STATEMENT DRAFT

# WORKING TITLE: DWeb for the Decolonization of Technology ## AUDIENCE? * Colleagues * Funders * Potential members * ?? https://hackmd.io/d5Y3byeSSH-3Wjif9pUa5A?edit ## notes DWEB PRINCIPLES security can g come at the cost of other people’s safety or liberties iron dome and climate change being aware and doing something about our impact. isn’t that the challenge of our time? isn’t that, couldn’t that be a central purpose for the web we build? reject objective, observable truths and.or the humanity of an entire people. there are some horrendous realities that we need to acknowledge. * Emphasize DWeb principles * These forces are all centralized, not reflecting the demands or desires of the populations ## PURPOSE / WHAT IS OUR DESIRED OUTCOME? * Draw a line in the sand: Publicly show opposition to colonialist, genocidal states and their enablers + bring this conversation to the fore * Find our allies and compas within DWeb community and outside of it * Publicly commit ourselves against supporting colonialist/genocidal states + their enablers ## STATEMENT DRAFT We are technologists, organizers, academics, artists, [???], and others who are members of the decentralized web (dweb) community. We oppose technologies that enable derive from and facilitate centralized control, whether they are private corporate interests or [oppressive] governments. We believe that decentralized technologies have the potential to safeguard people’s security, privacy, and self-determination when communities directly design, develop, and manage network technologies to address their needs and desires. [More in this paragraph pointing to DWeb Principles] Our approach to building and stewarding digital tools derives from our [full?] commitment to universal human rights, and the acknowledgement that all [current forms of oppression have long, overlapping histories.] - We need to actively work to fight legacies of colonization and other forms of oppression * Intro * Who we are * Our approach to ourwork * Tech is always biased * First, we must acknowledge and actively work to remedy legacies of oppression and how they continue to construct our world * There is always bias that is embedded in technology * We cannot continue turning a blind eye to the biggest crises in the world and the role technology plays in exacerbating them * We cannot ignore the human and ecological costs of how tech is built * Tech for liberation * Is tech is never neutral, we believe that we should actively prioritize our work to address the needs of those who are suffering most in this world, to address all forms of oppression * Tech cannot replicate violence and repressive systems and colonialsm * We should be mature enough, see this as a challege for ourselves * It's not an intractable, impossible thing * How is it that we can constantly redefine what is possible, but not confront issues of power and repression? * Solve problems like getting people to the moon, connect the world to transmit information nearly instantaneously, and yet still not actively work to challenge systems that continue the ongoing oppression? That continues practices that poison the planet and release carbon to dangerous levels? * We need to rise to the occasion, confront legacies of colonialism, * Tech cannot be used to continue to oppress people * As those trying to imagine a better Web, why can't we actively work to confront these crises and holistic build for a better world, a liberated world? * Point to specific issues today * Palestine * Congo * Sudan * Militarized police states (US, +) * Fascism * Affordances and challenges * Recognize the ways that existing network tech has already made us more aware of entrenched oppressive systems (Palestine, Congo, LGBTQ issues, climate, MeToo) * Social media, AI, is also being used to further isolate and atomize people, to entrench bias, distrust, and exacerbate misinformation and calls for violence * How can network tech be used to build bottom-up, horizontal power? Empower local communities? * We cannot sacrifice innocent lives, rely on unethical/exploitative labor * References * DWeb Principles, human rights, N&P principles * We call for: * Specific, immediate: A ceasefire in Palestine; [Congo action?]; [Sudan action?]; [Stop Cop City]; * Divestment from military and other sources of funding tied to violence and oppression * To take every opportunity, to use any means of leverage to build technology that is built through ethical means, for a better world, that minimizes harmful uses to the greatest degree possible https://blog.torproject.org/surveillance-as-a-service-global-impact-of-israeli-defense-technologies-on-privacy-human-rights/ ## REFERENCES 7amleh statement: We call upon tech companies to recognize their crucial role and responsibility in the region, and to adhere to business and human rights principles as well as international human rights laws in safeguarding freedom of expression. More particularly, tech companies should refrain from being actively involved in the ongoing silencing and atrocities committed against the Palestinian people. Our collective responsibility as civil society organizations and human rights organizations is to stand against hate speech, incitement, disinformation, and any other tech harm to people around the world. APC: Defending the human rights of all Palestinian people means ensuring their