excepciones al derecho de autor en beneficio de las
bibliotecas: situación de América Latina y el Caribe. Chile: IFLA; Retrieved from <http://
www.ifla.org/past-wlic/2010/121-molina-es.pdf>
Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) In Case C‑131/12 (2014). Retrieved from <http://
curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?docid=152065&doclang=EN>
Kenneth, C. (2008). Estudio sobre las limitaciones y excepciones al derecho de autor en

beneficio de bibliotecas y archivos. Geneva: World Intellectual Property Organization.
Retrieved from <http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/copyright/es/sccr_17/sccr_17_2.pdf>
136
Magaña, J. (2013). Curso de derechos de autor en México. Mexico: Novum.
Magaña, J. (2015). El caso Viacom vs YouTube: un nuevo paso hacia la delimitación de

la responsabilidad de los intermediarios en Internet por infracciones al derecho de
autor. V.F., Estudios en materia de propiedad industrial e intelectual. Mexico: Novum.
National Institute for Transparency, Access to Information and Personal Data

Protection (2014). Resolution towards Google Mexico. Retrieved from <http://inicio.ifai.
org.mx/pdf/resoluciones/2014/PPD%2094.pdf>
Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression (2010). El Derecho de Acceso a la

Información en el marco jurídico americano. Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights. Retrieved from <http://www.oas.org/es/cidh/expresion/docs/publicaciones/
ACCESO%20A%20LA%20INFORMACION%20FINAL%20CON%20PORTADA.pdf>
RAFAEL RÍOS NUÑO

Lawyer by the University of Guadalajara
(UdeG), Master in Transparency and
Protection of Personal Data by the same
House of Studies, also has a Master
in Industrial Property, Copyright and
New Technologies by the Universidad
Panamericana.
JOSÉ BENJAMÍN GONZÁLEZ MAURICIO

Lawyer by the University of Guadalajara
(UdeG), amicus curiae of the Inter-American
Court of Human Rights in the consultative
opinion of Panama (2015).
137
CONTENTS AND CULTURAL GOODS _ SILVANA CRISTINA RIVERO
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IN
THE DIGITAL ECONOMY

Lawyer at the University of Buenos Aires, master’s degree in
business law at the University of San Andrés
silvanacrivero@gmail.com
Argentina
138
_THEMATIC

_ABSTRACT
The works protected by the intellectual property regime must

be protected in the digital era, both offline and online. Attentive
to the perspectives that the digital economy generates, one may
wonder how to ensure that this commitment becomes effective
and whether it is convenient to adopt new actions to ease
compliance with the rights on the Internet or, on the contrary,
to adapt or reduce existing actions. In this sense, it is essential to
guarantee the final goal that intellectual property pursues in the
technological field, which is none other than to encourage the
promotion and development of innovation.
Keywords: innovation; intellectual property; digital economy
139
1_INTRODUCTION
In this era, when the digital economy has a preponderant role, Information and
Communication Technologies (ICT) are essential for economic development. Among the
goods deployed and disseminated through these means, are the intellectual property
works, which face this scenario of new challenges.
There is no doubt whatsoever about the application of intellectual property to the

field of ICT in general and to the Internet in particular. Since the works are protected
offline, those that are used and disseminated online should be also protected. The
question is how to ensure that this commitment becomes effective and whether it is
convenient to adopt new actions to ease compliance with the rights on the Internet or,
on the contrary, to adapt or reduce existing actions.
The companies have several mechanisms for the appropriation and protection of the
results that their investments in research and development generate. At the lawmaking
level, with the variations that exist in each nation, it is possible to identify a regime of
patents, utility models, industrial designs, copyrights and trade secrets.
On the other hand, it can be considered that at the global level, there is currently an
asymmetry about the use of intellectual property mechanisms in developing countries
and those used in developed countries, the latter being higher. This circumstance is
linked to the capacities to innovate and generate products and/or technological services
in the different regions (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean,
[ECLAC], 2016).
Given the perspectives that the digital

economy generates, it is also interesting to
IT IS ESSENTIAL TO
consider the scope in which a work under
GUARANTEE THE FINAL intellectual property should be protected in
GOAL PURSUED BY THE the digital domain. In this sense, it is essential
TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD to guarantee the final goal pursued by the
IN THE INTELLECTUAL technological field in the intellectual property,
PROPERTY, WHICH IS which is none other than to encourage the
NONE OTHER THAN promotion and development of innovation.
TO ENCOURAGE THE Then, the issues related to the use of works in
PROMOTION AND this new environment should be considered.
DEVELOPMENT OF Among them, there is the protection of rights
within a territorial area, as well as the use of
INNOVATION
works through ICTs, which generates a use
outside a country’s borders. In this sense, it is
necessary to contemplate the scenario offered by cloud computing services1 as well
1 Cloud Computing: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of the United States
and its information technology laboratory defined this new concept as a model to enable convenient
access on demand to a shared set of configurable computer resources, such as networks, servers,
storage, applications and services, which can be quickly provisioned and released with a minimum
effort of administration or interaction with the service provider (Mell, & Grance, 2011).
140
as the phenomenon provided by the Internet of Things devices2 and the services over-
the-top (OTT)3.
The previously described is linked to an unsolved dilemma referred to the

jurisdiction and applicable law on the Internet, which causes uncertainty regarding
the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights. Actually, what we are
trying to elucidate here is the scope of rights, how these rights are defined and what
exceptions and limitations are contemplated in the digital domain, as well as how to
manage and exercise rights in this medium.
Another issue to be resolved is the fact that the exercise of rights and exceptions on
the Internet, as it has been proposed up to now in traditional media, loses its meaning.
A clear example is the use and distribution of intellectual property work in digital
format, which generates challenges to what, until now, has been considered the right
of reproduction and the right of public execution.
We must identify the advantages that the digital economy may generate for works
under intellectual property, such as the diffusion and scalability of the use of intangibles
through ICT. At the same time, intellectual property, exercised within the scope legally
provided, is an additional mechanism to encourage development and innovation in the
Information Society.
2_INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND THE CHALLENGES IN

THE DIGITAL ECONOMY
Among the products, and/or services that can be protected by the intellectual property
regime in the digital environment are all those that contain music, photographs,
software, industrial designs, trademarks, domain names, among others. These goods
can be found in software, networks, websites, platforms, applications and any other
means that allows access to the work.
Currently, the value of those intangibles owned by companies is such that it exceeds
the relevance of their tangible products. This situation means that the importance of
protecting the results of developments is even more significant.
Within the scope of intellectual property, it is possible to distinguish copyright,

on one hand, and industrial property, on the other. In the former, we are facing the
protection of expressions of original works, while in the latter, it is about protecting
the invention, that distinctive sign, shape or appearance of a particular product, among
other specific issues intended to be protected under this regime.
2 Internet of Things, or IoT, includes everyday things that connect to the Internet. In this way,
objects previously connected by closed circuit, such as communicators, cameras, sensors, among
others, may globally communicate through the Internet.
3 Services over-the-top (OTT) is an online service with the potential of substitute traditional
telecommunications and audiovisual services that are supported over the Internet, such as voice
telephony, SMS and television, and that uses TCP/IP protocol for operation.
141
As indicated in the introduction to this article, a topic to consider when analyzing

the protection mechanism applicable to a specific intangible in the digital environment
is the determination of the territoriality of the protection.
Some regimes are suitable at the national level, so that before the need to
enforce them outside the boundaries of a given sovereignty there is a burden on the
rightsholder, which implies carrying out the necessary procedures and registrations
in those jurisdictions where they seek to assert the action; in this case, of trademarks
and patents, except for the cases in which the Madrid Agreement Concerning the
International Registration of Marks (World Intellectual Property Organization [WIPO],
1989) and the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), the International Patent System (WIPO,
2017), are applicable. Other regulatory regimes, such as the case of copyright, are protected
globally, beyond the place where the work is registered, when the Berne Convention
applies. This circumstance is linked to the fact that registration in some instances is
constitutive of rights, while sometimes it is required for evidentiary purposes.
In summary, the issues regarding jurisdiction and applicable law generate that
some intangibles have only territorial protection, so their distribution through the
Internet creates a need to define rules and flexible mechanisms to achieve protection
in other jurisdictions.
There are international regulations applicable to member countries, such as the

Berne Convention (WIPO, 1979) mentioned above, which refers to works of foreign
copyright and indicates that those countries must comply with the principle of
automatic protection by which none of them can subordinate the protection of the
foreign work to the fulfillment of any formality. Consequently, the ownership must be
granted by the simple invocation of the right.
For its part, the Universal Copyright Convention adopted in Article III, a formula
consisting of the inclusion of
[…] the symbol © accompanied by the name of the copyright

proprietor and the year of first publication placed in such manner
and location as to give reasonable notice of claim of copyright
(United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
[UNESCO], 1952).
The fulfillment of such a formula has the effect of replacing any formality required
by domestic law in those countries that ratified the convention.
Currently, reigns Article 50 of the Berne Convention (WIPO, 1979), which eliminates
the effects of any formality required by national law concerning foreign works, in those
countries to which both agreements apply.
Regarding industrial property, in addition to the mechanisms already mentioned,

at the international level there is the Paris Convention (WIPO, 1883), which it is not
intended to eliminate the independence of the regulatory systems in the matter;
moreover, in this sense, there is no attempt to cancel the existence of the territoriality
142
in industrial property. Nevertheless, principles are established to mitigate the effects of

spatial restriction. Thus, Article 2.1. of the Convention indicates that
Nationals of any country of the Union shall, as regards the

protection of industrial property, enjoy in all the other countries
of the Union the advantages that their respective laws now grant,
or may hereafter grant, to nationals. […] Consequently, they shall
have the same protection as the latter, and the same legal remedy
against any infringement of their rights, provided that the
conditions and formalities imposed upon nationals are complied
with (WIPO, 1883).
Although the Paris Convention, as the Berne Convention, covers aspects of the
problem, its objective is, first and foremost, to codify substantive norms. For its part,
the TRIPS Agreement (World Trade Organization, 1994) created a wide-ranging system
for the enforcement of intellectual property rights. Notwithstanding this, when this
agreement was approved, the Internet had its first manifestations in the trade field and
e-commerce, as it is known today, was not foreseen. Since the mid-90s, the Internet
has undergone constant development and has created new issues to traditional
mechanisms of compliance with intellectual property rights (WIPO, 2000, p. 31).
In the World Trade Organization, international treaties have been discussed

so that the use of works in the digital environment is reduced only to owner-
authorized modalities. Among the instruments currently under negotiation are the
Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA and the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic
Partnership Agreement (TPP) (Cortes, 2014).
One such issue raised on the protection of intellectual property at the jurisdictional
level is the online content/application blocking. This type of blocking is usual when
it comes to accessing content across borders, due to territorial restrictions linked to
the intellectual property regime. In effect, geo-blocking practices include the refusal
of a state’s consumers to access the contents of websites based in other states. These
practices may affect access to the content. The situation described should be considered
in order to take actions to mitigate or prevent unjustified geo-blocking; then, this leads
to debate on the effects generated by the exclusive territorial authorization and, in this
sense, the obstacles the industry can generate.
In this line, there are instant compliance mechanisms, which include the
generation of frameworks that instruct fast compliance by Internet service providers. At
present, we can identify the notification and take down provisions provided in the United
States’ Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (WIPO, 2000, p. 32). This mechanism
has generated controversies regarding the guarantees that must be respected and the
competent body that must ensure them.
On the other hand, in relation to the advantages we mentioned in the introduction

of the present paper, it is possible to indicate the use of trademarks allowed by ICTs – a
trademark understood as a distinctive sign capable of identifying a particular product
and/or service. This grants them a relevant role in the digital economy since when losing
143
contact between supplier and consumer, the trademark is what identifies the product
and/or service and, in this sense, what attracts the online user. For this reason, the
situation described causes the diffusion of these intangibles in a broader market and,
at the same time, generates greater relevance regarding the function they accomplish.
Another aspect regarded as an advantage is the online distribution and, in this

sense, the legal use of content. This is linked to those licenses granted online, eliminating
many of the transaction costs involved in the traditional ways of obtaining them, as
well as more agile processes adapted to the new demands of the digital market. These
tools, particularly if used within the framework of an electronic copyright management
system (ECMS), can contribute significantly to promoting respect for intellectual
property rights on the Internet (WIPO, 2000, p.34).
Finally, I will give attention to another aspect that e-commerce introduces, as a

factor in the digital economy, which referred to the development of trade between
users, as well as the assumptions that this user becomes the owner of intangible
goods. An example of this is the provision of cloud computing services, both regarding
the platform and service (PaaS) where the user installs and executes their own software
or another type of information of their property (industrial, commercial, scientific etc.).
All the assumptions previously mentioned and many others that have not been
analyzed in this article due to its brief nature, together with their issues and advantages,
show the need to introduce the debate on the intellectual property regime intended to
be safeguarded against a space in which the digital reigns.
3_FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
Among the mechanisms that can be promoted in order to ensure satisfactory

compliance with the duties originated from the online intellectual property regime is
those that tend to achieve dispute resolution. They can be useful to speed up and lower
the costs derived, whenever specific guarantees are preserved at stake, such as fair
process.
Another instrument that may be useful to achieve a delimitation of the rights and
duties at stake around intellectual property is the establishment of a limit to the liability
of intermediaries for third-party content. This is intended to provide legal certainty on
the mechanism used by providers to give rise to the rights claimed by the owners of
works, but at the same time, it contemplates those guarantees that must be protected,
such as the freedom of expression.
In the search for appropriate solutions or mechanisms, consideration should be

given to the need to provide international cooperation in the protection of intellectual
property, attentive to the fact that the Internet does not distinguish borders.
Another way to facilitate the use and proper exercise of intellectual property on
online works is to establish good compliance or specific standards both for those who
are users and for those who upload and/or manage content. This helps to prevent
144
illegitimate uses, as well as possible abuses, in the exercise of such intellectual property
rights by the rightsholders.
It remains to indicate that the digital economy results in such a consumption of

content that the rules of the game that have been applicable so far on the intellectual
property need to change. The modernization of these rules, regarding exercising rights
and fulfilling obligations in the digital domain, is a sensitive issue; nevertheless, it is of
essential importance to address it for the achievement of greater access to these gods and,
consequently, of the ultimate purpose that the intellectual property regime has in view.
_REFERENCES
Cortes, C. (2014). La gobernanza de Internet: la trampa de las formas. Centro de Estudios

en Libertad de Expresión y Acceso a la Información. p. 9. Retrieved from <http://www.
palermo.edu/cele/pdf/CELE_GobernanzaDeInternet.pdf>
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (2016). Ciencia, tecnología
e innovación en la economía digital: La situación de América Latina y el Caribe.
Segunda reunión de la Conferencia de Ciencia, Innovación y TIC de la CEPAL. Santiago.
p. 29-30. Retrieved from <http://repositorio.cepal.org/bitstream/handle/11362/40530/3/
S1600833_es.pdf>
Mell, P., & Grance, T. (2011). The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing. National Institute
of Standards and Technology. U.S. Department of Commerce. NIST Special Publication,
800-145.
Núñez, J. F. Contenidos y límites del derecho marcario. Ed. Thomson Reuters. Cita
Online: 0003/007503.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (1952). Universal

Copyright Convention. Geneva. Retrieved from <http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-
URL_ID=15381&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html>
World Intellectual Property Organization (1883). Paris Convention for the Protection of
Industrial Property. Retrieved from <http://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/treaties/text.
jsp?file_id=288514>
World Intellectual Property Organization (1979). Berne Convention for the Protection of
Literary and Artistic Works. Retrieved from <http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/text.
jsp?file_id=283698>
World Intellectual Property Organization (1989). Madrid Agreement Concerning the
145
International Registration of Marks. Retrieved from <http://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/

treaties/text.jsp?file_id=283530>
World Intellectual Property Organization (2000). Estudio sobre Comercio electrónico y

