Kill Switch

Kill Switch is a podcast series that explores the alarming rise of anti-democratic internet shutdowns and related digital rights violations across the world. The series will follow inter-related stories looking at unique facets of internet shutdowns and digital rights violations from the unique perspectives of different role-players centered in different geographic locations. Hosted by Felicia Anthonio. Produced by Access Now, the #KeepItOn coalition and Volume. With funding support from Internews.

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Episodes

06: How Do We Win the Fight?

Over the course of this podcast series, we have taken a look at the troubling rise of government-created internet shutdowns. We heard activists, journalists, startup founders, and technology experts from around the world tell their stories. Today we are wrapping up this series with our sixth and final episode in which we look towards the future. Will internet shutdowns continue to spread to even more countries across the world, or can we do something to stop it? Will shutdowns become a new inter...

Aug 31, 2020•37 min•Season 1Ep. 6

05: Human Rights and Internet Access

In response to the recent internet shutdown in Belarus, more than 50 human rights organizations, including Access Now, signed an open letter condemning Belarus' actions. The letter cites a number of international articles and resolutions from the European Court of Human Rights, the United Nations, and others in support of its central argument. As the letter’s opening lines read: “Such disruptions are impermissible under international human rights law”. This is the argument that we are making in ...

Aug 24, 2020•36 min•Season 1Ep. 5

04: The Fight to Get Back Online

In the fourth episode of Kill Switch, we deep dive into the technical side of internet shutdowns, and provide you with some tools to help circumvent government tactics that prevent people from getting online. We hear from a digital security helpline expert about setting up private Virtual Private Networks; get an introduction to the world’s largest repository of network disruption data; find out what’s been going on in Venezuela; and learn more about the frighteningly sophisticated internet secu...

Aug 17, 2020•37 min•Season 1Ep. 4

03: Everyday Life Under a Shutdown

In the third episode of Kill Switch, we take a look at what it is like to live through an internet shutdown. We talk to people about how these shutdowns impact their lives in small and unexpected manners - as well as in profound life-changing ways. We hear from a startup founder in Cameroon’s ‘Silicon Mountain’ tech-hub whose business had to survive a shutdown of over 200 days; receive covert voice-note messages from a Rohingya refugee in the worlds largest refugee camp; and find out how shutdow...

Aug 10, 2020•37 min•Season 1Ep. 3

02: Taking the Shutdown to Trial

In the second episode of Kill Switch, we take a look at what happens when you decide to take your government, president, or even your telecom service provider, to court in a desperate effort to get an internet shutdown stopped. We hear about a daring court case in which a Sudanese lawyer fought to get his personal mobile internet connection reinstated after the bloody massacre that took place in Khartoum in 2019. We also hear how the president of Indonesia lost a legal battle against digital rig...

Aug 03, 2020•32 min•Season 1Ep. 2

01: The Rise of Internet Shutdowns

The first episode of Kill Switch comes to you just as RightsCon 2020 kicks off - the world’s leading event on human rights in the digital age. In this inaugural episode, we take a look at what exactly internet shutdowns, slow-downs, and social media blocks are. We also delve into the reasons behind the troubling rise in government-mandated internet shutdowns around the world in recent years. Throughout the episode, we talk to experts and activists from around the world about recent, and currentl...

Jul 27, 2020•37 min•Season 1Ep. 1

Trailer: Kill Switch

Kill Switch is a podcast series that explores the alarming rise of anti-democratic internet shutdowns and related digital rights violations across the world. The series will follow inter-related stories looking at unique facets of internet shutdowns and digital rights violations from the unique perspectives of different role-players centred in different geographic locations. Listen to the first episode on Monday 27 July wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted by Felicia Anthonio. Produced by Acce...

Jul 23, 2020•2 min

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