CyberBRICS

Stack is the New Black?: Evolution and Outcomes of the ‘India-Stackification’ Process

Abstract India is going through a transformative phase in its digital journey. A large part of this is enfolding in the field of digital public infrastructures as the ‘India Stack’ branded suite of technological solutions permeates through areas like digital identity, instant payments, digital commerce, and consent management. The paper traces the socio-technical imaginaries that have … Read more

Digital transformation in Russia: Turning from A service model to ensuring technological sovereignty

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Pre-print version of Martynova E. and Shcherbovich A. Digital transformation in Russia: Turning from aservice model to ensuring technological sovereignty. Computer Law & Security Review. Special issue onDigital Transformation in the BRICS Countries, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clsr.2024.106075 Abstract The paper outlines core aspects of the digital transformation process in Russia since the early2000s, as well as recent legislative … Read more

Toward a BRICS Stack? Leveraging Digital Transformation to Construct Digital Sovereignty in the BRICS Countries

Abstract The article is the editorial of the journal’s special issue on digital transformation in BRICS and analyzes how the last decade of digital transformation has brought to light both the benefits and the risks associated with the massive adoption of digital technologies. It highlights how meaningful connectivity and inclusive digital services and cyber-insurance have … Read more

What Would a People-centred AI Policy for India Look Like?

Abstract Digital sovereignty should not be measured by the government’s autonomy to impose its wishes on its own people, and technological leadership should not be measured by the number of start-ups, funds raised, or people unilaterally subjected to faulty artificial intelligence. Sovereignty and leadership in technology should mean developing appropriate solutions for real problems. This … Read more

South Africa’s Digital Transformation: Understanding the Limits of Traditional Policies and the Potential of Alternative Approaches

Abstract This paper analyses the readiness of South African information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure for the implementation of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, which has been highly prioritised by policymakers in recent years. The discussion is centred around examples of smart cities and connectivity. Opportunities have been identified in the form of complimentary bottom-up initiatives. … Read more

Contextualizing Personal Information: Privacy’s Post-Neoliberal Constitutionalism and Its Heterogeneous Imperfections in China

Abstract This article examines the evolutionary trajectory of perceptual diversification concerning Yinsi, privacy, and personal information in China. It elucidates how efforts to integrate privacy within the constitutional framework, a complex undertaking, have resulted in a heterogeneous system. This system forges an economically rational, technologically trustworthy, and socially experimental infrastructure that simultaneously embodies materialist and … Read more

Open government data in the Brazilian digital government: Enabling an SDG acceleration agenda

Abstract Open Government Data (OGD) has evolved from the mere generation of public data to its active management, but the strategic evolution still needs to be explored. This article explores the intersection of government’s digital transformation, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the role of government open data initiatives. The study focuses on the Brazilian … Read more

Data Sovereignty and Data Transfers as Fundamental Elements of Digital Transformation: Lessons from the BRICS Countries

Abstract When talking about digital transformation, data sovereignty considerations and data transfers cannot be excluded from the discussion, given the considerable likelihood that digital technologies deployed along the process collect, process and transfer (personal) data in multiple jurisdictions. An increasing number of nations, especially those within the BRICS grouping (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South … Read more

India’s Policy Responses to Big Tech: And an Eye on the Rise of ‘Alt Big Tech’

Smriti Parsheera The term ‘big tech’ offers a helpful and widely used label for describing the world’s most powerful technology companies. The challenges posed by big tech across the domains of competition, innovation, human rights, and social and political impact are real and immediate. So is the need for building more effective checks against them. … Read more

Cinderella’s shoe won’t fit Soundarya: An audit of facial processing tools on Indian faces

Gaurav Jain & Smriti Parsheera The increasing adoption of facial processing systems in India is fraught with concerns of privacy, transparency, accountability, and missing procedural safeguards. At the same time, we also know very little about how these technologies perform on the diverse features, characteristics, and skin tones of India’s 1.34 billion-plus population. In this paper, … Read more

The current state of the Draft Bill to counter Fake News in Brazil

By Julia Iunes and Natália Macedo The current state of the Draft Bill to implement the “Law on Liberty, Responsibility and Transparency for the Internet” in Brazil: It is essential to improve the procedural duties of digital platforms, while respecting the liability regime adopted by the Brazilian Civil Rights Framework for the Internet (Marco Civil … Read more

The right to be forgotten is not compatible with the Brazilian Constitution. Or is it?

By Luca Belli The Brazilian Supreme Federal Court, or “STF” in its Brazilian acronym, recently took a landmark decision concerning the right to be forgotten (RTBF), finding that it is incompatible with the Brazilian Constitution. This attracted international attention to Brazil for a topic quite distant than the sadly frequent environmental, health, and political crises. … Read more