Propiedad Intelectual. Ginebra. Retrieved from <https://goo.gl/16b12u>
World Intellectual Property Organization (2017). PCT – The International Patent System.
Retrieved from <http://www.wipo.int/pct/en>
World Trade Organization (1994). Agreement on trade-related aspects of intelectual property

rights. Retrieved from <https://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/27-trips.pdf>

Legal and public policy advisor in the
National Directorate of Internet Policy
and Development of the Ministry of
Modernization of the Nation (Argentina) and
is a partner of the Maryva firm, specialized
in law and technology. She worked for
Carranza Torres & Associates, a specialized
firm in intellectual property. As part of the
services provided by this firm, she worked
at MercadoLibre S.R.L. as a lawyer in-house.
Currently, she works as a teacher in the
Technological Business course of the Faculty
of Law and Social Sciences.
146
INNOVATION
AND
TECNOLOGICAL
TRAINING
INNOVATION AND TECNOLOGICAL TRAINING _ MARTHA CISNEROS + DÁMARIS CONTRERAS-LUZANILLA
INNOVATION POLICIES
TO ENHANCE USE
OF TECHNOLOGY BY
IMMIGRANT POPULATION
MARTHA CISNEROS
M.S. Information Science and Knowledge Management, ITESM 2012.
martha.cisneros@baruchmail.cuny.edu
Mexico
DÁMARIS CONTRERAS-LUZANILLA
M.A. in Society, Science and Technology, European Master’s
Programme.
damarisccl@gmail.com
Mexico
148
_THEMATIC
Digital inclusion
Innovation and tecnological training
_ABSTRACT
The phenomenon of immigration is causing a reconfiguration

in societies and if it is not correctly addressed it may give birth
to new types of inequalities. In the present paper, the authors
argue that innovation policies are important to enhance the
use of technology by immigrant populations and to reduce
inequalities that may be present due to the lack of opportunities
to participate in knowledge-demanding activities. There is still a
feeble coordination between the existing programs that support
immigrants and the digital agenda and training programs
provided to these communities around the world.
Keywords: policies; immigration; technology
149
1_INTRODUCTION
Internet usage — either through broadband or mobile devices — has become a

powerful tool to extend economic opportunities to millions of people and improve their
quality of life in significant ways. The rapid growth and increasing demand for mobile
devices could have a great impact on migrant populations’ ability to adapt to the local
community. Mobile technologies might continue to change the way people learn and
exercise their rights and responsibilities within their governments.
Quality education, development of sustainable cities and communities and to

reduce inequalities, are part of the United Nations’ 2030 sustainable development goals.
For this reason, the importance of the availability, at a national level, of strategies
such as innovation policies that promote social programs that encourage equality and
inclusion at different levels, must be fostered and include to citizens living abroad, also
known as immigrants.
In this article, we discuss the importance of social inclusion to be included in

the scope of innovation policies. We explore the phenomenon of immigration as an
example of how the digital agenda of governments might promote inclusion among its
citizens and how the use of technology, specifically mobile devices, might alleviate the
digital divide promoting digital citizenship.
2_SHOULD INNOVATION POLICIES BE CONCERNED WITH

SOCIAL INCLUSION?
Policy makers have an important role in society since they contribute to the
formulation of some of the rules that need to be followed by all people to live in peace
and harmony. Political discussions are concerned with giving priority to issues that
society considers the most important. As Bruno Latour (2013) manifests, politicians
are key players in the negotiation process of reordering such priorities, granting the
opportunity of inclusion to those entities that were excluded in the construction of the
collective1. For this reason, policy makers have an outstanding responsibility to even the
odds out to grant the same opportunities to all individuals. Certainly, in the matter of
use and access to technology, innovation policies are not excluded.
National Innovation Systems (NIS) (cf. Lundvall et al., 2009) are defined in great
measure by policies and the government’s digital agenda to encourage technological
development and research. The approach that innovation policies take towards social
development would allow the different actors in the NIS to address not only subjects in the
matter of economic growth and productivity but also other problems that could affect or
prevent the progress and consolidation of the innovation system itself. Some examples of
1 Bruno Latour (2013) uses the word “collective” as the ensemble of humans and non-humans
that conform our existence. In his book, he stresses that the environmental issues and nature
in general, would be considered as part of the reality in the measure that the different actors
– among which there are the politicians – use their powers to incorporate, negotiate, and
institutionalize the new entities into the so called collective.
150
such problems are the lack of education and

the limited access to technological solutions
SOCIAL PHENOMENA and tools. Paradoxically, even though
DRIVEN BY INEQUALITIES academics and international organizations
THAT CAUSE EXCLUSION agree to consider social institutions,
FOR CERTAIN PARTS OF financial systems, education, and regulation
SOCIETY ARE RARELY as part of the NIS, policy makers often have
CONSIDERED AS A a narrower vision (Edquist, 2001; Lundvall et
SUBJECT TO UNDERTAKE al., 2009) and their decisions usually follow
IN THE DIGITAL AGENDA a linear approach that is mainly focused
on investment and productivity, forgetting
the importance of competence-building and
learning in the construction of a solid NSI (Lundvall et al., 2009).
In consequence, social phenomena driven by inequalities that cause exclusion

for certain parts of society are rarely considered as a subject to undertake in the
digital agenda. Instead, innovation policies are more concerned with problems that
the innovation system may have such as low performance in the industry, academic
papers publishing, high-technology production, among others (Borras & Edquist, 2013).
On the other hand, social issues such as poverty, education, or the gender gap are
thought to be exclusively addressed by NGOs or other institutions that provide support
and community assistance. This lack of coordination between institutions working on
social development and the ones that ensure the right configuration for innovation to
grow, has been addressed by academics studying the relationship between inequality
and innovative capacity.
2.1_INNOVATIVE CAPACITY IN FACE OF SOCIAL

INEQUALITIES
Income inequality is mostly present in the studies that explore the negative effects
that inequality has on the capacity to innovate in certain country or region. This may be
explained by the fact that poverty is directly related to poor education and unfavorable
conditions for getting a well-payed job. In this sense, Arocena and Sutz (2009) talk about
the vicious circles that are present in these conditions of social disparities. They point
out that inequality affects not only the capacity to innovate but also the level of use
and consumption of high-technology products. When the access to technology is not
guaranteed for everybody, only a few people would enjoy the benefits of innovative
solutions in terms of productivity and quality of life. Only a few would be able to
consume it and to participate in the development of new features. Hence, unequal
access to technology is an obstacle that needs to be addressed to ensure the desired
progress in the capacity to innovate.
According to Cozzens and Kaplinsky (2009), there are two different types of
inequalities: vertical inequality and horizontal inequality. The former is characterized
by a disproportionate distribution of a valued good among the population (overall
income distribution for a nation, for example). The latter is also an unequal share
151
but among culturally defined sub-groups. Horizontal inequality segregates society by

gender, ethnicity, nationality, or religion, etc. Before these types of social inequalities,
innovation policies need to be aware of the development of capabilities among the most
vulnerable sectors of society, to ensure the benefits of innovation are being experienced
equally by everybody. The larger the population that uses and consumes technology, the
greater the possibilities of having people who innovate in the future.
Arocena and Sutz (2003) expose the existence of learning divides in the global
knowledge-based economy. These divides accentuate the differences between countries
and individuals and hamper the opportunities to participate in knowledge-demanding
tasks. For the authors, learning societies are characterized by the participation of a
reasonable proportion of the population in activities where “knowledge is shared,
exchanged, and created” (Arocena & Sutz, 2003). However, to participate in these
activities certain skills are needed. That is where the need for technological training
arises and puts in evidence, the divide between certain groups of individuals that have
access to technology and the others who don’t.
2.2_IMMIGRATION: ANOTHER TYPE OF SEGREGATION
On the other hand, the phenomenon of immigration that is causing a reconfiguration

of entire populations around the world is taking place in the public debate. Despite
regulations and prohibitions that some governments are trying to implement as an
attempt to stop immigration, the number of international migrants has increased in
the last fifteen years (United Nations, 2016). Mass migration is an issue that concerns
both sides of the isle. In one side it is challenging the capacity of governments to
respond to the needs of their co-nationals living abroad and, in the case of the receiving
country, there is an urgency of efforts that are not necessarily about controlling the
influx of people but mostly helping those who arrive to adapt as easily as possible to
their new social context. A poor cohesion between populations of local inhabitants
and immigrants that arrive may result as a new form of inequality among the social
fabric. In this regard, technologies, and the policies and regulations by which they are
made, learnt, and used, may play an important role in avoiding the presence of these
disparities that could be harmful for everybody.
In front of these uneven conditions, it is important to recall the fact that the existing
policies and regulations that are mainly concerned in boosting the innovative capacity
of countries and regions, help not only to strengthen economic growth (Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development, [OECD], 2015) but also to enhance the
processes of technological learning (Cimoli, Dosi, Nelson, & Stiglitz, 2009). Yet most of
the time the development of skills that are essential to participate in a knowledge-
based economy is expected to be part of the formal education system. For that reason,
the majority of the institutions that constitute the Innovation System fail to correctly
attend to the lack of opportunities that the people outside formal education have
regarding their technological training.
In summary, it is important for stakeholders and decision-makers to reconsider the

impact that innovation policies may have in the construction of more equal societies.
152
By providing not only technological tools but also the right training to use them for
people living under unfavorable conditions, governments could abate inequalities that
impact societies.
3_IMMIGRATION AND THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY
Cornelius (2004) states that the motives of migration mobility, its causes, and effects
are carried out on two poles. From the pole of expulsion, the causes of emigration are
the rapid demographic growth, the persistent deterioration of the environment, the
diminution of the levels of economic and social well-being, and the impact of political
phenomena like the 5 turbulences of irregular and violent changes of Government,
religious persecution, among others. From the receiving pole, constituted by mainly
developed countries, the consequences as mentioned above will have an impact on
labor markets, communication security and social and educational services.
On the one side, the receiving pole is mainly constituted by developed economies
such as US, Germany, or France. The challenges that immigration represent for these
host countries’ are well known and have been documented for quite many centuries:
how many immigrants to accept, what rights and special services to provide them,
and how to control undocumented immigration. Moreover, according to Cornelius
(2004), modern democracies such as Australia and Netherlands now all face the same
questions.
Nonetheless, the United States of America, for example, a country that was
founded by immigrants around 300 years ago, continues to thrive and to deal with the
phenomenon of immigration from different angles. Political, economic, and education
topics are some of the main issues modern democracies have to deal with as part
of the results of the arrival of immigrants from all over the world. The creation of a
multicultural environment in the local labor market and communities has been part of
this immigration phenomenon since its inception.
On the other side, the problems that countries in the pole of expulsion are facing,
are also part of this immigration phenomenon. These countries usually have an
underdeveloped economy, and even though it has changed throughout the years
due to the rise of a shared economy and a digital information revolution that is
“empowering potential usage of new technologies, and with the complex mix of
strategies, policies, investments, and actions, they might be able to create digital
opportunities for their emigrants” (G8 Information Center, 2001). Although there
are social programs for immigrants in their local community within their new
residence country, enabled by the home country, digital literacy programs are far
from being implemented as part of these social initiatives. There are social programs
supporting health and educational components.
For instance, México, according to the Women National Institute (2013) — INMUJERES
by its initials in Spanish —, through the organization and different governmental
agencies promotes 77 programs that provide care and guidance on issues related to
education, employment, financing, and investment, protection of Mexican people
153
abroad, protection in Mexico, remittances, health,

SYRIAN REFUGEES information and knowledge technologies, among
THAT HAVE others. Even though the Mexican Government
MIGRATED TO throughout the Department of Foreign Affairs
COUNTRIES WITH has enabled ICT programs, it cannot be assumed
A DIFFERENT that these programs are accessible to the target
LANGUAGE AND population. Data indicators that provide more
information about the actual use of the platforms
CULTURE THAN
or the impact of these ones in the target market
THEIR OWN, SUCH
are essential to verify that the resources used in
AS TURKEY AND
these platforms are profitable and have being
GERMANY, HAVE used by actual immigrants. Further analysis of
BEEN USING the usability and accessibility of these resources
SMARTPHONE should be encouraged as well.
APPLICATIONS TO
NAVIGATE THEIR Another example is the number of legislative
steps that the government of Colombia has taken
NEW LIFE IN A NEW
to support several programs to foster their citizens
POLITICAL SYSTEM
living abroad. Throughout their Department of
Foreign Affairs and according to a report published
by the Migration Policy Institute (2015) they foster
the program Colombia Nos Une, with the purpose to “create the conditions by which
Colombian nationals who wish to migrate can do so in a voluntary and orderly fashion,
while ensuring the protection of their rights, maintaining their connections with
Colombia, and providing support for their eventual return”. Among their offerings,
Colombia Nos Une builds and maintains virtual platforms for nationals abroad to forge
connections and build relationships with fellow Colombians. The program, called
Portal RedEsColombia, offers networks based on shared interests, including commerce,
provision of social services, and culture. Perhaps their success in web-based outreach
can be measured by the amount of money that Colombians have donated through online
platforms designed to encourage members of the country’s diaspora to contribute to
specific development projects in Colombia and facilitate their giving, or by the amount
of donations that they have processed through their online portals. Colombia has a
digital strategy that has strengthened its digital governance processes and provides
data for impact measurement.
On the other side of the ocean, the Syrian refugees that have migrated to countries
with a different language and culture than their own, such as Turkey and Germany, have
been using smartphone applications to navigate their new life in a new political system.
Gherbtna is a good example, a smartphone application created on 2016 by a Syrian refugee
living in Turkey. It has proven success according to its statistics: over 40,000 downloads,
90,000 likes on Facebook, and an average of 3,000 daily page views of the website. It contains
four services per the news tech portal Mashable (Lopez, O., 2016): Information, relating to
asylum procedures and broadcast via infographics and animation; News; Opportunities,
which advertises apartments and jobs legally suitable for refugees; and Help Me, where
refugees can ask questions about health, education and other legal services.
154
The rapid growth of mobile technologies and their adoption has facilitated access
to new tools and new forms of communication among vulnerable populations.
Immigrants as part of these populations, base their digital communication with their
governments and family through their mobiles devices. Access to a computer could be
at their fingertips through social programs of interaction with the technology of both
the receiving and the emitting pole or as a product of collaboration between them. The
cost of formal or alternative education for high technology could be an obstacle for
governments to improve their digital contact strategy for their co-nationals.
To certify the access to mobile devices and its usage, a statistic on Latinos mobile use
in the city of New York in United States has been considered for this research. The data
presented is based on a 12th month study adult National Consumer Study (NCS/NHCS)
from the Summer 2015 (Late July 2014 – Early September 2015) gathered throughout the
Simmons OneViewTarget system2. The results stated that 24.5% (683,356) of the Latino
population that is living in New York use Internet3. They mostly use mobile phones
(99%) (Figure 1) and social media (75%). They often access social sharing/networking
websites from different devices (91%). They visit a social media website 3 or more times
a day and 58% of them use Facebook.
Figure 1
Reach %: Last 30 days

