digital economy

2021

This paper looks at the consequences of widespread digitalization in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the role of the state in assuring social protection through access to digital technologies. Using the example of the southern Indian state of Kerala, the paper explores digital justice and its overlaps with social justice, with a special…

2021

 As part of our ongoing projects on gender and the digital economy, IT for Change invited proposals and pitches under two National Gender Fellowship tracks.

1. Research Fellowship, under the European Commission supported project, Centering Women in India’s Digitalizing Economy.

2. Fellowship for Longform Essay, as part of The…

2021

IT for Change responded to the call from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs for public consultation on the proposed amendments to the Consumer Protection (E-commerce) Rules, 2020.

Read the full submission here.

In light of the growing recognition of the dominance of certain platforms in the e-commerce domain, the Draft Rules are an…

2021

On behalf of the Just Net Coalition, Anita Gurumurthy presented the following input at the Consultation of Civil Society with the Co-Chairs of the Preparatory Committee for the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) on May 20, 2021.

Respected Co-Chairs,

Digital technologies have emerged as an…

2021

The draft Digital Markets Act envisages the obligations of data sharing by large gatekeeper platforms along with ex-ante oversight by the regulator of such platforms, in the EU. This regulation is framed as a part of the Digital Services Act Package, being discussed by the EU to regulate the digital economy.

The feedback by IT for Change…

2021

The Draft Data Governance Act, 2020 envisages the rules for data sharing in the EU. This initiative is part of the Data Strategy, adopted by the EU to regulate the digital economy. The summary feedback by IT for Change is available here and the detailed feedback is here. We recommend the need to focus on community approaches, away from an…

2020

This paper discusses how the platform economy – dominated by a few firms – is extractivist, exploitative and expedient. It is based on an unsustainable model with scant regard for natural resources, and is built on the back of a global division of labor that bears the marks of race, class, gender, and geography. The paper emphasizes the…

2020

This paper explores changes in General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA), Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in greater detail, explaining how they are relevant to the platform economy in Canada. It then discusses Canada’s current data policies, and the…

2020

This policy brief reviews current trends in the regulation of data collection and analysis with a focus on platforms. In particular, it interrogates emerging regulatory frameworks that shape, constrain, or advance citizens’ control over personal (and related) data. In doing so, it points to areas of necessary intervention to address citizen…

2020

This research details how Indonesians working in the tourism sector are included or excluded from the travel platform economy. It investigates why these actors are choosing to use travel platforms and how they express the benefits and constraints in this context. Inclusion in the platform economy involves understanding and addressing structures…