Privacy and Security Issues in ICTD: Research and Practice

This position paper puts forth the agenda of privacy and security associated with the information technologies deployed in the developing world. We recognize that, while these issues are widely discussed in the Western world, they have not got much attention in the context of the developing countries. Following the tensions between the situated nature of the concepts and practices around security and privacy, and the material constraints that the technologies hold in themselves, we call for an “across the borders” discussions on this issue. Our objective is to produce a broader understanding of security and privacy at least in two different ways: a) conceptualizing the formation of the ideas and practices around privacy and security in different social, cultural, and political contexts, and b) broaden our understanding of security and privacy when information technologies turn to the means of cross-cultural communication.