100
99% 98%
80
77%
70% 70%
60
51%
40 47%
34%
29%
20
22%
0
E-Reader Game Mobile PC
Magazines MP3 Newspapers Radio Tablet Television
Console Phone at Work
Source: Self production with information of Pew Research (Lopez, M., Lopez, G., Brown, 2016).
The previous statistic is focused on the Latino population in America overall of

which immigrants are a huge part. According to Pew Research (Lopez, M., Lopez, G.,
Brown, 2016), Latinos have fallen behind in comparison to other groups in accessing the
Internet through a computer and acquiring broadband service at home. Instead, they
have been among the most likely to own a smartphone, to live in a household without
2 Simmons OneViewTarget system contains data from the National Consumer Study, an annual
survey of U.S. consumers’ buying and media habits.
3 Referring to Latinos as anyone of Latin American descent, and/or immigrants.
155
a landline phone where only a cell phone is available and to access the internet from a
mobile device. Even when the immigrant population has spread throughout the world,
the Hispanic population in America is part of Pew Research to illustrate the impact of
the Internet usage throughout mobile devices.
4_DIGITAL DIVIDE AND DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP
Two of the core development issues for the adoption of Internet-based solutions in
immigrant-majority populations are the digital divide and the lack of an educational
support system that promotes digital citizenship.
First, the gap between people with effective access to digital and information
technology and those with very limited or no access at all is mainly known as the
Digital Divide. The disparity in both access to Internet and the resources to build up
education and skills required to adequately collaborate with the information society
as an active digital citizen are two of the main roadblocks on the way to reduce the
digital divide worldwide. On the one hand the physical access to technology, including
Internet, has improved significantly due to the enablement of social and non-
governmental initiatives (cf. OECD, 2017) through international Institutions such as
World Bank, empowering ICT connectivity in South Africa, as a specific example, the
continuous collaboration to promote projects that expand e-government capabilities.
Corporate responsibility programs that promote Internet affordable access such as the
Microsoft Affordable Access Initiative (cf. Microsoft, 2017), have played a substantial
role in reducing the Internet accessibility gap. Nonetheless, the challenges for having
complete and equal access to technology around the world have proved to be enormous.
For instance, according to the ICT Facts and Figures report published by the International
Telecommunication Union (2016), by the end of 2016 around of 53 percent of the world’s
population still lacks Internet access. In that same report is also possible to see the
difference between regions: while Europe has around 79 percent of its population
connected, Africa has only 35 percent. This proves the huge disparities of opportunities
that exist for people living in different countries around the globe.
Second, there is a lack of educational and innovation policies that endorse digital
citizenship as a main part of the curriculum and as a priority for vocational and social
programs that promote awareness of what it means to be a citizen in the cyberspace.
Digital citizenship is the ability to participate in society online, according to the MIT
Press (2006). Digital citizenship is crucial for social inclusion (Warschauer, 2003) as it
ensures the access, use, adaptation and production of knowledge. To promote digital
citizenship participation, Mike Ribble (2015), an ISTE4 author, proposes nine core elements
that students should know to help them navigate the Internet: (1) Literacy, Rights &
Responsibilities, (2) Etiquette, (3) Access, (4) Commerce, (5) Security, (6) Communication,
(7) Law, (8) Health and (9) Wellness. These core elements, one way or another have
been implemented in America’s formal education, but the lack of policies that promote
this curriculum and the accessibility to this information in a non-formal learning
4 International Society for Technology in Education is a NGO in the field of education technology.
156
environment that focuses on vulnerable populations throughout the world is still a goal
to reach. Without a clear understanding of what does it mean to actively participate as
a citizen in a digital society, we will continue to face issues such as cyberbullying, data
breaches, security risks, etc. At this point is important to remember that education is
key to opportunity and prosperity.
Lastly, innovation policies that support the creation of educational opportunities

could help to engage individuals in digital society. On the subject of immigration,
training programs for digital citizenship may help to endorse the adaptation process of
incomers into a new cultural context, for social inclusion may also be exercised in the
digital world.
5_CONCLUSIONS
Innovation studies have addressed for some time now the harm that social
inequalities can do to the innovative capacity of a certain country or region. As it was
stressed in this essay, these inequalities often relate to income distribution and the
lack of opportunities to participate in activities that are knowledge-demanding. The
phenomenon of immigration is causing a reconfiguration in societies and, if it is not
correctly addressed, it may give birth to new types of inequalities.
Although there are some initiatives to assist immigrant populations in adapting

to their new social context, there is one issue that remains unattended to: immigrant
populations are increasing their use of technology for communicating and for
accessing government services through web platforms, though they are not always
capable of making the most of this use. Technology represents both opportunities and
challenges for the governments that aim to provide tools to its citizens abroad, and for
those that work helping immigrant populations to adapt to their new home. In order to
ensure a fair use of technological tools among the target population, governments are
encouraged to provide training for all individuals that may lack the skills required for a
proper use of such technologies.
Although there are some statistics on the use of technology in some countries,
we recognize that further analysis is needed to fully understand the impact that
technological devices and the use of online platforms have to provide services for
immigrant populations. To have a better appreciation of the level of access and actual
use of online services and other technological tools could help to design policies and
regulations directed to support and strengthen social inclusion.
157
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159
MARTHA CISNEROS
Martha Cisneros is an IT engineer with 6
years of experience in the private and public
sector, currently pursuing a Master of Public
Administration at Marxe School of Public of
International Affairs- Baruch College in New
York. Her research focuses in educational
technology, immigration advocacy and
Internet policy analysis. She’s an Internet
Society Next Generation Leader from the
December 2015 cohort.
DÁMARIS CONTRERAS-LUZANILLA
Dámaris Contreras is a former Software
Engineer with more than five years of
experience in IT industry. She owns a
master’s degree in History and Philosophy
of Science by the University of Strasbourg
and is accredited by the European
Master’s Programme on Society, Science
and Technology for her specialization in
Economics and Management of Innovation.
Her research is focused on innovation
policy, social innovation, inequality and
development.
160
INNOVATION AND TECNOLOGICAL TRAINING _ FERNANDO A. MORA
TOWARDS A DIGITAL
ENLIGHTENMENT:
HOW TO BUILD CRITICAL
THINKERS IN THE DIGITAL ERA?
FERNANDO A. MORA
Ph.D. in Ethics, visiting researcher at the Iberoamerican Institute
in Berlin, Germany
feromd@gmail.com
Mexico
161
_THEMATIC
Innovation and tecnological training

_ABSTRACT
Societies must address a new educational project to build

citizens who make responsible use of technology, and
specifically, in digital technology. Inspired from Kant’s idea
of dare to think for yourself! and critics of the technologized
thinking like Adorno, Horkheimer, Byung-Chul, and Habermas,
the article proposes an educational model not purely based on
technology, but on of critical thinking. The real educational
challenge aims at generating in today’s youth, and in the
new generations, tools, and skills inserted in a ‘digital
enlightenment,’ which, based on Tony Wagner educational
idea, build in people capacities and abilities that allow them to
adapt to the digital world.
Keywords: education; technology; millennials
162
“Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and

sudden change.”
Mary W. Shelley, Frankenstein
“We shape our buildings and then they shape us.”

Winston Churchill
The 2014 Oscar-winning film for Best Original Screenplay Her, tells the story of a man
who falls in love with a computer operating system (Samantha). The plot unfolds in a
near future, not-so-fictional-world where society is used to performing all its activities
through technology. The film poses a scenario where people have created such a symbiosis
with technological tools that users and gadgets begin to develop relationships commonly
considered exclusive of human beings, such as friendship and love.
There is a moment in the film where Samantha

shows signs of self-awareness: “You know? I used to be
very worried about not having a body, but now I really AFTER ALL,
love it... I’m not tied to time or space the way I would TECHNOLOGY IS
be if I were trapped in a body that will inevitably die”. AMORAL; IT IS
While the film raises old questions that have occupied INDEPENDENT
philosophers for decades such as, are non-biological OF IDEAS SUCH
creatures, like Samantha, capable of consciousness? AS GOOD AND
Will we someday be able to upload our minds to a
EVIL, AND ONLY
computer and live forever? It also presents a profound
THE USES THAT
issue that must be promptly addressed. We are already
PEOPLE MAKE OF
at a tipping point where technology – especially in the
digital world – is becoming increasingly humanized,
IT ARE SUBJECT
and on the other hand, humanity is tending to TO THE SCRUTINY
become increasingly technologized. A quick look to OF ETHICS
Joel Garreau’s recount on how the American Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is working
on reshaping the core and nature of human beings is a vivid picture of the future where
humans would be able to connect their brains to Wi-Fi (Garreau, 2005). While some
scientists are pushing the borders of the human condition, some philosophers are very
skeptical of this man-technology symbiosis and point out that it could carry a high cost:
the dehumanization of humanity itself.
This article does not attempt to make an absurd and unsuccessful effort to advocate
for a ‘des-technologized’ humanity or, to point out a devilish side of technology. After
all, technology is amoral; it is independent of ideas such as good and evil, and only the
uses that people make of it are subject to the scrutiny of ethics.
The intention lies in the educational project that society must address now to build
citizens who make responsible use of technology, and specifically, in digital technology.
Marc Prensky, the expert in education, points out today’s youth are the first
generation formed in the new technological advances, which they have them embraced
163
by immersion, since young people have always been surrounded by computers, videos,
video games, digital music, cell phones, and other gadgets (Prensky, 2012).
This immersion to which millennials and post-millennials have become habituated

denotes questions about whether these young people know how to use these tools
responsibly and for their full benefit, and it is not an assumption taken for granted.
Having a tablet, smartphone, laptop, or a cutting edge gadget does not necessarily mean
that a user possesses the technological and no technological skills for taking advantage
of the device.
Nowadays, there is the belief that every problem can be solved through the mere
presence of technology. There is an obsession with creating apps for every problem.
But, is it truly digital technology a tool for raising better human beings and, as a
consequence, better societies? Now that the Internet is cohabiting our daily lives; do we
have a generation of young people who use technology to be more involved in politics,
to be more informed citizens or to improve their lives and in turn, their community? Or
perhaps, are these tools mainly used only for leisure and personal enjoyment?
Alessandro Baricco, the famous contemporary Italian writer, has pointed out the
disruptive nature of millennials who breathe through the gills of Google and value
velocity over deepness (Baricco, 2008). He calls millennials as ‘barbarians’ because
they are ‘destroying’ or reshaping the traditional and old ways of being civilized. By no
means, it is a cry of nostalgia where old times were better; on the contrary, it is a reality
check that new generations are rashly changing society’s values due to the accelerated
revamping of technology.
It is true that Internet started an information revolution never before seen since
the Gutenberg Press: the so-called information era, where people have access to a vast
world of content, and to connect with the global
population. However, just as in the fifteenth
century the invention of printing was not per se
NOW THAT THE
cause of a society turned to Enlightenment, but a
INTERNET IS
tremendous opportunity for people to have access
COHABITING OUR
to knowledge that was once exclusive to the elites.
DAILY LIVES; DO WE
HAVE A GENERATION In the 21st century, it is necessary to rethink
OF YOUNG in the appropriate skills that our societies
PEOPLE WHO USE require, to have the greatest benefits from the
TECHNOLOGY TO BE technological advances.
MORE INVOLVED IN Immanuel Kant, in his essay What is
POLITICS, TO BE MORE Enlightenment? Summarizes the spirit of
INFORMED CITIZENS Enlightenment in the famous Latin locution
OR TO IMPROVE THEIR sapere aude! Or dare to think for yourself! (Kant,
LIVES AND IN TURN, [1784] 1979). The German philosopher notes the
THEIR COMMUNITY? urgency of societies constituted by independent,
and free-thinking persons responsible for both
164
himself and his society. That is to say, Kant stresses that the Enlightenment means
forming individuals who are capable of generating their decisions, are critical of their
reality and respectful of the laws that allow the common good.
In this way, making reference to the Kantian idea, the real educational challenge
aims at generating in the young, and in the new generations, tools, and skills inserted
in a ‘digital enlightenment.’ Persons immersed in the digital world that are capable
of using technological tools through critical thinking; responsible citizens who are
focused on the full development of themselves and the society to which they belong.
Some educational trends are striving towards educational innovation and making a
particular emphasis on the inclusion of technology knowledge in academic programs.
In this vein, there are courses in disciplines such as History, Mathematics, Finance,
Psychology, Literature, etc. where the use of smartphones, tablets, and apps has become
the hallmark of innovation. However, the mere inclusion of technology in the course
of any discipline should not be thought of as a way to innovative education. Innovation
would be that technological tools open new opportunities for students to enrich,
manipulate, transform, and apply the knowledge that each discipline offers.
Aristotle, the great Greek philosopher, divided practical virtues into two levels
(Aristotle, 1983). The first one, and the lowest refer to the technique (techné). This virtue
is oriented to production, and gives an answer to the question, how can something be
produced? It refers to the possession of skills and knowledge that enables the person
to transform a thing into something else, for example, the technique of a carpenter to
change raw wood into a fine piece of furniture. In the second level, there is the virtue of
prudence (phrónesis), which Aristotle defines as that practical wisdom that allows the
individual to deliberate and choose what suits him best in his life as a whole. In this way,
the possession of this virtue enables a person to achieve happiness and fulfillment. This
virtue gives an answer to the question, what is best for me? Unlike technique, prudence
transforms the person himself through the individual actions that he unfolds in his
life. For example, this prudence or practical wisdom is a balance between knowledge
and skills that allow a person to decide how many chocolates should he eat to enjoy
them moderately without risking his health.
Under this understanding, prudence or practical wisdom has more weight in the
development of people, because it is through the knowledge associated with this virtue
that the individual grows and approaches to a state of wellbeing. That is, through the
technique, a shoemaker will master the art of producing better shoes, but it will be
through practical wisdom that the shoemaker would be able to make the best decisions
for his life, and thus achieve wellbeing.
By placing in the educational models, only an emphasis on the acquisition and

formation of the technique, a broader and more critical dimension of people’s life is
forgotten. Currently, we have a generation that thinks in 140 characters and posts their
ideas and emotions on walls. The technical knowledge of these digital tools is almost
inherent in its context. Despite this, some educational models continue to stress the
development of these technical abilities.
165
Having tech-knowledge is good; there is no doubt about that. For example, nowadays,
knowing how to code is a valuable skill, which is highly treasured by many companies.
However, knowing how can I use coding to make my life and people’s life better is a
heightened knowledge that is not merely related to the technique, but with practical
wisdom. This latter knowledge is not acquired through the domain of technology, but
through critical thinking, which allows people to use available technology to solve problems.
Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno in their Dialectics of Enlightenment revealed

disenchantment on the concept of ‘progress,’ which is accompanied by technical
knowledge or technological reason. They state that betting exclusively on a type of
technological reasoning has led humanity to a blindly pragmatized thinking, which
loses its character of overcoming and preserving, and therefore also its relation to truth.
The idea of progress and dominion over nature is the heritage of enlightened thinking:
take away men’s fear and turn them into masters (Horkheimer & Adorno, 2002).
Horkheimer and Adorno point out that the promise of technological reason to
attain a state of well-being was a deception of enlightened reason. The crisis of the
Enlightenment project lies on the idea that knowledge should be more technical than
critical. The fear of these Germans philosophers was that the mysterious willingness of
the technologically educated masses to fall under the spell of any despotism, due to the
absence of critical thinking.
The Korean philosopher, Han Byung-Chul, recovers this idea and speaks of the fatigue
society. He denounces that people today have opted for submission, and have done so in
exchange for a barely interesting way of life, almost of pure survival. In return for this
kind of life, people have given up their sovereignty and their freedom. In the past, external
agents like slavery or feudal systems exploited people. Now, in a neoliberal model, people
have become exploiters of themselves. In neoliberalism, work is synonymous of personal
fulfillment or personal optimization, until person’s collapse. The society of fatigue is a
society of self-exploitation performance; man has become an “executioner and victim of
himself”, thrown into a terrible abyss: failure (Byung-Chul, 2012).
The constant presence of digital tools in our daily lives encourages and intensifies
this self-exploitation. Smartphones, tablets, and other gadgets have made it possible.
In this respect, it is somewhat ironic that the emblematic smartphone of the company
RIM has opted for the name Blackberry, because, during slavery times in the United
States, ‘blackberry’ was one of the names of the iron ball chained to black slaves’ feet.
The strong emphasis and pursuit of technical knowledge leads to a society destined
for frustration and failure. A society absent of tools to allow people to give life’s
meaning. Society becomes a conglomerate of automata embedded in the work-life
without intentions or dreams to realize.
How satisfying, in the end, is a culture of social-media obsession? The multireplication

