Coding Rights is a group of Latin American women based in Brazil and dedicated to the promotion of fundamental rights in the digital world by integrating knowledge and use of technology with public policy and other processes. Through three specific initiatives, the organization worked on promoting the critical use of digital technologies, including an understanding of data collection and consent from the user’s perspective, specifically that of women and members of the LGBTTQI community.
These include:
A platform for mapping the laws passed by the Brazilian Congress, which announces every new bill or modification to an existing piece of legislation involving digital rights and cyberfeminism.
The Chupadatos platform, through which the group conducted a number of investigations on data extractivism with technologies such as surveillance balloons, transportation cards and fertility applications.
The Safer Nudes zine, where the group collaborated with local artists to promote information and reflections on safe and consenting practices for sending nude images.
The project is based on the assumption that Latin American women live in a context where digital technologies replicate and perpetuate power imbalances. Examples of digital surveillance and the massive use of apps in everyday life show that gender stereotypes continue to be promoted, that code is not neutral, and that a feminist perspective that addresses such issues is needed in this scenario.