“Data Storage of Content Platforms: Impact on Internet Resilience in Pakistan” by Nowmay Opalinski.

“Data Storage of Content Platforms: Impact on Internet Resilience in Pakistan” by Nowmay Opalinski.

Chinese Internet Research Conference (CIRC)
31 May 2024

Auteur

The conference “Big Tech as an Actor of Global Security and Geopolitical Conflicts” took place on May 2nd and 3rd, 2024, at Université Paris-Panthéon Assas. It was co-organized by the Center for Analysis and Interdisciplinary Media Research (CARIM), the CNRS Internet and Society Center, and the IRSEM.

Topics Covered

Recent advancements in technology prompt us to closely examine the role of big tech companies in global security and geopolitical conflicts. This conference offers an in-depth exploration of this crucial subject, beyond its purely technical aspect.

Objective

Nowmay Opalinski participated in panel #3 titled “Global Geopolitics of Big Tech” (moderated by Zhao Alexandre Huang from Université Paris Nanterre).

During this session, he presented his work within an intervention titled: “Data Storage Practices of Content Distribution Platforms and Unintended Impacts on Internet Resilience in Emerging Countries: The Case of Pakistan.” His presentation focused on the resilience of the Internet network in Pakistan and the impact of digital platforms on its structure.

More broadly, the aim of this conference was to initiate a discussion on the various ways in which digital giants contribute to global security. Nowmay and other researchers aimed to understand how these companies integrate a security perspective into their activities and how they interact with traditional security networks.

 

>> Programme <<

 

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The Human Factor in the Geopolitics of the Internet

The Human Factor in the Geopolitics of the Internet

RIPE Labs
5 April 2023

Our team from GEODE explores the complex relationships between the technical and political dimensions of the Internet, with a focus on Central Asia and Kyrgyzstan.

In this piece, Louis Pétiniaud, Kevin Limonier, Loqman Salamatian and Antonin Rosa-Martin show how qualitative data gathered “in the field” allows a better understanding of the geopolitics of the architecture of networks.

This article presents the result of a research project called “Mapping Connectivity in Central Asia: A View from Within” carried out by GEODE researchers and supported by RIPE NCC. Its main objective: to develop a cartography of the digital space.

Read the full article on RIPE Labs’ website 

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Pr. Frédérick Douzet awarded €2.5 million ERC grant for her research on Geopolitics of Internet data routes

Pr. Frédérick Douzet awarded €2.5 million ERC grant for her research on Geopolitics of Internet data routes

30 March 2023

Scientific Excellence at the University of Paris 8. 

Frédérick Douzet won a prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Fellowship and its €2.5 million grant.

Frédérick Douzet, Professor at the French Institute of Geopolitics at the University of Paris 8 and Director of the GEODE Center (Geopolitics of the Datasphere) has just obtained an ERC grant in the Advanced category for her DATAROUTES project, which aims to map Internet routes and their manipulation for strategic purposes. This research funding program is one of the most prestigious and competitive in the European Union (EU). For the first time, the award recognizes the excellence of research in humanities and social sciences conducted at the University of Paris 8.

 

Frédérick Douzet was delighted at the announcement of the results: “I am very pleased to be awarded this grant. It will enable me to carry out an ambitious research project that is fully in line with the tradition of innovation and experimentation in social sciences at the University of Paris 8. This project tops nearly 10 years of investment in building a challenging interdisciplinary conversation at the French Institute of Geopolitics and the GEODE project, which I lead. I would like to warmly thank my entire team for their unwavering support, but also the many colleagues, friends and staff in the administration of Paris 8 who helped me prepare this great project and train for the interview.”

 

Annick Allaigre, President of the University of Paris 8, welcomes the performance of Frédérick Douzet, who wins the first ERC grant of the University Paris 8 with this project particularly relevant given the international context. This success is the result of her tireless work and ability to lead a first class team. It also reflects the quality of the support provided by the research services for very high-level projects and rewards a resolute policy of support for research.

 

Arnaud Regnauld, Vice-President of Research at the University of Paris 8 adds: “The DATAROUTES project is the continuation of an ambitious scientific dynamic at “Geopolitics of the Datasphere” (GEODE), a project developed by the IFGLab. This ERC grant is a recognition of the work undertaken by Frédérick Douzet and her team and a testament to the excellence and influence of this laboratory in exploratory research at an international scale.” 