so readily available is as short-lived and insubstantial as the many instances of our lives
they replicate (Newberger Goldstein, 2014). The expansion of our digital universe — Second
Life, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter — has shifted not only how we spend our time but also
166
how we construct identity. Hence, we should start asking ourselves, what type of society
are we building if it is grounded on digital copies of ourselves?
Therefore, betting only in the inclusion of technological knowledge, into educational

models, will generate young people ideal for working life but incapable of taking charge
of their lives.
For this reason, the proposal is educational models return to the original principles
of the Enlightenment outlined by Kant and adapt them to the millennial generation
immersed in technological advancement. Consequently, to educate on innovation should
aim to build people with skills and capacities that allow them to use technological tools
for the benefit of their person and society.
In this sense, education can be understood as in the German concept of Bildung, which
includes a holistic formation: religions, arts, moral conscience, and the processes of
social production and reproduction. The idea of Bildung indicates an active and dynamic
process aimed at the transformation of reality. In this way, the philosopher Johann G.
Herder defined it as an intellectual process of formation, education, and realization of
human plenitude linked to the concept of Aufklärung, that is enlightenment understood
as the awakening of rational consciousness (Subirats, 2013).
Educational models, while they must include technological innovation, must

not lose sight of the fact that their primary mission is to enable people to develop as
individuals. In this way, the intention of educational is to form, in young people, the
proper’s skills for adapting to constant changes.
The educational innovation specialist, Tony Wagner, affirms the most important
skills to be developed in students are seven: critical thinking and problem solving,
networking collaboration and influence leadership,
agility and adaptability, initiative and entrepreneurship,
effective communication – both oral and written – access
EDUCATIONAL
and analyze of information, curiosity, and imagination
(Wagner, 2010).
MODELS,
WHILE THEY
The first skill, critical thinking and problem-solving, MUST INCLUDE
refers to the ability to be curious and wonder why things TECHNOLOGICAL
are and simultaneously think about why something is INNOVATION,
important. While the idea of critical thinking is a phrase MUST NOT
that has recently become fashionable in the world of
LOSE SIGHT OF
education, it should not be overlooked that the intent to
THE FACT THAT
develop this skill refers to individuals having a broader
THEIR PRIMARY
understanding of ongoing problems. That is, they can
see beyond the present, think about the future and think
MISSION IS TO
systematically to be able to connect the points. It is a less ENABLE PEOPLE
linear way of thinking where people can conceptualize TO DEVELOP AS
but also synthesize a large amount of information INDIVIDUALS
(Wagner, 2010).
167
The second skill Tony Wagner refers to the ability to work collaboratively. It is
recognition of the current context where individuals who can engage in networks of
people across borders and different cultures have become an essential requirement
for multinational companies (Wagner, 2010). The skill resonates with the idea already
announced by Manuel Castells: “Networks constitute the new social morphology of our
societies and the diffusion of network logic substantially modifies the functioning and
results in production processes, experience, power and Culture” (Castells, 2001). Although
the form of social organization through networks has already existed in other times
and places, the new paradigm of technology provides a basis for its wide expansion in
any social structure. Hence, the ability to collaborate in networks is an essential ability
to adapt to the contemporary world.
Parallel, given the vast speed of changes – social, economic, and technological – in the
current context, the capacity for agility and adaptability is fundamental. The ability to
respond to disruptive shifts and the passion to adhere to new ideas has become essential.
A fourth skill refers to those individuals who can take the initiative and be
entrepreneurs as they seek out new opportunities, ideas, and strategies for improvement.
Due to the rapid pace of change, individuals with the greatest opportunities will be
those who are highly adaptable and grasp new opportunities.
The mentioned skills turn out void whether there is no real ability to communicate
in written or oral form effectively. Currently, many working young people have
difficulty being clear and concise; they are unable to express their thoughts effectively.
Technology has made this capacity even more complex; now it is necessary to effectively
communicate through presentations, video conferences, email, text messages, in
addition to traditional forms. So now, the key to this ability lies not only in being able
to communicate thoughts in a clear and concise way but also the capacity to create a
focus, as well as to transmit it with energy and passion.
The sixth skill mentioned by Wagner refers to the ability to find and analyze
information, a fundamental skill in a digital world. Due to the exorbitant amount of
information that people have to handle both in their jobs and in their daily lives, today,
being an active and informed citizen, is not limited to being able to read newspapers.
Now, a person should be able to find and evaluate information from many different
sources; discriminating news from authentic or false, fact-based or mere opinion. A
skill linked to critical thinking.
Finally, having a capacity for curiosity and imagination are essential to developing
in young people. Creativity and innovation are key factors not only for problem-solving
but also in the development of products, services, and ideas (Wagner, 2010). Besides, this
ability gives a more human element to the world that tends towards automation in all
its dimensions and sees workers as replaceable components.
Modern Times, Charlie Chaplin’s silent movie, is a classic parody of the dehumanized
worker due to technology. As an assembly-line worker, Chaplin’s character is always
getting into trouble with the bosses and ends up getting caught in the cogs of the
168
machine. He’s simply another replaceable part.

An educational model aiming to train future
technicians will end up providing replaceable
THE PROPOSAL
human parts to companies. OF DIGITAL
ENLIGHTENMENT
These seven survival skills, described by Tony RESTS ON THE
Wagner, are considered to be core competencies INTENTION, ON THE
for present and future generations. Skills to work, ONE HAND, TO BUILD
learn and generate citizenship in the 21st century.
IN PEOPLE CAPACITIES
However, in the way they are showcased, it seems
AND ABILITIES
they remain skills that only respond to the labor
THAT ALLOW THEM
logic. If education systems are intended to generate
these capacities in young people, they would be
TO ADAPT TO THE
producing future professionals able to adapt to the DIGITAL WORLD. ON
world of work, but still lacking the vital tools that THE OTHER HAND, IT
allow them to answer humanly essential questions ALSO MEANS THAT
such as ‘What should I do with my life?’ PEOPLE WOULD BE
ABLE TO REFLECT ON
Taking up the ideas already pointed out by
THE GOALS OF THEIR
Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer in their
LIVES, AWARE OF
Dialectic of Enlightenment, Jürgen Habermas is
a sharp critic of instrumental reason: a type of
THE RESPONSIBLE
reason which includes modes of action based on USE OF TECHNOLOGY
rational deliberation on the effectiveness of the AND ABLE TO
means. Habermas’s fear of instrumental reason COLLABORATE IN THE
rests on the fact that technological control over DEVELOPMENT OF
nature functions as an ideology; a screen that hides THEIR COMMUNITIES
the character bearer of values, and that responds to
the maintenance of the capitalist status quo.
Instrumental reason becomes palpable in the practices of the market, where the ads
of different products exist exclusively to sell more and to generate more utilities, which is
not pernicious at first instance, as this is the goal of any company. However, the danger
lies when these practices begin to ‘colonize’ – in Habermas’s words – other aspects of
the world. For example, when companies dedicated to producing and selling refreshing
beverages are advertised as companies generating ‘happiness’ and a ‘healthy life.’
Habermas says humanity forgot the other half of the project of the Enlightenment.
Although the instrumental reason for progress has been exploited, on the other hand,
the cultural dimension of modernity has been forgotten. Rationality consists not only
in possessing a particular knowledge but also in how individuals capable of speaking
and acting, acquire and use that knowledge (Habermas, 1999).
With jobs being automated and knowledge being devalued, humans need to
rediscover flexible thinking. That starts in schools. Charlotte Blease explains that:
169
In the near future school-leavers will need other skills. In a world

where technical expertise is increasingly narrow, the skills and
confidence to traverse disciplines will be at a premium. We will
need people who are prepared to ask, and answer, the questions
that aren’t Googleable: like what are the ethical ramifications
of machine automation? What are the political consequences
of mass unemployment? How should we distribute wealth in a
digitised society? As a society we need to be more philosophically
engaged (Blease, 2017).
The proposal of Digital Enlightenment rests on the intention, on the one hand, to
build in people capacities and abilities that allow them to adapt to the digital world.
On the other hand, it also means that people would be able to reflect on the goals of
their lives, aware of the responsible use of technology and able to collaborate in the
development of their communities; mindful of the fact that the project of modernity
can become pathological when money and power colonize the world of life (Habermas,
1999).
Therefore, universities should not be governed by market strategies, but to protect

themselves and their original mission to stimulate the integral development of people.
Although it is necessary to provide work skills for young people, it also must develop a
sense of humanity that enable them to deliberate about what is desirable for their life
and that of others.
Under this premise, the Digital Enlightenment contemplates developing skills

such as those mentioned by Tony Wagner, but these oriented to enabling people to
have greater tools to give meaning to their lives. Further, recognize that pursuing
technological innovation in isolation can be perverse in the development of future
generations.
While critical thinking is vital to teaching and knowledge, the approach given in
recent years to this ability has pushed a generation that admires disbelief as a sign of
intelligence. Taking a quick look at Twitter and Facebook timelines finds that cynicism
and sarcasm are the new symbols of cleverness, belittling the value of wonder and
ignorance that accompanies the doubt. Cynicism distances people from listening and
dialogue, and from collaborative participation. If today we keep raising cynical young
people, incapable of recognizing self-ignorance without fear, in the future, we will have
unempathetic grown-ups incapable of putting themselves in each other’s position.
For this reason, educational innovation should encourage openness, participation,

and opportunity. It must be designed to take students beyond university’s campus to
a life of continuous and pragmatic learning that draws on unexpected sources, and
increases our ability to understand and contribute to the world (Roth, 2014); developing
a stark moral compass in students, still relevant in the digital age.
It is no coincidence that Damon Horowitz, the in-house philosopher of Google, is in

charge of the engineering direction of the company and pushes towards the development
of a moral operating system. A hint from the monsters of technology which begin to
170
realize that the future will not be of the technicians able to manipulate the technology,
but of those people with the tools and the understanding to give the answers to the
questions ‘What to do with technology? And, where to direct it?’
Sherry Turkle explain the opportunity we have to shape our societies in a positive
way where technology is an ally and not a threat:
Relationships with robots are ramping up; relationships

with people are ramping down. What road are we travelling?
Technology presents itself as a one-way street; we are likely to
dismiss discontents about its direction because we read them
as growing out of nostalgia or a Luddite impulse or as simply in
vain. But when we ask what we “miss,” we may discover what we
care about, what we believe to be worth protecting. We prepare
ourselves not necessarily to reject technology but to shape it in
ways that honor what we hold dear. We make our technologies,
and they, in turn, shape us. So, of every technology we must
ask, does it serve our human purposes? –a question that causes
us to reconsider what these purposes are. Technologies in every
generation, present opportunities to reflect on our values and
direction (Turkle, 2012, p. 19).
In the Digital Enlightenment, the educational model for millennials and digital
natives should build people and citizens who, in addition to knowing how to use new
technologies, have an ethical criterion of directing it towards the best purposes. In
addition, to assume a responsibility of including marginalized young people of the digital
age. That is, embrace the commitment to bring those who, due to different factors, have
not benefited yet from technological advances. And finally, that the Kantian sentence
of daring to use our own reason, is not only oriented to the modern vision of progress
or to the laws of the market, but also is directed to finding new and better solutions for
the development of our personal lives as for our communities. If technological advances
drive us to this, we will be closer to recognizing ourselves as an enlightened society.
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FERNANDO A. MORA
Ph.D. in Ethics from Tecnológico de
Monterrey Mexico City Campus, and
now he is a visiting researcher at the
Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut in Berlin,
Germany. He has implemented educational
technologies strategies and seeks to prepare
young people to answer the questions that
aren’t googleable. His professional experience
and academic background intersect the
areas of Ethics, Education, and Democracy.
172
NEW
PROBLEMS OF
THE INTERNET
NEW PROBLEMS OF THE INTERNET _ GLORIA J. GUERRERO MARTÍNEZ
HOW ‘MARKET COLONIZATION’

OF THE INTERNET TURNED
CITIZENS INTO JUST
CONSUMERS?
MARKETIZATION OF THE
ONLINE SPACE
GLORIA J. GUERRERO MARTÍNEZ

Master of Public Policy, Hertie School of Governance
g.guerrero@mpp.hertie-school.org
Mexico
174
_THEMATIC

Multistakeholder cooperation
_ABSTRACT
This article intends to contribute to a constructive debate about

the increasing power of the five technology companies that
owned the platforms where users spend most of their time
online. Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft are
the biggest winners of the Internet and make a lot of profits
from user’s online behaviour data. This ‘market colonization’
of the Internet is impacting the public debate and affecting
the exchange of ideas. Decisions made by algorithms limit the
neutrality and access to information. Interdisciplinary groups
need to work together to understand what we are dealing with
and promote the necessary changes.
Keywords: technology companies; collaboration; digital space
175
The Internet once was thought as a perfect neutral

space where all society flaws could disappear. John DECISIONS
Perry Barlow caught that spirit in the Declaration of the MADE BY
Independence of Cyberspace in 1996, “We will create a
ALGORITHMS
civilization of the Mind in Cyberspace. May it be more
LIMIT THE
humane and fair than the world your governments have
NEUTRALITY
made before.”
AND ACCESS TO
Today, in 2017, the reality is far from that utopia. There INFORMATION
is no doubt that the Internet as a technological, cultural,
and economical tool transformed almost all human
practices. It has been a space that amplifies human capabilities and allows people to
develop new economic models, autonomy from traditional media, and the capacity of
making informed decisions. But it also opened the door for new challenges that are
incredibly complex such as cybercrime, privacy and data protection, fake news and
online abuse, among many others. The same tools work for good or bad. The platforms
that connect us can also divide us. This feature undermines the values modern societies
claim to defend and protect. Moreover, we discover that technology is not neutral and
the over-commercialization of the online space is impacting democracy.
Papacharissi (2002), Freelon (2010), Bennett & Segerberg (2013) support the premise
that the web allows the promotion of public debate. The Internet is a space that
mediates between the State and the citizens; a new kind of public sphere with no
restrictions that created new ways of neutral and free interaction among both. But,
for the average user, the virtual space is not so neutral and not so free given that
governments and corporations monitor our online actions and gather all our data,
measuring our behaviour online. The first does it for national security reasons, the
latter, for commercial interests.
The online space is rule by private entities that owned the online platforms where
users spend most of their time online. These companies make a lot of profits from
user’s online behaviour data. Advertising’s revenues changed the Internet’s dynamics
creating giant multinational technology corporations. Decisions made by algorithms
limit the neutrality and access to information. Those algorithms and companies’ terms
and conditions filter the information billions of people around the world read and share
daily. The Big Five tech corporations: Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft
are the biggest winners of the Internet era, and they dominate the digital life. On their
platforms and devices users search, shop, and socialize.
They have each built several enormous technologies that are

central to just about everything we do with computers. In tech
jargon, they own many of the world’s most valuable platforms
— the core building blocks on which every other business, even
would-be competitors, depend (Manjoo, 2016).
These companies are turning more indispensable. Their platforms and devices are
where everyone is and it is unthinkable for new generations to imagine their lives without
176
a smartphone, on-line gaming, on-line shopping, Facebook, or Instagram, a reality “À la

carte” where everything is subject to filters (lots of them) and is interchangeable, even
values. Following Bauman’s concept of Liquid Modernity consumption plays a key role:
The act of consumption is a form of having, perhaps the most

important for today’s opulent industrial society. Consumption
has ambivalent features: it relieves the anxiety because what one
has, could not be taken back, but it also requires that consumers
increasingly consume, since the previous consumption soon loses
its rewarding peculiarity (Bauman, 2000).
The consumption obsession intertwines with our online behaviour, and the
corporations know it well. The profits they are making around social behaviour online
are enormous. In 2016, the Big Five (Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft)
ended up among the top 10 most valuable American companies of any kind (Manjoo,
2016). According to the Internet Trends Report, in 2015 .75 cents of every dollar spent on
online advertising went to Google or Facebook (Meeker, 2015). Smaller companies lost
market share, and analysts suggest they are predestined to stay on the sideline of the
dominant players. To this large concentration of market power, we can add the capacity
of this ‘duopoly’ to establish the rules of the sector. They are transforming the whole
industry and impacting the way in which we interact and behave online. Everything
happens on the same platforms, around the same people, on the same devices. Users
are becoming passive consumers of information and products.
These companies hold an enormous concentration of power, money and knowledge;

