Digital Policy Salon

By ICTC-CTIC

Digital Policy Salon: Mis- and Disinformation in Ukraine

#60・ Mar 10, 2022

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Digital Policy Salon: Mis- and Disinformation in Ukraine

By ICTC-CTIC • Issue #60 • View online

Welcome to the 60th issue of the Digital Policy Salon briefing.

We’re celebrating international women’s day at ICTC with the inaugural article in a series on gender in the technology sector, featuring our own Associate Vice President of Skills Excellence Elizabeth Mills. Gender equity in technology has a long way to go, and we’re proud to support initiatives that create more opportunities for equity-seeking groups in STEM.

We’re featuring new research this week published by a combination of ICTC authors and the Harvard Kennedy Carr School for Human Rights Policy. The paper examines the role of human rights law in intelligent community projects. In addition, our policy updates and “what we’re reading” highlight the important intersection between science, technology, and the war in Ukraine: from mis- and disinformation to other forms of cyber-warfare, o ur updates cover the war online.

Finally, be sure to scroll down and check out opportunities to work with us at ICTC, and/or join us at our next community engagement session in Montreal. We look forward to seeing you there.

- Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC)

Policy Updates 🇨🇦

Big tech emerges as a central player in Russian invasion of Ukraine

Technology permeates all aspects of the modern world, including war: Russia’s use of social media to conduct misinformation campaigns has lead Google, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to restrict access to Russian state media within Ukraine; remove or minimize the reach of Russian state media content; and prevent Russian state media accounts from advertising or monetizing content. Google also disabled Maps traffic data in Ukraine to protect civilians. In late February, the Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine sent letters requesting tech companies to block key services in Russia in hopes of raising Russian awareness of the invasion. Russia’s internet and media regulator has opposed these actions, threatening fines. All told, the information economy has proven instrumental in controlling the narrative on the invasion and influencing public opinion.

Disinformation campaigns by Russian state media renews calls for effective solutions

Global attention on Russia and Ukraine has renewed calls for social media platforms to improve their disinformation strategies. In recent weeks, Russia has used such platforms to “project an image of Russian military superiority” that is targeting both the Russian diaspora and those inside Russia. In a letter written by US Senator Warner to Alphabet, the Senator asks companies like Alphabet to take actions against Russia’s state-led disinformation pipeline. Global Affairs Canada has also called for the Freedom Online Coalition to work with social media firms to take action against state-sponsored disinformation.

Russia, Ukraine, and third-party hackers conduct cyber campaigns amid Ukraine invasion

While critical infrastructure has largely been spared, cyber attacks have played a central role in the Ukraine-Russia war. Leading up to the invasion, hackers targeted organizations in Ukraine, including Ukraine’s ministry of Internal Affairs, key Ukrainian law enforcement agencies, and private organizations. While U.S. and U.K. officials have attributed the attacks to Russia’s GRU military intelligence service, Russia denies responsibility. Ukraine has since called for volunteers from the international hacking community to help Ukraine protect critical infrastructure and spy on Russian forces. While not affiliated with Russia or Ukraine officially, hacker collectives Anonymous, Killnet, and the Belarusian Cyber-Partisans have also engaged in cyber attacks.

International community places sanctions on Russia

Western nations are banding together to implement a coordinated response to Russian aggression in Ukraine. Economic sanctions have targeted finance, energy, transportation, and technology sectors, including newly implemented restrictions on Russian exports. Russia was also removed from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) network, the backbone of the global payments system, making banking and financial transactions more difficult for Russian companies. In support, Canada has paused new export permit applications and placed 58 Russian individuals and entities under the scope of the Special Economic Measures Act sanctions. – Mairead Matthews and Mansharn Toor

Research and Analysis

Building Human Rights into Intelligent-Community Design: Beyond Procurement

By Phil Dawson, Faun Rice, and Maya Watson

Cities have emerged as test beds for digital innovation. Data collecting devices, such as sensors and cameras, have enabled fine-grained monitoring of public services including urban transit, energy distribution, and waste management, yielding tremendous potential for improvements in efficiency and sustainability. At the same, there is a rising public awareness that without clear guidelines or sufficient safeguards, data collection and use in both public and private spaces can lead to negative impacts on a broad spectrum of human rights and freedoms. In order to productively move forward with intelligent-community projects and design them to meet their full potential in serving the public interest, a consideration of rights and risks is essential.

Read the full paper here 📖

carrcenter.hks.harvard.edu • Share

Interviews in the Field

Gender in Tech Series: Elizabeth Mills, Associate Vice-President of Skills Excellence

By Mansharn Toor

Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) is launching a Gender in Tech Series beginning with a conversation with ICTC’s own Elizabeth Mills to kickstart many more conversations that explore gender equity in the digital economy, and the challenges, and opportunities for organizations to create better gender representation in the tech sector.

Prior to ICTC, Elizabeth Mills worked with the government of Nova Scotia. At the time, Mills recalls walking into boardrooms where she was the only woman in attendance. While there were a lot of women working for government, “few were in senior level positions,” she says. That observation was transformative for Mills, who to this day, works as an ally and leader for marginalized peoples, advocating for newcomers, women of colour, and Indigenous peoples.

Mills is currently ICTC’s Associate Vice-President of Skills Excellence, advocating for greater representation of women in technology. She helps support women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, internationally educated newcomers, and women transitioning to digital economy jobs by increasing access to training and employment in the tech sectors.

Understand Systemic Barriers First

“In my day, women might have thought that we aren’t hard wired to be techies, but I absolutely think that has changed significantly. I think that young women today are very keen and very interested in technology and tech careers, whereas that wasn’t something many of them would have considered in my time.”

Change management for Elizabeth Mills begins with the individual, well before an organization begins working on an equity and inclusion policy or instituting mandates, quotas, or metrics to include women in tech. The leader of the organization must begin with purposeful self-reflection of unconscious biases and privileges. Each leader must ask, “How can I affect change as an individual as well as a leader within my company or organization.”

Read the full interview here🎙

www.digitalthinktankictc.com • Share

Special Events

Montreal Smart Cities Engagement Session

On Thursday, March 31st, from 01:00 PM – 02:30 PM (EDT), the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC), in partnership with Recolte, Laboratoire d'innovation urbaine de Montréal, Cité-ID LivingLab and Smart City Experience, will be holding a public engagement session via Zoom to discuss the state of Greater Montreal’s technology ecosystem and Canada’s smart cities project.

In this session, we invite Greater Montreal residents to share and explore issues and opportunities that impact them today, and how smart technologies might contribute to those issues and opportunities. Guest speakers will present in French and there will be breakout rooms for community engagement in both French and English. We want to hear from you, Montreal residents!

This community engagement session will provide:

A brief update on the state of smart cities in Montreal and across Canada
A presentation on smart city transportation
Engagement with fellow Montreal residents on the topic of future smart city developments

Register Today 🗓

lu.ma • Share

What We're Reading

Ukraine’s Defense—and Hacktivists—Have Raised Over $4M in Cryptocurrency

Russia’s invasion into the country sparked a surge of crypto donations to resistance groups.

www.wired.com • Share

Big Tech faces a moral reckoning in Ukraine

Platforms need to be more transparent on changing their business models over Russia’s aggression.

www.ft.com • Share

HCL Technologies’ Diversity & Inclusion Leader Anuradha Khosla discusses authentic leadership with Cisco Security Business Leader Shailaja K. Shankar

This fireside chat emphasizes what authentic leadership means in the workplace and how women working in the technology sector can accelerate their careers.

www.internationalwomensday.com • Share

ICTC Career Opportunities