safety, dignity and freedom equally. While condemning all acts of violence against civilians or holding of hostages as an infringement of international law, including those that resulted in the deaths of Israeli civilians on 7 October, we denounce the unjustifiable acts against the Palestinian civilian population as violations of humanitarian and human rights law. The recent and tragic events that have taken place in Palestine and Israel are the result of an uneven power structure, in which systemic oppression has been continuously exercised in the area where the violence is taking place. For many years, the voices of systematically oppressed, marginalised groups in Palestine have been constantly silenced. It is vital in APC’s work to amplify these silenced voices and to make them heard. In this uneven power structure where privileged voices are the ones that dominate the narrative, the people mostly affected by global political issues are those who have no voice and suffer the worst consequences. They are the true victims of systemic violence, of oppression and the supremacy of others. At the time of writing this statement, Palestinians in Gaza are disconnected from the internet and telecommunication services, which has disabled their ability to connect with the rest of the world. There are also reports that paramedics of the Palestine Red Crescent were specifically targeted as they approached the injured to provide emergency medical care, along with reports of multiple journalists being targeted and killed. This all amounts to war crimes committed by Israel, which are prohibited under international human rights law, all aided by the Western governments who are complicit in the escalation of violence against Palestinians. The way that information is shaped and shared reflects the unjust privilege that Israel has and is also a reflection of how the structure of international media is defined by power and money. We are witnessing the devastating impacts of systemic violence and oppression unfold at a time when disinformation and technology-facilitated violence are rampant, fuelled by extractive technology platforms that profit from hate speech. Understanding what is happening in Palestine is not complicated; rather, it is clear that it is settler colonialism and ethnic cleansing. We call on the international community to raise its voice against the racist colonial structures, and for the protection of the human rights of every individual who has been affected and is at imminent risk of being affected by the disproportionate attacks in Palestine territory. We call on Israel and its foreign government allies to end the genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people. We also call on big tech companies to halt the disinformation and censorship that are provoking hate crimes and paving the way for a narrative that justifies mass atrocities against the Palestinian people. We call for the lifting of the siege that has condemned Palestinians to a slow death and an impending human catastrophe. We call for a cessation of war and the prolonged military occupation of Palestinian territories. We call for the dismantling of the colonial and apartheid structures in Palestine and an end to the violence that is sustaining them. We stand in solidarity with APC’s Palestinian members and partners as well as all Palestinians around the world. ## LINKS: * Responsible AI statement: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SAfEjfl2KxTSdvibAs7mqPUI7WPECVUkaog3ZwV3Z1c/mobilebasic * APC Statement: https://www.apc.org/en/pubs/apc-condemns-violence-against-palestinians-and-demands-protection-human-rights-all * 7Amleh: https://7amleh.org/2023/10/13/7amleh-center-along-with-49-civil-organizations-release-a-statement-calling-tech-companies-to-respect-palestinian-digital-rights-in-times-of-crisis * https://mondoweiss.net/2023/10/on-statements-of-concern-solidarity-and-support/ * "If all you are asking for is a ceasefire, without an end to the blockade, without an end to Israel’s impunity as it violates international law, don’t. Palestinians do not want to go back to the way things were before October 7. We want freedom, return, decolonization, land back." * Freedom: * Return: https://jewishcurrents.org/teshuvah-a-jewish-case-for-palestinian-refugee-return * Decolonization * Land back: * acknowledge long history of the occupation, how it is tied to all colonization struggles and how tech has been used to enable oppression * focus on what we hope can be done constructively through network technologies * not coming from "dweb" formally, just as members of the community * distinguish this letter from the other digital rights one * do we have any examples of these * section on how US / European etc power concentration -- how decentralization / distribution of tech can build bottom-up / horizontal power * how power dynamics of tech hieararchies have aided in silencing criticisms of Israel from the tech industry * https://theintercept.com/2023/10/28/instagram-palestinian-flag-emoji/ * https://www.npr.org/2023/10/21/1207795093/ceo-of-web-summit-tech-conference-resigns-over-israel-comments * Emphasize that we will not be silenced? (See art Jack shared as something to add?) * as 'f' shared, how Palestine has become the perfect laboratory for the Israeli military-techno complex [https://www.instagram.com/reel/CvJVCK_B2AK/]