they own our data and our online interactions. Additionally, these new corporations are
exploring new grounds, providing health, education, connectivity, banking services and
housing, diminishing the need for state provision (Morozov, 2015). Governments now
struggle to keep pace with them.
The whole situation demands more involvement of young people. As users, as

citizens and as future makers, young people have a say in this. Not only as consumers
but also as citizens, young people need to be aware of what is going on and demand
transparency and protect values that cannot be commercialized. Citizens should not
trust markets with their civic life. The market logic
is taking control of every aspect of life (Sandel,
2012). Globally, the trust level in institutions is
SMALLER COMPANIES low, but now “in corporations, we trust”.
LOST MARKET SHARE,
AND ANALYSTS Under Habermas’ idea, we are living a
SUGGEST THEY ARE ‘colonization’ of the ‘lifeworld’, meaning that
PREDESTINED TO money and power displaced values of solidarity
and exchange of ideas, turning citizens into “just
STAY ON THE SIDELINE
clients.” Hence, this is impacting the quality of the
OF THE DOMINANT
public debate. The Internet has been colonized,
PLAYERS
and one of the dangers of not having strong
institutions is that this “colonization” can hit
177
democracy (Habermas, 1981). We saw some of this during the U.S. presidential election
of 2016. Polarization took over social media.
Eli Pariser exposed the negative aspect of this new medium; he addressed the
problem of filter bubbles, which appeared due to the personalized allocation of content
based on user’s previous searches and online behaviour. He points out how filter
bubbles arise as result of tailor-made algorithms in social media platforms, such as
Facebook and search engines, like Google, to make it easier for users to navigate the
digital information space by offering curated advertising and news (Pariser, 2011). This
personalization tools can limit our exposure to opposing points of view and also narrow
the range of information users see (Papacharissi, 2002). This filter emphasizes our
information bias and isolates users from having a constructive debate with others.
Habermas thought of the colonization by

the bureaucracies but the challenge now is
private corporations. After the last presidential ALGORITHMS ALLOCATE
U.S. election, it was evident that the measures INFORMATION BASED
these enterprises take to regulate and moderate ON PAID CAMPAIGNS
content are impacting the public debate. Fake AND ORGANIC
information and advertising targeting on INTERACTION; IF
Facebook influenced more of the public debate SOMETHING IS “FAKE”
than facts and real proposals. The polarization of BUT HAD A LOT OF
the political discussion online turned dangerous CLICKS, COMMENTS,
in the offline world too. If the country known as
AND SHARES, USERS
“the strongest democracy” was affected by fake
SEE IT ON THEIR NEWS
news and big data manipulation, it could happen
FEEDS
anywhere, and it can be even worse in regions
where democratic institutions are younger and
weaker, like countries in Latin America.
The level of targeting Facebook and Google offer for the advertising campaigns run
on their platforms is so detailed that, anyone who has the money can send campaign
adverts to specific groups based on demography, interests and in some countries, like in
the U.S., race and religion. In general terms, the algorithms allocate information based
on paid campaigns and organic interaction; if something is “fake” but had a lot of clicks,
comments, and shares, users see it on their news feeds. Content can be viral by organic
methods or deliberate manipulation, when someone pays to put that message across
our news feed. In the Facebook news feed, all ideas look the same, even if they are lies.
The online advertising combinations are infinite; as a company you have the
possibility of targeting almost anyone. For example, women, in their mid 20’s who like
yoga and healthy eating. At the same time, as a party or as an advocacy group, it is possible
to target white men, in their mid 40’s, who support the National Rifle Association, and live
in Wyoming (the state where Donald Trump got 70% of the votes in 20161).
1 “US election 2016: Trump victory in maps”. Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.com/news/election-

us-2016-37889032. Access in June 6th, 2017.
178
In the U.S., online voter communication became a mainstream practice (Aldrich

et al., 2015). From a strategic marketing perspective, designing the right “personas”
and mapping their interests under user research methods based on the information
Facebook, Amazon and Google offer for running ad campaigns can lead to perfectly
identify the ‘right’ people. It is easier to predict who will buy certain products or in other
cases, support certain policies or candidates.
It is fundamental to be aware that every choice made online, every click, turns into
a commercial decision. There is an automated decision-making process behind every
ads or video showed on our walls based on our previous searches and online activity.
In a way, this allocation of content impacts people’s ideas and beliefs. If a 25-year-
old woman in Bangladesh googles the term “freedom,” she will see something entirely
different from a 50-year-old man, living in New York, who googles the same term. Filter
bubbles (Pariser, 2011) personalized search, and social media feeds to show us more of
what “they” think we want to see.
Facebook and Google, as private entities, follow a market logic and take strategic
decisions towards profit making. In consequence, the driver behind their actions is a
business model that allows advertisers and the platform automated editors to set the
agenda. The editor role of these platforms should no longer be seen merely as “business
decisions” because these are fragmenting our societies and encroaching on democratic
values. The reality changed and the role of social media, search, and tech platforms has
evolved. Thus, we need to pay attention to the way in which these companies manage
our online lives.
As Castells (1996) stated, contemporary economic, technological and social conditions

have generated a network state, where interconnections surpass the centralization
of power and decision-making itself. In this network-state greater participation and
intervention of the citizenship in the political life is possible. Under this logic, the state
became smaller, but the corporations took a bigger role, also taking part of the citizens’
space, colonizing our online world. This may not be the only reason, but certainly, it has
contributed to the decay of the rational and critical discourse, provoking the decline of
the public sphere. The public sphere is understood as a neutral space where individuals
discuss current affairs freely in a rational way (Habermas, 1989).
The fact that these platforms have strict rules on who can access their data raises
many questions. To whom are they accountable? How can governments set limits
to these corporations without threatening innovation? Are users responsible for
demanding more transparency? How do we let them get this far? To whom are they
selling their services? To whom are they selling our data? Sometimes the terms and
conditions of these technology platforms are not clear for the users.
A way to develop a better Internet is to think of new models of collaboration and

assume and active role to recover the online public space. The promise of the Internet
as a free citizen-owned space is still a challenge. Future generations have the task to
modify this and make a stronger commitment to overcome it. Private entities and elites
cannot be the only ones setting the rules.
179
Collaboration across sectors is needed. The solutions are a process rather than a
single action because of the complexities involved in each case. Cross-sector cooperation
between governments, the private sector, and civil society organizations allows
the sum of wisdom and capacities of each stakeholder to achieve the best possible
solution. Additionally, these collaboration agreements act as an accountability tool for
participants to oversight each other.
Cross-sector collaboration can work as a short-term solution, however, in the long

run, technology literacy and users’ critical thinking will be the key to tackling online
monopolies and other messy online problems. Young generations need to demand more
openness and transparency from technology companies.
Today, more than ever, governments are looking at these platforms to solve social
problems. Users need to interfere as citizens in how the big technology firms manage
information, regulate content, and commercialize online activities. Technology can be
empowering or disempowering, a way to guarantee a democratic model to oversight its
development is through cross-sector collaboration. Strengthening and fostering more
and better relationships between technology companies, civil society organizations and
governments in specific contexts might be a good way of guaranteeing transparency and
accountability. This process allows ongoing communication, monitoring, exchange of
ideas, and evaluation (Bryson, Crosby, & Stone, 2015). Participation of more stakeholders
from diverse sectors is necessary to safeguard democracy online.
There are a lot of examples of how civil society organizations, corporations, and
young people are changing communities with the use of technology; fighting corruption,
guaranteeing access to government information or improving public services. This
is evidence that not everything is doomed. But the benefits need to be broader and
guaranteed for all. If all online interactions are happening on the same five platforms,
we are risking the competition and feeding corporative monsters that could shrink the
government and swallow its citizens. The Leviathan has some competition, and at the
moment, it is looking weaker than the new kids on the block.
After the U.S. presidential elections, public shaming and media pressure achieved
Facebook’s recognition of companies, politicians, and civil society cooperation to solve
social challenges together. Users need to recover their citizen power and join the action.
Passive consumers do not change the world, active citizens could.
In the case of the Big Five technology companies, they are not going to stop the
marketization of the digital world on their own. Therefore, interdisciplinary groups
need to work together to understand what we are dealing with and promote the
necessary modifications. When monopolies damage society values we must raise our
voice for the government to intervene.
As single individuals, we might not have agency about it, but civil society as a
stakeholder can demand more transparency from these tech giants. The government
requires establishing clearer legal, technical, and political parameters to manage
these companies’ influence. Under a multistakeholder approach, young people should
180
participate in different forums and initiatives to guarantee that democratic values

are embedded in technology’s development. Having a more informed, active, and
critical public that does not overlook the impact of these platforms in our daily lives
is important. Participation and awareness are essential to saving democracy from
marketing colonization. The tech’s backbone can be this spirit of collaboration and
move away from a sole for-profit mission that will end up ‘customizing’ our online
behaviour and opinions.
_REFERENCES
Aldrich, J. et al. (2015). Getting out the vote in the social media era: Are digital tools
changing the extent, nature, and impact of party contacting in elections? Party
Politics, 22(2): 165-178.
Barlow, J. P. (1996). A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace. Retrieved from

<https://www.eff.org/cyberspace-independence>
Bauman, Z. (2000). Liquid modernity. Polity, Cambridge.
Bennett, W. L., & Segerberg, A. (2013). The Logic of Connective Action: Digital Media and
the Personalization of Contentious Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bryson, J., Crosby, B., & Stone, M. (2015). Design and Implementation of Cross-Sector
Collaboration Framework for Understanding Cross-Sector Collaborations. Public
Administration Review, 75(5), 647-663.
Castells, M. (1996). The Rise of the Network Society. 1st ed. Somerset: Wiley.
Freelon, D.G. (2010). Analyzing Online Political Discussion Using Three Models of
Democratic Communication. New Media & Society, 12 (7): 1172- 1190.
Habermas, J. (1981). The Theory of Communicative Action, Volume 2: Lifeworld and

System: A Critique of Functionalist Reason.
Habermas, J. (1989). The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An inquiry into
a category of Bourgeois Society, Sixth Printing Edition.
Manjoo, F. (2016). Tech’s ‘Frightful 5’ Will Dominate Digital Life for Foreseeable Future.
The New York Times. Retrieved from <https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/21/technology/
techs-frightful-5-will-dominate-digital-life-for-foreseeable-future.html?_r=0>
Meeker, M. (2015). Internet Trends 2015. Code Conference, Kleiner Perkins Caufield &
Byers. Retrieved from <http://www.kpcb.com/blog/2015-internet-trends>
181
Morozov, E. (2015). Silicon Valley likes to promise `digital socialism´- but it is

selling a fairytale. The Guardian. Retrieved from <https://www.theguardian.com/
commentisfree/2015/mar/01/silicon-valley-promises-digital-socialism-but-is-selling-
a-fairy-tale>
Papacharissi, Z. (2002). The virtual sphere: The internet as a public sphere. New Media
& Society, 4(1): 9-27.
Pariser, E. (2011). The Filter Bubble. London: Penguin. Chapter 1: Introduction.
Sandel, M. J. (2012). What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets. New York:
Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
GLORIA J. GUERRERO MARTÍNEZ

Gloria holds a Master of Public Policy from
the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin
and a BA of International Affairs from
Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico City.
As a professional, she has developed and
executed international outreach strategies
and digital innovation projects in Europe
and Latin America. During her master
studies she focused her work on the Ethics
and Governance of New Media platforms.
Currently, she is a Global Policy Fellow at
the Institute for Technology & Society of
Rio de Janeiro. Her main interest is to build
bridges between the technology sector,
society and government to enhance good
governance and collaboration.
182
NEW PROBLEMS OF THE INTERNET _ LEANDRO RACUIA + VICTOR ANDRÊS VELOSO CAVADAS
POLARIZED AND HATEFUL

NETWORKS: THE
TRANSFORMATION OF THE
INTERNET AS PROPAGATOR OF
THE CULTURE OF HATRED BY
FILTER BUBBLES
LEANDRO RACUIA
Student at the School of Economics, Administration and Account-
ing (University of São Paulo)
leandro.racuia@gmail.com
Brazil
ANDRÊS VELOSO CAVADAS

Student at the Institute of International Relations (University of
São Paulo)
vvelosocavadas@gmail.com
Brazil
183
_THEMATIC
_ABSTRACT
The Internet is associated with many basic local and

global human communication processes and is capable of
significantly impacting societal perceptions of cultural and
social orders. Because of this potential, the Internet deserves
further attention as a medium for promoting the spread of
hatred and increased societal polarization. One explanation for
this comes from the practices of Surveillance Capitalism. In
this article, we analyze so-called “filter bubbles”, mechanisms
that customize information users receive to maximize the
profitability of large technology companies that exercise an
oligopoly over the Internet.
Keywords: filter bubbles; political polarization; surveillance

capitalism
184
1_INTRODUCTION
The great computer revolution of the 1980s and 1990s dramatically altered previous
communication paradigms. Prior to this period, the media was centralized, dispersing
information from the few to many, and focused mainly on mass media such as
newspapers, books, and television channels. Today, most information flows through
the Internet from many to many and is theoretically decentralized in nature.
Most of the members of the academic community in the 1990s and 2000s posited
that the decentralized model of the end-to-end Internet connection would create
a new perspective on the discussion of ideas. Lévy (1999) states that three principles
would compose new perspective, which he calls “Cyberculture”: the interconnection,
the creation of virtual communities, and the collective intelligence. Interconnection
describes the Internet’s structure as decentralized and formed over an accessible end-
to-end logic; any point on the Internet is able to reach any other point without the
influence of an intermediary. Virtual communities, the second principle, as Lévy (1999,
p. 127) states, are formed from affinities of interests, knowledge and mutual projects in
a process of cooperation and exchange. Finally, collective intelligence describes a type
of shared intelligence that emerges from the collaboration of individuals of all parts
of the Internet, their knowledge and diversities. As Lévy describes (1999, p. 212), it is an
intelligence distributed everywhere, in which all knowledge resides in humanity, since
no one knows everything but everyone knows something.
Similarly, Benkler (2006) argues that the Internet creates new methods of
information economics. He calls this phenomenon the “Networked Information
Economy”. These new methods enable the occurrence of self-organized communities
with weak and decentralized hierarchies in which market logic stays in second place.
From this configuration, a social production of knowledge based on sharing and
cooperation is created. One example of such social production is coordinated political
action, spontaneously and individually headed by the community.
Two key words emerge in these authors theories and discussion: sharing and
cooperation. Together, they create new forms of political organization and open up
more room for political debate and consensus building among Internet agents. Such
a phenomenon is only possible with a decentralized Internet structure that allows
each actor to express themselves and listen to others. However, the current state of the
Internet appears to differ from what these authors predicted.
This contradiction raises some questions: how have we reached this point? Why
do the scenarios of collective knowledge construction and cooperation between the
different visions described by Lévy (1999) and Benkler (2006) not apply to our current
networks within the Internet? And finally, what are the cognitive and educational
impact of these existing networks? This article seeks to answer these questions through
a literature review of academic papers related to the topic.
First, we will analyze how the oligopoly of technology companies took control of
the functional Internet structure by exploiting its prior decentralized nature. Then, the
185
techniques these companies use to profit from their