 

Understanding how states and non-state actors shape cyberspace by seeking to control the routes taken by digital data 

The Internet has been able to develop very rapidly in most countries thanks to its highly decentralized nature. Its resilience is based on a multiplicity of different routes that allow data to always bypass a blocking or partial destruction of the network by alternative paths. This model is now being challenged by two major developing dynamics. On the one hand, some states, in the name of national security, seek to re-establish control over borders of what they regard as their national cyberspace, creating fragmentation along state borders. On the other hand, at a higher level of abstraction, another dynamic can be observed. Driven by market forces, this dynamic consists in the concentration of data traffic around a few major data transport players and a few large platforms, such as GAFAMs. Largely invisible, this concentration also leads to a form of fragmentation along commercial lines.

These developments raise major questions in terms of the stability and resilience of the Internet, the free movement of data and human rights. The DATAROUTES project aims to map the paths taken by digital data to understand how and with what consequences the control strategies of actors shape cyberspace, and analyze the major issues in terms of security and public policies for the European Union. 

 

Acknowledging the scientific excellence of the research carried out at the University Paris 8. 

The ERC Advanced Scholarship program is part of the Horizon Europe program. These scholarships reward researchers who are experienced and recognized in their field at the national and international levels. They make it possible to carry out ambitious and innovative high-risk projects that can lead to notable scientific advances. The funded projects each benefit from a maximum budget of 2.5 million euros over five years. Out of 1,650 applications received, the ERC picked 218 winners in the Advanced category this year, i.e., a success rate of 13.2%. With 32 winning projects, France ranks third among the 20 European countries represented, behind Germany and the United Kingdom. 

The DATAROUTES project will allow the recruitment of several doctoral and post-doctoral students and research engineers who will be hosted at the Condorcet Campus, of which Paris 8 University is a member.  

Frédérick Douzet’s work has been recognized by the Institut Universitaire de France (IUF) and is part of the innovative research carried out within the GEODE project, which was labeled in 2020 “Center of Excellence International Relations and Strategy” by the Ministry of the Armed Forces and has received funding from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. This scholarship also rewards the teams of the French Institute of Geopolitics at the University of Paris 8 to which the GEODE center is attached. Finally, it testifies to the vitality and the need for interdisciplinary research in humanities and social sciences undertaken within the University of Paris 8 to advance knowledge.

 

> Download the press release <<

 

 

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Introducing the Humanitarian Cybersecurity Center!

Introducing the Humanitarian Cybersecurity Center!

CyberPeace Institute, GEODE's partner
27 February 2023

 

We are proud to be a partner of the CyberPeace Institute in creating the Humanitarian Cybersecurity Center! This center aims to provide cybersecurity services to NGOs, ensuring that their data and systems are secure and protected from cyber threats.

“Humanitarian and development NGOs are targeted by cyberattacks and information operations. They do not have the capacity to both be on the frontline of aid delivery and respond to cyber threats. Cyberattacks imperil lives and erode the trust in organizations that is essential for their work.

(…) The Center provides expert support and practical assistance to NGOs in the humanitarian and development sectors, tailored to their needs, and available anywhere in the world. The Center builds upon the CyberPeace Institutes key capabilities and develops programs of activities and associated projects to support communities vulnerable to threats in cyberspace.”

— Excerpt from the press release

 

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The Russia Program, the new university-based analytical center created by the George Washington University in partnership with GEODE

The Russia Program, the new university-based analytical center created by the George Washington University in partnership with GEODE

27 January 2023

We are very pleased to announce the launch of The Russia Program, a university-based analytical center created by the George Washington University in partnership with GEODE in order to provide new ways of studying Russia after February 24, 2022. 

Hosted at the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at George Washington University, The Russia Program founds a novel research ecosystem that renews our methodological toolkit and creates new knowledge commons designed not only for the scientific community, but also for a broader audience. 

Within this framework, the “New Methodological School” offers seminars and academic courses designed to explore contemporary Russia through innovative methods of data collection and aggregation such as open source intelligence research.



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The Legal Protection of International Organisations’ Data – Report by Aude Géry and Anne-Thida Norodom

The Legal Protection of International Organisations’ Data – Report by Aude Géry and Anne-Thida Norodom

Leiden Asia Center
18 January 2023

Aude Géry and Anne-Thida Norodom, GEODE researchers, wrote a report that was published via Leiden University’s LeidenAsiaCentre as part of the Chinese Knowledge Network project.

This study deals with the legal protection of international organisations’ data that may be stored in China, as part of the United Nations Global Platform that aims at developing the use of big data for statistics in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In the context of this study, the chosen perspective confronts three normative corpuses applicable to the data examined in this study: that of the European Union, that of China and that of international organisations. It also makes recommendations in regard to a better protection of UN data. 


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