IT for Change played an active role in the T20 engagement group of G20 Brazil 2024, promoting a digital paradigm that emphasizes justice, fairness, and equity in June 2024. Below, you will find detailed information about the various aspects of our participation.
Leadership Role
Our Executive Director, Anita Gurumurthy, has been appointed the Lead of sub-track 5 on ‘Global Digital Governance and Regulation of Digital Platforms,’ which is part of the taskforce, 'Inclusive Digital Transformation’ of the T20. Anita, along with members of sub-track 5, Fernanda Martins and Maria Paz, evaluated the policy briefs submitted by think tanks and research centers around the world on various aspects of global digital governance and regulation of digital platforms. Key recommendations arising from these policy briefs along with the sub-track member’s recommendations were forwarded to the T20 task force to inform the work of the Digital Economy Working Group of the G20 Sherpa Track.
Policy Brief Submissions
I. IT for Change successfully submitted four policy briefs under different sub-tracks of the taskforce on ‘Inclusive Digital Transformation’ on issues of pressing importance related to digitalization and global digital governance. These policy briefs will inform the recommendations that T20 Brazil will put forward to G20 officials involved in the Sherpa and Finance tracks in the form of a final communiqué and taskforce recommendations.
1. Under the sub-track of ‘Challenges, Opportunities, and Governance of Artificial Intelligence,’ we submitted two policy briefs.
a. We submitted a policy brief titled, ‘Private Algorithms and Public Interest: Overhauling the Trade Secrets Regime for Equitable AI Futures.’ This brief was co-authored by Anita; our Research Associate, Shreeja Sen; and the Co-director of Data Privacy Brazil, Mariana Rielli.
The brief posits that the data enclosed in trade secrets by digital transnational corporations has the effect of stifling genuine innovation and makes AI systems non-transparent and unexplainable. It recommends that Intellectual Property (IP) regimes must be recalibrated for an equitable and accountable AI paradigm, and overexpansion of IP must be checked.
Know more and read the complete brief here.
b. Our Researcher Jai Vipr co-authored a policy brief titled, ‘Governing Computational Infrastructure for Strong and Just AI Economies,’ along with colleagues from Data Privacy Brasil, Research ICT Africa, Oxford Internet Institute, and people+ai.
Access to computational resources is increasingly recognized as crucial for influencing socio-economic well-being and political decision-making, with significant disparities evident between the Global South and North. To address this challenge, this policy brief proposes that the G20 should establish guidelines for governing computational resources.
Know more and read the complete brief here.
2. Under the sub-track of ‘Digital Transformation and Platformization of Public Services,’ Anita and our Research Associate, Eshani Vaidya, co-authored a policy brief titled, ‘Reorienting Public Services Platformization in Health,’ along with our colleagues from Lapin (Brazil), Coletivo Digital (Brazil) AqualtuneLab (Brazil), Fiocruz (Brazil), and Cebes (Canada).
In this brief, we highlight the pitfalls of a techno-deterministic approach to digitization that include the increased commodification of healthcare and patients, the shrinking space for civic action, and finally, the dilution of individual and community data rights. The brief highlights the urgent need to reorient public services platformization in a manner that centers the public and social values.
Know more and read the complete brief here.
3. Under the sub-track of ‘Global Digital Governance and Regulation of Digital Platforms,’ our Researchers Merrin Muhammed Ashraf and Malavika Rajkumar co-authored a policy brief titled, ‘Gendering the G20 Information Integrity Agenda’ along with Julia Powles, Director of UWA Tech and Policy Lab and Tech Crimes Coalition, Australia.
This policy brief seeks to contribute to the digital transformation agenda of G20 2024 with a concrete action plan for regulating social media that creates a safer and more equitable experience for women and girls.
Know more and read the complete brief here.
II. Under sub-track 1.4 of taskforce 1 titled, ‘Promoting Universal Health Coverage, Digital Health, and Open Innovation,’ Shreeja co-authored a policy brief on ‘Advancing Health Data Governance for Societal Well-being,’ along with colleagues from Idec (Brazil), University of São Paulo (Brazil), and Centre for Law, Technology and Society - uOttawa (Canada).
This brief provides elements for a health data governance policy aimed at ensuring equitable distribution of economic and health benefits derived from the use of data, while also safeguarding the universal right to health.
Know more and read the complete brief here.
Advocacy Engagements
1. IT for Change participated in the ‘AI Summit: Bridging Boundaries’ event organized by Data Privacy Brasil, CEWEB.br, and CEBRI, as part of the G20 discussions, with a particular focus on the T20 Brazil taskforce, ‘Inclusive Digital Transformation.’ We provided inputs for the development of a Joint Declaration on Artificial Intelligence by Data Privacy Brasil, CEWEB.br, and CEBRI.
2. IT for Change submitted comments on the draft of the C20-T20 joint declaration. This declaration covers C20-T20 convergences in three main areas: finance, environment, and digital, and it is planned to be launched during the C20 and T20 midterms.
Speaking Engagements
1. Anita was invited as a speaker at the ‘T20 Digital Dialogues: Thinking Together about the G20 Digital Agenda’ to contribute to the panel on Information Integrity. In her speech, she highlighted the need for global consensus on a clear definition of critical terms like disinformation, misinformation, and hate speech. She also spoke about the need to break the monopoly power of digital platforms over public discourse and enable alternative modes of organizing digital communication platforms to develop.
2. Anita was also invited as a speaker to the event, ‘Promoting Information Integrity: Combating Disinformation, Hate Speech and Threats to Public Institutions Online’ in São Paulo, Brazil, where she spoke about the problem of gender-based violence and hate speech as a threat to information integrity. Anita spoke about the need for a gender-responsive platform regulatory framework and its components. She also participated in an open workshop with the G20 engagement groups on the issue of information integrity.
3. Merrin was invited for a panel discussion on ‘Information Integrity in the G20: Social Media, Human Rights, and Democracy,’ organized by the Center for Technology and Society at the Fundação Getulio Vargas (CTS-FGV), in alignment with the T20 engagements. The webinar discussed strategies to combat misinformation, improve the quality of public discourse, and cultivate a robust digital ecosystem to promote democratic values and practices on a global scale.