THE MOST services will be examined, and the “filter bubble”
IMPORTANT ASPECT theory will be analyzed to determine how such
IN THE FORMATION bubbles built echo chambers. Following this logic,
OF “FILTER the methods by which content go viral within these
networks will also be considered by examining those
BUBBLES” IS THE
emotions connecting to the most shared content.
INFLUENCE THEY
WIELD ON SEARCH After this analysis, Castells’ (2013) theory will be
ENGINES AND employed to describe how new social movements are
SOCIAL NETWORKS formed and discern the role of the Internet in this new
era of social mobilization. Finally, we will comment
on the possible impacts of networks and address
Internet as an educational element affecting the individual’s cognition and action.
2_POWER CONCENTRATION ON THE INTERNET
Power concentration on the Internet must be assessed to understand how the flow
of information within the network currently widely connects with large technology
companies. These companies, after all, control a significant segment of the Internet
flow, which they use to facilitate economic benefits for themselves. In doing so, these
companies compromise the decentralized nature of the network. Using highly complex
algorithms designed to identify behaviors, these companies possess powerful inputs
that enable the creation of artificially produced environments for users’ convenience.
This scenario is a feature of the so-called “filter bubbles” phenomenon, which is
discussed in detail in the next section.
The most important aspect in the formation of “filter bubbles” is the influence they
wield on search engines and social networks, since these two tools constitute the core
of typical current user activities on the Internet. A large part of the world’s population
has access to these two types of service via a few giant Internet companies.
Among search engine services, Google has a market share of 89.72 %, according
to Statista portal (2016a). Its largest rival, Bing, has a market share of just 4.2 %, and
Yahoo!, 3,37 % (Statista, (2016e). No wonder it’s impossible to imagine a world without
Google, or better yet, a world without Chrome for online research.
Among social networks, Facebook reigns supreme. In the United Kingdom, for
example, Facebook represents 78 % of the social media market (Statista, 2016b), a market
share probably similar in many other countries. In 2015, Facebook’s monthly active users
reached 1.654 billion users, while the total global number of social media users was 2.34
billion users (Statista, 2016c). In 2016, Facebook boasted the greatest number of active
users, with 1.7 billion worldwide. It is followed by WhatsApp, with 1 billion users, QQ
Chat, with 899 million, and several positions below, Instagram (500 million), Twitter (313
million) and Snapchat (200 million) (Statista, 2016d). In Brazil, Facebook’s penetration rate
is practically double that of any other social media platform in the country.
186
When it was just as a student project on the Harvard University campus, Facebook
illustrated how economically important it is for technology companies to influence the
content available to each user. According to Ries (2011), Facebook’s business model was, at
first, modest and plagued by an uncertain revenue source. The only important premises
were what the Ries classifies as the hypothesis of value and growth, respectively:
the more attention you can retain from users, the more advertising agencies will be
interested in advertising on the platform; and how many customers visited the platform
more than once a day. Zuckerberg understood that the more attention (buzz) he fostered
on his platform, the more advertising agencies would be interested in advertising on
the platform, but he wasn’t sure how much they would be willing to pay for an ad.
Focusing on these two premises — fostering buzz around the platform and prompting
users to visit it more than twice per day — Facebook has created an interesting scenario: the
need to create a pleasant virtual user environment to keep users engaged on the platform
for as long as possible. Wolton (UnBTV, 2014) views the Internet as a demand media, in
which the user searches for content and topics of interest according to their own needs,
creating a participation system that characterizes a community media – users share
the same interests but not necessarily understand each other. Facebook, as an Internet-
based social network, must align with this framework of environmental demands by
programming an environment that meets users’ needs. Therefore, for Facebook, the
“filter bubble” theory made sense both economically – it retained users for greater lengths
of time and drew greater attention from advertising agencies – and ideologically – by
meeting the Internet user’s implicit demand for the information they seek.
As a result of this previously mentioned movement, Facebook has become a targeted

advertising station. By overlapping filters, Facebook creates closed circles, available to
niches of users understood as “friends” who typically share the same opinions. However,
these closed circles are ineffective at providing information complexity, isolating users,
who become less aware of divergent opinions and points of view. An example of this is
a case involving a London journalist who, on the eve of the Brexit referendum, had no
idea there was a favorable wave for the Britain to leave Europe since her Facebook’s feed
showed nothing in this respect. After all, she had helped in the creation of a document
in favor of the pro-Europeans.
A critical look at the US presidential campaign may clarify the nefarious roles social
media “filter bubbles” can play within democratic systems. A plethora of fake news
stories flooded social networks throughout the 2016 presidential campaign. The sharing
of seemingly serious, but incorrect, web articles was a reality during this election,
and Facebook, as an important communication vehicle, was extensively involved in
spreading this type of news. Candidate Donald Trump relied on a nonsense strategy
and instigated biased information based on racist and xenophobic precepts to improve
his image in the eyes of his supporters. Facebook was unable to control this kind of
information and the proliferation of falsehoods that were shared – and diffused – by
the people themselves. These events illustrate why Facebook is a precarious tool for
sharing information—a particularly serious problem—as the platform fosters a culture
of uncertainty even for basic issues. So, the question remains: when “filter bubbles” –
187
ignored by most users – are added to the fallacies of the environment, to what dangers
do social networks expose democracy?
Giant Internet companies have won significant influence over societal events – as
can be seen on Facebook during the US presidential campaign. However, how these
companies managed to attain such great power remains unclear. Zuboff (2015) has
sought to address this situation by debating Surveillance Capitalism. She defines it
as a new market wave of Internet companies focused on the “obsessive” collection
of data to meet the ultimate goal of expanding their own free services. By collecting
data – all available data, from affinities to personal finances – organizations can build
a dossier for each user. Although this data is not treated in a discriminatory way—
the information is not attached to profiles—these companies’ algorithms are able to
identify each user for the creation of specific ads.
Internet companies employ Big Data at a generalized level and make money by buying
and selling data. While this article won’t consider the ethical problems related to this
method for obtaining data, new forms of contracts,
customization, or continuous experiments, it is
worth mentioning the recurrent law infringement
while searching for profit; any possible expenses
THERE IS EVIDENCE
will be mere details for exorbitant returns. That’s OF A “BUBBLE
how surveillance assets are built, and they are the FILTER” EFFECT THAT
source of generous economic analysis. Critically, TENDS TO POLARIZE
most users are not aware of this practice, and as a DIVERGENT
result, a new power order not openly known to the OPINIONS AND
public has arisen. INSTIGATE ECHO
CHAMBERS
It is under this shadow that empires like Facebook
have been erected and are only now beginning to
WITHIN THE
be confronted by other major media institutions, SOCIAL NETWORKS
such as Washington Post and Le Monde. Facebook, THROUGH WHICH WE
for example, employs such abusive data collection ARE INFORMED
methods not to directly benefit economically, but
instead to build its social network algorithm. With
this precise algorithm, it can then understand each user’s particularities and make
its platform more pleasant according to individual preferences. The more convenient
the platform, the more effectively Facebook can engage users for significant lengths of
time, which ultimately results in increased profits.
Surveillance Capitalism logic gives substance to “filter bubbles”, making this model
economically interesting. This happens because it feeds the algorithm responsible for
creating “filter bubbles” with a huge amount of data, improving both the “filter bubble”
environment – even nicer – and the accuracy of Facebook ads. However, this analysis is
also valid for other technology companies. When platforms are more convenient and can
better meet a specific demand and users’ preferences, they are more likely to satisfy those
users. And when users are satisfied, they are more willing to provide data and less willing
to seek out other alternatives, because their current platform is already convenient.
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In this scenario, it makes sense to consider the two currents trends of communication:
ideologists who confuse communication with technical performance and markets, and
opponents who enjoy communication in favor of elitist radicalism and sales logic.
Technology companies employ a rather instrumental perspective of communication,
a characteristic of the universe of these two currents trends that diminish the role of
communication dialogue and cohabitation (Wolton, 2006).
Wolton (2006) also posited that without the promotion of social bonds to the general
public through previous mass media technologies – TV, radio, etc. – society risks
neglecting discussion of issues of public interest. This neglect may eventually lead to the
collapse of society itself into cultural and/or religious ghettos. In other words, the total
freedom of choice of content offered over the Internet – as a demand media – favors the
creation of closed communities and can generate non-communication, mistrust, and
violence. When, in fact, the essence of communication is the issues of the others. As a
result, the concept of communication must be redefined as a revolution of cohabitation
and dialogue (Wolton, 2006). And to do so, Internet communication must be discussed.
In the first Industrial Revolution, technology accelerated as machines underwent

profound transformations and replaced the human labor, both physically and
mechanically. Technological advancement allowed machines to accelerate movements
and intensify task accomplishment – which would allow them to be called muscle
machines. Later, machines were created to function as extensions of the human senses:
sensory machines. Muscle machines were designed to create objects, while sensory
machines sought to create and reproduced signs (images and sounds). Both types of
machines have played vital roles in human development, and they remain present
in everyday activities: muscle machines as lifts and cars, and sensory machines as
recording and reproduction devices (Santaella, 2000). As these two types of machines
permeate our daily activities, they become increasingly crucial to human life, often
without our notice.
In the same way, brain-machines have been designed to amplify mental abilities,
especially memory and processing abilities. These machines, which we call computers,
absorb, translate, handle and transform every sign, allowing information to circulate
globally and promoting a multidirectional telematic culture. The best-known medium
for this diffusion is the Internet, a network that connects millions of people around
the diverse subjects, from business to art and entertainment (Santaella, 2000). Just as
muscle and sensory machines have become inherent in human life, so to have brain-
machines as they increasingly expand our cognitive universe. There is little space to
coexist in the contemporary world without the presence of brain-machines, as every
day they become more intrinsic to our tasks. We all benefit from brain-machines to
some degree. We all “must” use them.
This argument of the mandatory use of brain-machines, associated with the

oligopoly of Internet companies, creates a relevant analytical piece, because, in order to
surf the Interner, users more than likely depend on companies that control the majority
of data flow, such as Google and Facebook. Because they rely on these companies, users
travel through “filter bubbles” and are subject to Surveillance Capitalism.
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Politics, again, is a good example. In Brazil, between January and June, 51 % of

Brazilian voters said they had received or read policy information on Facebook, Twitter
or WhatsApp. This habit is stronger among younger people, as 55 % of affirmative
respondents were under 34 years old. In addition, 56 % of respondents reported that the
information they received on these platforms worsened the candidate’s image (Ibope
Inteligência, 2016). Even more surprising, Brazil is the most active country on the web
when it comes to politics—87 % of Brazilians reported they had read about social or
political issues on social networks from October 2014 to August 2015, and about 58 %
posted comments (Ibope Inteligência, 2016).
Because power within the Internet has become so concentrated, and because of
the network’s civil impact and our increasing need for brain-machines, it has become
crucial that we deepen the discussion of Internet “filter bubbles”. After all, human
spheres of knowledge, such as politics and communication, are present in this game of
capitalist logic.
3_FILTER BUBBLES
As previously described by Zuboff (2015), the Internet ecosystem mainly contains

companies that can only maintain and expand their free services through the model of
Surveillance capitalism. The key principle of this model is data collection from platform
users. When processed, this data reveals each user’s preferences, desires, affinities, and
aversions, creating a customized profile of everything they prefer and hate. In addition
to the unrestricted purchase and sale of this data, this data mining allows companies
to create targeted ad services on the platform, one of the main revenue sources of large
Internet corporations.
The most common strategy employed to ensure an enjoyable user experience is

the creation of a sense of interest and entertainment through “filter bubbles”, a term
coined by the activist Eli Parisier (2011). He points out this strategy of customizing
displayed content on large corporations’ platforms, which only show content related to
those preferences previously mapped by the user data collection. This encourages users
to stay on the platform for greater lengths of time, which generates more data and
improves that mechanism.
The concept of content customization is beneficial when considering social

interactions and search engines. The algorithm, in theory, brings people with similar
tastes closer and predicts and presents new content the user will like. Similarly,
optimizing search engines saves time and increases the odds users will find exactly
what they are searching for.
The term “filter bubble” refers not only to content display wanted by the user but
also to the isolation of other materials they supposedly do not want to see. One of the
problems in building these bubble is the lack of clarity in how the “filter bubble” process is
conducted. After all, filter algorithms are guarded as business secrets, since the presence
of this customization is the differential in targeting ads made by these platforms. Pariser
considers this lack of algorithmic transparency dangerous since it solely places the
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selection of information presented to the user in the hands of an Internet company that
subtly filters what the user sees and does not see for economic profit.
In addition, the author attributes the catalyzation of political polarization on the

Internet to “filter bubbles”. This process began when large company platforms became
users’ main source of political information, as the algorithm only displays news and
opinions that please the users based on their previous interactions. This preference
feed information exposure, creating “echo chambers”: a virtual environment in where
is only presented information that reverberates a fixed opinion while isolating the user
from opposing or diverse opinions.
A study published by Facebook researchers (Adamic, Bakshy, & Messing, 2015) revealed
data proving the creation of echo chamber as a result of “filter bubble” mechanisms. The
study followed 10 million people from the United States who openly declared themselves
either conservative or liberal. Their shared news was monitored for six months (from
July 2014 to January 2015). The study’s authors identified content that was shared on a
large scale by self-declared liberal users as liberal content and vice versa.
The following chart (Figure 2) illustrates one of the study’s conclusions. It shows the
percentage of cross-cutting content (“political content opposite to the one informed by
the user”) accessed by liberals and conservatives and the four channels through which
this access occurred. These channels outlined by the research methodology and the
service that Facebook offers must be understood to recognize the significance of the
study’s findings. First, Random is an exposure of a random sample of all news related
to democracy (a category researchers call “hard news”) in a scenario where everyone
could observe content shared by everyone else. The study found that liberals could see,
on average, only 45 % of conservative content, and conservatives could see only 40 % of
liberal content. The second channel, potential from network, the network in which the
user is located is considered. In this case, the percentage considers how much content
contrary to the user’s stated political ideology could potentially be seen because it was
shared by the user’s friends. In this case, conservatives could watch 35 % of liberal
content, while liberals could see only around 23 % of conservative content. Exposed,
the third channel, was most relevant in the study because it showed the content
actually displayed in the users’ news feed. The real measure of the “filter bubble” is
the difference between what could potentially be displayed in the network and what
is shown in practice. As the researchers explain, this difference is 5 % in those who
identify as conservative and 8 % in those who identify as liberal.
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Figure 2
50% Viewer affiliation

45% Conservatives
Percent cross-cutting content
40% Liberal
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
Random Potential from network Exposed Selected
Source: Adamic, Bakshy, & Messing, 2015
The researchers concluded there is no significant difference between the content

displayed by friends and what is actually exposed to the user, making the “filter bubble”
effect much more the result of individual choices than the algorithm.
However, two critiques of this conclusion are worthy of greater discussion. As

Parisier (2015) argues, this scenario was observed for a short time, and this polarization
tends to grow in a time series, since our networks increase over time and we tend to
increasingly limit our circle to those who think the same way we do. Furthermore, it is
impossible to establish a correlation between individual actions and the action of the
algorithm, since both influence with each other with each user specific interaction.
These studies show there is evidence of a “bubble filter” effect that tends to polarize
divergent opinions and instigate echo chambers within the social networks through
which we are informed. The results of this process are extremely bad, as they inhibit
the plurality of opinions and open gaps for extremism that can threaten freedom of
speech and opinion, one of the key requisite pillars for the exercise of democracy.
4_NETWORKED MOVEMENTS AND VIRAL PHENOMENON

