#FreeMyInternet
Political science. Telecommunications. African Continent. Internet ownership. Internet shutdowns
Freemyinternet.info
2021 | Online resource
Wavre V., Garbe L., Freyburg T., Valaer P. (2021). Free My Interent: A graphic journey from infrastructure to shutdowns. University of St-Gallen.
The Review of International Organizations
2023 | Journal article
The political power of Internet business: a comprehensive dataset of Telecommunications Ownership and Control (TOSCO)
The ‘internet’—familiar shorthand for information and communication technologies (ICT)—is built on a physical infrastructure owned by a variety of state and private actors, foreign and domestic, with multiple interests. It has not only driven change on a global scale; its spread also had a profound impact on the social sciences. However, our understanding of how its architecture, and especially its owners, influence its political and economic impact is still in its infancy. This paper presents the Telecommunications Ownership and Control (TOSCO) dataset on ownership of internet service providers (ISPs) that allows to recognize the internet as strategically built and used by governments and corporations. Along with a thorough discussion of the conceptualization and operationalization of ownership as a variable, the TOSCO dataset enables comparative large-N analysis of the determinants and effects of varying ownership structures and identities in the transforming context of 49 African countries, 2000–2019. We demonstrate its usefulness with descriptive statistics and regression analyses using replication data from research on the internet’s democratizing and corruption-reducing effects. In allowing for a more realistic account, TOSCO supports scholars and practitioners concerned with the determinants and effects of internet service provision, use and control in Africa and beyond.
Freyburg T., Garbe L., and Wavre V. (2023). The political power of Internet Business: A comprehensive dataset of Telecommznications Ownership and Control (TOSCO), The Review of International Organizations, 18, pp. 573–600.
Link: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11558-022-09483-z
Video documentary
2019 | Short
Citizens Offline: the state, the telecom companies and internet shutdowns
Who is behind internet shutdowns? This video explains the role of telecom companies in politically-motivated disruptions [by Freyburg, Garbe & Wavre]. Taking the example of the 2016 shutdown during elections in Uganda, the short documentary explains the role of telecom companies in the disruption of access to the internet, ordered by the state government. Governments typically do not directly restrict internet access but order telecom operators to cut access to particular services or entire (sub-)networks. In times where fears spread that access to the internet will be disrupted on polling day during many of the upcoming African elections this year, the video addresses an extremely topical problem.
Freyburg T., Garbe L., Wavre V., and Guignard N. (2023). Citizens offline: the state, the telecom companies and internet shutdowns.
Guest Post
2023 | Online article
Illustrating Internet Infrastructure and Shutdowns
With growing attempts to censor and limit access to the Internet, the Swiss Digital Initiative is happy to feature a guest post about an overlooked topic: the digital infrastructures behind our virtual world. Based on the work of the Telecommunications Ownership and Control (TOSCO) project, funded by SNIS Geneva, & the FreeMyInternet Project funded by SNF AGORA, with Dr. Veronique Wavre, Dr. Lisa Garbe (@LaserGabi) & Professor Tina Freyburg (@TFreyburg) from the University of St. Gallen, the following post raises awareness about the hidden aspects of the Internet and introduces an educational resource for all users.
Wavre V. (2023). FreeMyInternet - Illustrating Internet Infrastructure and Shutdowns, Guest Post, the Swiss Digital Initiative, March 2022.
Link: https://swiss-digital-initiative.org/news/guest-post-freemyinternet-illustrating-internet-infrastructure-shutdowns/