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Jack hits the road - This week, Twitter announced the departure of co-founder Jack Dorsey from the helm and introduced Parag Agrawal as its newly appointed CEO. Among the top challenges Agrawal faces is misinformation, and what approaches he should adopt to tackle it effectively ➤ Quartz 

Fighting Bolsonaro’s weaponisation of the internet - Artur Pericles Lima Monteiro explains how Brazil’s political institutions are pushing for regulation to curb the President’s use of social media and messaging apps to threaten them and disseminate Covid-19 misinformation ➤ Rest of World

REPORT: The Future of Digital Spaces and Their Role in Democracy, Pew Research Center

Percentage of the world’s population that has never used the internet. The vast majority of them reside in developing countries ➤ ITU

No pictures please! - In an effort to prevent harassment or invasions of privacy, Twitter will now let private individuals request the removal of pictures or videos in which they are featured without consent. However, the platform provides exceptions for posts that are “shared in the public interest or add value to public discourse.” ➤ The Verge 

Consumer data protection in Africa - An analysis of 32 organisations that work in several African countries, including Uganda, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, and South Africa, has identified inconsistency in data collection and protection across the countries, leaving consumers at risk of identity theft and other harms ➤ SciDev.Net

Algorithm transparency in the public sector - The British cabinet announced new standards for algorithms used in government decision-making. This follows a period of scrutiny around these tools for their role in the controversial A-level results in 2020 and inaccurate assessment of benefit claims ➤ The Guardian 

Timnit Gebru’s AI research institute - Exactly one year after her dismissal from Google, the renowned AI ethics expert announced plans to launch the Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (DAIR), a new research group which aims to “free AI from its corporate ills”, and is designed to be an independent group committed to diverse points of view and preventing harm ➤ Bloomberg 

Gap in internet access narrows - The latest data from the ITU suggests there's been a sharp rise in global internet access, with 62% of the world's population using the internet in 2021, up from 54% in 2019. However, huge inequalities remain, and of the 2.9 billion people offline, 96% live in developing countries ➤ ITU

Meta launches tool to combat non-consensual image sharing - Built in collaboration with UK-based nonprofit Revenge Porn Helpline, the tool is designed to help people stop their intimate images being uploaded to Facebook, Instagram, and other participating platforms while using hash-matching technology to protect participants' privacy, reports Olivia Solon ➤ NBC News

The impact of online gender-based violence - Through the stories of three survivors, Global Citizen illustrates the long-term impact that gender-based online abuse can have on victims ➤ Global Citizen 

Women in the gig economy - Dr. Savita Bailur and Nasubo Ongoma published an insightful piece on the experiences of women platform workers in Kenya ➤ Bot Populi

Legislating against online gender-based violence - Members of the European Parliament demanded a legal framework that harmonises EU sanctions against perpetrators, and outlines effective protection and support mechanisms for victims, in order to combat the issue ➤ European Parliament

The Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) Africa Coordinator Onica Makwakwa was quoted in an article by Africanews about the high cost of mobile services in South Africa.

Staff reads: Digital Gender Gap - A4AI Executive Director Sonia Jorge shared a blog by the World Bank, which cited data from The Web Foundation and A4AI’s report “Costs of Exclusion: Economic Consequences of the Digital Gender Gap”.

Sonia had this to say about it: “Digital Development goals can only be achieved if they are grounded on gender equality. principles and practice. I am very pleased to see this new World Bank approach to guide practitioners and ensure their work contribute to eliminate inequality and exclusion.”