OF HATRED
The damaging effects of echo chambers only worsen after analysis of the ways
social movements are organized in the digital era. With greater speed and accessibility
at a relatively low price, every citizen can access and communicate any information
through the Internet. To some extent, this development has broken the mass media’s
information monopoly. To this end, each individual has acquired greater freedom to
express and reach different status quo agreements and is better able to identify and join
individuals with similar ways of thinking (Assange, 2013).
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This process made the countries more susceptible to protests and dissent, which
can be more easily organized through social networks (Garret, 2006). Castells (2013)
presents a more specific analysis, arguing that this change generated a type of
organization different from previous social movements, one the author calls “networked
movements” (Castells, 2013, p. 129). One of the main features of this new organizational
structure is its decentralized form of action. Without permanent leadership, networked
movements are instead guided by debates, coordination and deliberation within the
networks in which social movements were formed. Even though the main struggle and
pressure force of such movements lies in the occupation of physical public spaces, their
only primary platforms of existence and continuous construction are contemporary
technologies, such as the Internet and smartphones, which ensure access from nearly
any location (ibid.). This fusion between cyberspace and urban space has given rise to
a third space, one Castells calls “the space of autonomy”. According to the author, this
space provides the capacity of a social actor to become a subject by defining its action
around projects constructed independently of the institutions of society, according to
the values and interests of the social actor (Castells, 2013, p. 135).
Moreover, one of the precepts of a distributed network is its resilience—its ability

to resist attack and continue to exist. Because these movements have no leadership,
individual repression through, for example, the imprisonment or torture of a leader,
cannot extinguish them, since the network can be rebuilt as long as there is a minimum
number of participants, loosely connected by their common goals and values (Castells,
2013, p. 129). Bureaucracy and capture by so-called “old politics” are also prevented,
because there are no specific leaders to be captured.
After this brief contextualization of “networked movements,” an analysis of the

dynamics of this new organizational model is presented by the Castells. The author
highlights the role played by emotions in the agency of individuals, stating that the
emotions that are most relevant to social mobilization and political behavior are fear (a
negative affection) and enthusiasm (a positive affection) (Castells, 2013, p. 24). Fear acts
as a paralyzing agent, generated from anxiety built in reaction to an external threat
over which the threatened person has no control. Anxiety leads to fear and neutralizes
the action of individuals. By demonstrating indignation and seeing it is shared by the
network, users overcome fear and “positive emotions” emerge as enthusiasm activates
action, and hope anticipates rewards for a risky action (Castells, 2013, p. 25).
Analyzing all that was considered, we see that social networks and new ways of
communication directly influence this new form of social movement organization. As
the author says, in our time, digital, multimodal networks of horizontal communication
are the fastest and most autonomous, interactive, reprogrammable and amplifying
vehicles in history. The features of the communication processes between individuals
engaged in social movements determine the organizational features of the movement:
the more interactive and self-configurable the communication, the less hierarchical
the organization and the more participatory the movement. That’s why the social
movements in the digital age represent a new species (Castells, 2013, p. 26).
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It’s important to point out specifically that the features of the process of
communication between individuals determine the features of the movement itself.
When one considers that most of these networks were created and maintained
through large Internet corporations, we can recognize that these movements have
been constructed beside and within the logic of “filter bubbles”: polarization and not a
plurality of ideas.
Together, not only are communication processes relevant in analyzing how new
movements are formed, but also how content is shared. In the Facebook survey
previously discussed, content was labeled liberal or conservative news based on the
correlation of the content shared by the users who identified as one of the two political
positions. Only so-called hard news – news that had keywords related to economics or
politics, was labeled as such. However, researchers did not semantically analyze which
emotions this news content aroused in users, emotions that play a key role in whether
a content is shared.
As Berger and Milkman (2012) describe, emotions play a key role in the transmission
of ideas. According to them, behavioral psychology studies (Smith, & Ellsworth, 1985;
Barrett, & Russel, 1998) indicate that emotions either stimulate or discourage the
execution or transmission of a thought, action or idea. Emotions with high activation
levels, either positive (as admiration) or negative (hate and anxiety), wield a greater
capacity to trigger a stimulus that leads to individual action, while emotions with low
activation levels (sadness or fear) discourage such action.
Based on this logic, Berger and Milkman (2012) analyzed the news content of The
New York Times over one year, noting their levels of engagement, clicks, and shares.
Based on this data, the newspaper evaluated the most relevant news of the week and
distributed these stories to subscribers in the newspaper’s newsletter. Analysis of the
news content found that those stories containing ideas expressing some form of hatred
were most likely (34 %) to be inside the newsletter, followed by admiration (29 %). This
finding confirmed the psychology studies referenced above: hatred and admiration lead
to a greater engagement and, therefore, a higher chance of being viewed and propagated.
From these two studies, we can conclude that the viral phenomenon of hate is
exceptional compared to other emotions. First, hate, as an emotion with a high level of
activation of social transmission, causes individuals to respond to this stimulus. This
characteristic increases, in probabilistic terms, the viral phenomenon of hate, since the
user who reads the news responds to the hate stimulus.
5_THE INTERNET IS THE MEDIUM
“The medium is the message” Marshall McLuhan (1969). According to Mcluhan (1969),
the impact caused by the medium is much bigger than the “content” passing through it.
According to him, the “content” itself, like a TV show, exhibits side effects on users. The
information that circulates in the medium is irrelevant, and in fact, “content” plays a
key role in sharing information of common interest. Real social and cognitive change,
however, is the result of the medium. The medium creates a cognitive tool responsible
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for shaping both our culture and our experiences in order to change our perception. So,
McLuhan said, “the medium is the massage”. Two aspects were explored by him: the
first tells that the medium massages the brain, prompting it to feel in a new way and
perceive differing stimuli; the second aspect says that the medium is now for the mass
society (Mass Age).
McLuhan (1969) criticizes most people’s

consideration of “content” as the message and “THE MEDIUM IS THE
instead argues that the medium itself has MASSAGE.”
introduced a rupture regardless of time and space.
By changing the scale, cadence, or patterns (ibid.)
of a society as a whole, the medium causes strong social and psychological effects. The
size of this effect can only be noticed when compared to groups not exposed to said
mediums. In any case, there has been a passive and subliminal acceptance of new
mediums, an acceptance that neglects their impacts on freedom, the perception of
other groups, and interactions with other mediums. Mediums are considered natural
resources to be used and, as a result, they constitute a society. Just as silk determined
typical traits in Eastern cultures and exchanges with the West, or oil motivated entire
industries, mediums also induce and reflect cultural order. According to McLuhan (1969),
every product that shapes a society eventually transpires in and through all its senses.
The brain-machines are a giant medium of impact on our society’s standards, and
people are increasingly required to use them as resources. They are really products that
have altered the conceptions of society. Mainly, how the medium made possible the
creation of another medium, the Internet. From its construction and architecture, the
Internet constitutes a new medium in and of itself. The way in which the Internet has
become the basis for our society and transformed the flow of information and users’
perceptions – as individuals and as groups – characterizes a paradigmatic rupture
within contemporary society, entering the paradigm of complexity. There’s no more
room for solitary ideas. A systemic, subjective look and participant observation becomes
imperative in the scenario of accessibility and fluidity of the network.
Castells’ argument (2013) reveals the middle tone of the Internet by highlighting
its potential towards society, as seen in, for example, social mobilization through the
Internet that culminated in the Arab Spring. The shared indignation that facilitated this
social upheaval, followed by hope and struggle, was only possible due to the existence
of the Internet. Therefore, the interactions between things and subjects, the new
perception of reality, the scale, the cadence and the patterns, all together took on a new
level that carved the culture of contemporary society.
So, the Internet is the medium. It constitutes a new modus operandi for civilization.
Now, the issues surrounding the Internet as a medium become extremely indispensable.
What are the assumptions imposed by the Internet as a medium? How can one remain
outside this structure? Where are powers perceived, and who are the medium masters?
In any case, the charm of this medium is immediately apparent, and most of the
population has submitted to its assumptions. Currently, few understand the reality
of the Internet, and the great majority are in the middle, without knowledge of the
195
powers that surround them. But what is the relationship between the assumptions of
the medium and the spread of hatred and the growing wave of polarization between
opposite or different opinion groups? What is the role of “filter” bubbles in this context?
The posture that “filter bubbles” algorithmically impose on users is, in short, “love
who’s similar and hate who’s opposite.” Each user’s opinion reverberates, and each
user is induced to reject differing opinions. Thus, by remaining complacent with their
predisposition of current education, users fulfill the monetary interests of Internet
companies. The artificial environments created by “filter bubbles” encourage young
people to willingly use social networks because they create positive feelings and foster
senses of belonging.
Thereby, the Internet acts as both the medium and the instructor. But it is important
to seek for alternatives to “filter bubbles”. Wikipedia and Linux, for example, offer
another conception, the conception of cooperation, but a requirement of this article
is to offer options to the users. There are indeed alternatives, such as the adoption of
postures to confuse the algorithm or showing interest in pages that have no relation
to the user’s profile. But these actions are only possible when users are aware of the
situation inside the “filter bubble”. Society must foster a culture of tolerance and
diversity, not only to accept/understand, but also to highlight potential improvements
espoused by those with different perspectives. In any case, user awareness is the first,
key step. Only after awareness can we collectively take the second step towards the
creation of a new culture.
This article, however, seeks to warn about the nefarious logic of “filter bubbles” that
fulfill capitalist ideas and create bias on the Internet. Studies that present ways to boost
user awareness of these filters and their consequences are still needed. Future studies
may also seek to explain how cultures of tolerance and diversity can be promoted or
analyze alternatives capable of popping the “filter bubbles”.
6_CONCLUSIONS
Considering the above-mentioned information, one may note that the Internet
imagined by Lévy (1999) and Benkler (2006) as a medium of sharing and cooperation
is still present in the network’s decentralized nature – from many to many – but this
structure is threatened by the logic of Surveillance Capitalism.
Technology companies, driven by the need to increase profits and collect power,
have created a nefarious scenario for the ideals of sharing and cooperation. The path
chosen by these companies to achieve economic goals and attain world influence is not
only based on Surveillance Capitalism, the intensive collection of users’ data through
potential abusive means, but also the creation of artificially produced environments
sensitive to the interactions of users on each platform, the so-called “filter bubbles”.
Although “filter bubbles” have several benefits, including convenience and ease of
access to topics of interest, they mask a perverse side effect of user enclosure around
their beliefs via two means: positive reinforcement in their own posts and creation of
196
negative feelings toward opposing opinions. Thus, users end up not interacting and
receiving the complexity of information available, calling into question the validity of
the platform itself. This phenomenon can be seen in studies of The Washington Post and
Facebook during US presidential elections.
The reason for this bias is precisely the propitiation of more user-friendly
experiences that retain entertained users for longer period of times and increase profits
for those companies. This is particularly serious, especially when one considers that,
currently, only a few technology companies monopolize the Internet and much of the
flow of information. We must question what dangers this reality can pose to users and
even democratic countries.
Finally, we considered the Internet as a medium because it produces drastic

consequences for life and society. And being a medium makes it an educator. Therefore,
it’s important to educate users about polarization, “filter bubbles”, and commercial
interests, as each has a major impact on decisions of common interest. Therefore, it is
necessary to take a first step toward building user awareness. Only then can a culture
of tolerance and diversity be fostered.
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Benkler, Y. (2006). The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets
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Parisier, E. (2011). The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You. New York:
Penguin Books.
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filter-bubble-thesis>
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to create radically successful business. New York: Crown Business.
Santaella, L. (2000). Novos desafios da comunicação. Cultura das Mídias. 3. ed. São
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number of active users (in millions). Retrieved from: <https://www.Statista.com/
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2016 (in millions). Retrieved from: <https://www.Statista.com/statistics/264810/
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social-network-users/>
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www.Statista.com/statistics/216573/worldwide-market-share-of-search-engines/>
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2. ed. São Paulo.
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LEANDRO RACUIA
Student of Administration at University of São
Paulo (USP) and fascinated by entrepreneurship,
innovation and social impact. He worked for
the Brazilian Social Finance Task Force (Força
Tarefa Brasileira de Finanças Sociais) and has
built social knowledge by contributing to the
study Mapping of resources available to social
policies. He is interested in developing content
related to the creation of new social businesses,
capacity building on creative group processes
and culture in the startup universe.
VICTOR ANDRÊS VELOSO CAVADAS

Student of International Relations at University
of São Paulo (USP) and researcher on different
topics related to technology and society. His
research mainly emphasizes topics such
as Vigilantism, Freedom of Speech on the
Internet, Cyberwar and Cybersecurity. He was a
representative of Brazilian youth at the Internet
Governance Forum of 2016 and is currently an
intern in Digital Rights of the Brazilian Institute
of Consumer Protection (Instituto Brasileiro de
Defesa do Consumidor). He is also the co-founder
and coordinator of the USP’s Nucleum of Studies
in Technology and Society (Núcleo de Estudos
em Tecnologia e Sociedade da USP), a student
institution that aims to spread and stimulate
debate on topics related to technology.
199
NEW PROBLEMS OF THE INTERNET _ PALOMA SZERMAN
DEFENSE OF COMPETITION
AND ONLINE PLATFORMS IN
THE BIG DATA ERA
PALOMA SZERMAN
Specialized Lawyer in law and information and communication
technologies policy
paloma.szerman@gmail.com
Argentina
200
_THEMATIC
_ABSTRACT
As a result of the current productive revolution based on the

use and collection of data, more and more companies develop
their business models based on the use of big data. While this
allows them to improve their products and services, from the
defense of competition, there are increasing questions about
the relevance of databases and how their use can produce
abusive practices or generate anti-competitive effects. This
article explores how the competition agencies have begun to get
involved in matters related to big data and personal data.
Keywords: competition; big data; data protection; privacy
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1_INTRODUCTION
In August 2016 Facebook announced a change concerning WhatsApp service – owned

by the company – informing that now it would be possible to cross-treat users personal
data in the hands of the social network and the messaging application1. This generated
a cascade of adverse reactions from lawyers, policy advocates, privacy rights activists
and users around the world, upset by the possibility that the social media giant could
dispose of their data at discretion of maximizing your profits.
Only two years ago, the Federal Trade Commission of

the United States (2014) and the European Commission
NOW THE USE,
(2014) – the competent agencies in matters of antitrust
COLLECTION, AND in those jurisdictions – had given the green light to
MASSIVE DATA the acquisition of WhatsApp by Facebook, despite
PROCESSING opposition from some relevant actors. For those who
ARE CRUCIAL TO were against it, it was clear that Facebook was looking
CARRYING OUT for access to WhatsApp users data, to further refine its
BUSINESS online advertising services (Medina, 2015, Oreskovic,
2014, Westerholm, 2014). Although the enormous public
pressure achieved – at least for the moment, and in
Europe (Hern, 2016) – that the cross-data treatment was suspended, many actors of
the digital ecosystem remarked that this had been warned by them when taking out
the transaction.
What happened with Facebook/WhatsApp is not an isolated phenomenon, it is part

of a bigger picture that shows a new era in economic terms. Indeed, it is increasingly
evident that we are facing a crucial change in the foundations of our economic system:
now the use, collection, and massive data processing are crucial to carrying out
business. We see it every day when more and more companies – telecommunications
operators, banks, Internet service providers, web search engines, social networks,
credit cards, among others – collect vast amounts of personal data to improve their
business. This is even more evident in the growth of what has been called big data.
In this sense, numerous studies have shown that what has been called “data-driven
innovation” allows companies to improve the quality of their products and services, as
well as create new ones by better understanding and better targeting their consumers
and users (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD], 2016).
Companies collect, organize and systematize data – generally called datasets –

that make up databases for their use. Thus, in the search to optimize processes and
maximize profits, companies adapt their business models to the acquisition and
processing of large volumes of personal data of their users. This allows them to offer
increasingly personalized products and/or services, which makes them more attractive
to users, while business intelligence services and target advertising are increasingly
refined (OECD, 2016).
1 The version of August 25, 2016, can be accessed at <http://bit.ly/2qBUZ6t> Retrieved in February
27, 2017.
202
As we can all imagine, this phenomenon has effects in multiple spheres of our
lives. That is why national regulators as transnational organizations begin to research
the possible application of rules and principles of defense of competition in matters
related to big data and the use of personal data. Here, in particular, we will look at
how the possible effects of massive data processing on economic competition could
be analyzed. Therefore, without exhausting the universe of possibilities, we present
some appreciations.
1.1_UNDERSTAND THE NEW MARKET LOGIC
About the analysis of datasets as an input, the European Data Protection Supervisor
has considered that personal data has become the invisible payment method for what
it has named “free online services”, which includes social networks, email services,
among others (European Data Protection Supervisor, 2014). Consequently, the large
collection of personal data should be reflected in the new definitions of what, from the
right of competition, is called “the relevant market”2 For example, a relevant market
analysis today should examine new business models and evaluate the value of datasets
as an intangible asset within the “market of free online services”.
While social networks, search engines, and other free services can have a
considerable portion of the market with their limited offers of services, the markets
themselves are, at least, bilateral – and the side that generates more profits is the
advertising. This is characterized by fierce competition, with powerful counterparts
and a constant evaluation of the performance of the different advertising sellers. That
is why, for these cases, traditional concerns regarding abusive behavior, such as prices
below marginal cost or sale in packages of different products, are not applicable here,
and in fact can even benefit the competition and consumers. Without prejudice to
this, companies with large amounts of data, can carry out anti-competitive behavior,
as well as use mergers and/or acquisitions to accumulate enough market power to
manipulate prices and squeeze their competitors’ businesses. When this happens, the
competition agencies must intervene, and the laws in this matter must contemplate
these issues (Kennedy, 2017).
2 “Relevant market” is the concept used in the defense of competition to delimit products and
firms among which there is a close competition. Usually, to do so, the substitutability of products
or services is usually analyzed, both from consumers and the companies that offer them. For
this, the “hypothetical monopolist test” is usually applied, according to which if a hypothetical
monopolist carried out a small but significant and non-transitory increase in prices (between 5%
to 10%) and as a result, consumers choose other products, they are those that define the relevant
market. Without prejudice to this, the applicability of this test about services linked to the digital
ecosystem is discussed.
203
1.2. THE VALUE OF DATASETS AND CONCENTRATIONS

CONTROL
As it happened in the mergers Google/DoubleClick3 and Facebook/WhatsApp4,

antitrust agencies may assess how far a transaction of this type can produce an
accumulation of data in the hands of a single actor in a way that could restrict
competition. This could be especially the case if the competitors cannot replicate
or freely access to information by their own means, or if they can not count on the
necessary means to make use of it. This was the biggest argument put forward by the
opponents of the mergers mentioned above5.
Besides, the European Commission has just approved the acquisition of LinkedIn
by Microsoft, despite strong opposition from its competitors, especially Salesforce – a
company that competes with Microsoft in the cloud computing market. Microsoft’s
rivals have made public their concerns about access to data held by LinkedIn and its
future commercial exploitation. To accelerate the approval of the operation, Microsoft
has offered concessions of all kinds: that the developers of rival companies have
access to specific Outlook tools – a software to manage email, calendar, contacts,
among others – with the final result that profiles of rival social networks may appear
in Outlook (Motta, 2016).
The Commission defined its requirements: ensure that computer manufacturers

have the option of not installing LinkedIn on Windows; allow interoperability
levels with Microsoft products to professional social networks that compete with
LinkedIn; and grant competing for professional
social networks access to user data stored in
Microsoft’s cloud, prior consent granted by
THE COMMISSION
users (European Commission, 2016).
CONCLUDED
The novelty in what the Commission ruled was THAT PRIVACY
that, for the first time, it analyzed the potential IS AN ESSENTIAL
concentration of data as a result of the merger PARAMETER OF
and its impact on competition. Although it made COMPETITION
it clear that it is not the objective of the European BETWEEN
right to competition to deal with matters related
PROFESSIONAL
to the privacy of users, it understood that it can be
SOCIAL NETWORKS
taken into account in analysis of the defense of
IN THE MARKET
competition as long as users see it as a significant
factor of quality and that the merging parties
3 See case COMP/M.4731 Google/DoubleClick Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 Merger Procedure

(“Google/DoubleClick case”, 2008).
4 See case No COMP/M.7217 Facebook/Whatsapp Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 Merger Procedure

(“Facebook/WhatsApp case”, 2014).
5 Competition Law and Data, Report by the Bundeskartellamt and the Autorité de la Concurrence,
May 10th 2016, p. 24.
204
compete with each other for this factor. In this case, the Commission concluded that
privacy is an essential parameter of competition between professional social networks
in the market, which could have negatively affected the transaction, although this is
not the case in this acquisition (European Commission, 2016).
Despite this, Salesforce pointed out that it is impossible for any external entity
to have unlimited access and/or reproduce the information in the hands of LinkedIn
(Motta, 2016). Meanwhile, Microsoft argued that much of the data is available on
Facebook, which should be considered part of the same market. The truth is that in the
center of the scene is a question of business opportunity, in which both Microsoft and
many other talented players, understanding the direction that the new “data economy”
is taking, are willing to invest much money.
1.3_DAMAGE TO THE CONSUMER THROUGH ABUSE OF

DOMINANT POSITION
Some public bodies have begun to investigate whether when a dominant actor
takes advantage of that position to deny users the access to personal information or
to implement deceptive terms of service, not only it is violating rules of protection of
personal data but is also performing anti competitive practices that generate direct
damages to the consumer.
This is the basis for the research initiated by the competition defense agencies
in Germany (Bundeskartellamt [BKA], 2016) and Italy (Sisto, & Binnie, 2016) against
Facebook. Taking in some way the adverse reactions caused by the abrupt change in
WhatsApp’s terms of service, these agencies consider that the possible illegitimate
use of the terms and conditions by Facebook could imply an abusive imposition for
its users. These agencies have a huge challenge: to test whether there is indeed a
connection between the possible abuse of the company’s dominant position and the use
of contractual clauses and abusive terms of privacy.
2_CONCLUSIONS
From all of the above, it can be concluded that there is a growing consensus in
Europe that, as we move towards a digital economy based on data and information,
competition law will have a growing role in preventing activities connected to the
collection and use of data that restrict or avoid competition in any market. In this
regard, taking into account the various issues identified throughout this article, we can
highlight some nuclear considerations that should be taken into account by regulatory
agencies, companies, and users when considering matters relating to personal data
from the perspective of the defense of the competition.
205
2.1_THE PRO-COMPETITIVE AND QUALITY OF SERVICE

BENEFITS THAT EMERGE TO THE USER FROM THE
COLLECTION AND PROCESSING OF DATA
The data collection has generated benefits for the competition and for the users,
given that the online service providers use them to improve their services and monetize
them effectively, generating services that are offered at subsidized prices, even free,
in monetary terms. Consequently, online service providers are in a better position
to compete with each other and provide a better quality of services. However, the
companies that collect data need to take into account how they will use that data,
considering the regulatory risks of competition defense that they may involve.
2.2_EUROPEAN AUTHORITIES AND NATIONAL

REGULATORS
It seems that the national agencies – in Europe – are taking the lead in understanding
the effects of data collection and big data on the competition in general, while the
European Commission has focused on the revision of market mergers. Nothing indicates
that the Commission will open a new front concerning data collection and the use of big
data and possible anti competitive behavior. However, except for the actions initiated
by Germany and Italy against Facebook, national agencies have not carried out any
specific procedure regarding abuses of dominant positions through the use of personal
data. Even so, if the tendency to collect data to accelerate business continues – and
everything seems to indicate that it will – it is only a matter of time before competition
authorities are forced to get involved in the matter, and even demand the compliance
with certain regulatory issues.
2.3_BALANCE THE ANALYSIS OF MARKET POWER WITH

THE COMPETITIVE USE OF DATA
European authorities and national agencies need to find the right balance between
identifying when a dominant actor is using its market power towards adjacent
markets and the gains in efficiency that arise from the targeting of transactions. In
other words, the collection and use of data, when analyzed from the perspective of
competition, should prevent the restrictive effects on competition, but also stimulate
its pro-competitive and pro-consumer benefits.
2.4_LOOK BEYOND SEARCH ENGINES AND ADS
The use and collection of data have implications in a much broader spectrum of
industries and markets than search engines, online advertising and social networks,
especially with the arrival and advance of the Internet of Things. In a not so distant
future, all industry sectors will elaborate their business models based on data
collection and intelligence, and therefore they should consider this business model
not only from the perspective of protection but also from the risks and compliance
with competition law.
206
2.5_COLLECTION AND USE OF DATA DOES NOT

NECESSARILY IMPLY THAT THE DEFENSE OF
COMPETITION MUST INTERVENE TO PROTECT USERS
PRIVACY
There is a consensus that, in general, the protection of privacy falls outside the
scope of competition law. In this sense, it must be taken into account that the defense of
competition is a discipline whose purpose serves the purpose of defending competition,
not protecting privacy. However, some agencies have identified terms and policies of
services and privacy of some services that could be considered abusive if such policies
violate the regulation of personal data protection and affect competition, primarily
when they are carried out by dominant actors.
The criticisms Facebook received when the terms and conditions of WhatsApp
changed and the BKA’s investigation of that company are based on this. Even so, two
issues must be taken into account in this regard: (i) BKA has the difficult task of proving
a causal link between non-compliance with personal data protection legislation,
dominance and the acting of abusive behavior according to the law of the competition;
(ii) even if BKA manages to prove this causal link, and even if the companies, in fact,
abuse their dominant position using opaque privacy policies, this does not mean that
the right of competition must include within its objectives the protection of privacy. On
the other hand, BKA, and any other competition defense agency in this regard, should
gradually reevaluate its institutional interaction with data protection agencies, to avoid
jurisdictional overlap and improve user protection.
_REFERENCES
Bundeskartellamt (2016). Bundeskartellamt initiates proceeding against Facebook

on suspicion of having abused its market power by infringing data protection rules.
Retrieved from <http://bit.ly/1RlhW5w>
European Commission (2014). Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of WhatsApp

by Facebook. [Press Release]. Retrieved from <http://bit.ly/2qBAyqf>
European Commission (2016). Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of LinkedIn by

Microsoft, subject to conditions. Press Release. Retrieved from <http://bit.ly/2he9Pva>
European Data Protection Supervisor (2014). Preliminary Opinion on Privacy and

Competitiveness in the Age of Big Data: The Interplay between Data Protection,
Competition Law and Consumer Protection in the Digital Economy. p. 57.
207
Federal Trade Comission (2014). FTC Notifies Facebook, WhatsApp of Privacy Obligations
in Light of Proposed Acquisition. News & Events. Retrieved from <http://bit.ly/2r2q438>
Hern, A. (2016). Facebook ‘pauses’ WhatsApp data sharing after ICO intervention. The
Guardian. Retrieved from <http://bit.ly/2fAsQ6i>
Kennedy, J (2017). Should Antitrust Regulators Stop Companies from Collecting So

Much Data? Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from <http://bit.ly/2oisKoP>
Medina, E. (2015). Facebook/Whatsapp: Competition analysis in the new Digital

Economy. Public Policy Blog of Telefónica. Retrieved from <http://bit.ly/2qcyrIh>
Motta, C. (2016). An American duel in Brussels: Salesforce against Microsoft over

Linkedin deal. The European Sting. Retrieved from <http://bit.ly/2qbizWQ>
Oreskovic, A. (2014). Privacy groups ask regulators to halt Facebook’s $19 billion
WhatsApp deal. Reuters Technology News. Retrieved from <http://reut.rs/2qcwfAB>
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2016). Big Data: Bringing
Competition Policy to the Digital Era. p. 7-8. Retrieved from <https://one.oecd.org/
document/DAF/COMP(2016)14/en/pdf>
Sisto, A., & Binnie, I. (2016). Italy antitrust agency probes WhatsApp messaging service.
Reuters Canada. Retrieved from <http://bit.ly/2pHHRIN>
Westerholm, R. (2014). Facebook’s WhatsApp Purchase Challenged: Privacy Advocates

Ask FTC to Put Deal on Hold, University Herald. Retrieved from <http://bit.ly/2pHyidc>
208
PALOMA SZERMAN
Paloma Szerman is a lawyer, graduated
from the University of Buenos Aires, with
a degree in Public Law. After completing a
semester at NYU, she graduated in Internet
Law and Communications Technologies
at the University of San Andrés and is
currently studying law and economics at the
Universidad Torcuato Di Tella. She has over
six years of experience as a consultant in law,
regulation and public policies of information
and communication technologies, both
in the public and private sectors, advising
companies, public bodies, and international
organizations, while participating in
numerous academic initiatives and research
groups on the subject.
209

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___AnalysEs of a

Guilherme Alves, Adela Goberna,

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-

Free copy - Not for sale

Organized by Youth Observatory

CONTACT US EDITORIAL COMMITTEE EVALUATION COMMITTEE

obdjuv.org Adela Goberna Agustina Callegari

TRANSLATION REVIEW BOOK COVER AND LAYOUT

Aline Vieira Adela Goberna Ana Seno

Available for free download

To begin with, a special thanks to the Internet Society and

Also, to the authors, who believed in our project and

Finally to the Evaluation Committee, whose members

Editorial Committee of Youth Observatory

10_ GENDER ISSUES AND YOUTH IN INTERNET

31_ ACCESS AND DIVERSITY

41_ OPEN DATA AND THE POWER OF VIGILANT CITIZENS

48_ DIGITAL INCLUSION

62_ ICT PUBLIC POLICIES FOR GENERATION OF DIGITAL CAPABILITIES IN YOUNG

80_ ONLINE PERSON, PRIVACY AND DATA PROTECTION COMPARED TO HUMAN

104_ CONSUMER PROTECTION IN THE DIGITAL ECONOMY

111_ A FIELD OF LAW TO INTERNET GOVERNANCE

116_ CONTENTS AND CULTURAL GOODS

138_ INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IN THE DIGITAL ECONOMY

147_ INNOVATION AND TECNOLOGICAL TRAINING

161_ TOWARDS A DIGITAL ENLIGHTENMENT: HOW TO BUILD CRITICAL THINKERS IN

173_ NEW PROBLEMS OF THE INTERNET

183_ POLARIZED AND HATEFUL NETWORKS: THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE

_WHAT CONTRIBUTIONS DO LATIN AMERICAN YOUTHS

“Analyses of a connected youth” aims to present different reflections of young

Our evaluation committee, formed by members of Youth Observatory from diverse

To the reader, we wish a good journey. And we do expect feedback!

Gender issues and youth in Internet

Digital Feminism, or Feminism 3.0, is a proposal for us to

Keywords: feminism; gender; women

After three waves of feminism, today we are facing

The Internet is and must be feminist.

When I mentioned on Internet forums that it is necessary to have a greater

Feminism is a social, economic, political, cultural, and developmental movement

Elena Gascón-Vera (2015) points out that 21st-century feminism is shifting to an

1 Translator’s note: the expression originally used in Spanish was “machismo”.

The first segment—offline—takes women to public spaces to express their discontent,

“Weaves a series of unusual alliances with other countries, realities,

An example is when a woman is criticized (media lynching) for doing something

Another very important matter is what identifies us in the feminisms. Nowadays,

4_CREATING FROM FEMINISM AND DIGITAL

Before we go on, we must understand by digital empowerment the capacity of

2 Cf. Alcaraz (2017).

• [...] the Internet as a space for commenting on important issues, and

• Large majorities of urban poor Internet users do already exploit digital

• Education is a major enabler of digital empowerment among women,

5_THE INTERNET IS SEXIST

“Empowering women in digital spaces is not a task performed in

4 Cf. Contreras (2017).

What are we doing to eradicate these types of violence? Associations and

Digital feminism is, therefore, a 3.0 space of resistance.

What are the main challenges that online feminism faces?

6.2_CONSOLIDATING DIGITAL MOVEMENTS

6.4_OCCUPYING SPACES IN INTERNET FORUMS

Article originally written in Spanish

Calvin, C. (2012) In Vinas, S. Mujeres construyendo: Empoderando a las mujeres un blog

Contreras, A. (2017b). Feminismos en tiempos digitales: dejando tras las prácticas

Contreras, A. (2017c). ‘Hackeando’ internet por una más feminista. Federación