The mission of the Institute for Technology & Society (ITS) is to ensure that Brazil and the Global South respond creatively and appropriately to the opportunities provided by technology in the digital age and that the potential benefits are broadly shared across society.

Through its own research and in partnership with other institutions, ITS Rio analyzes the legal, social, economic, and cultural dimensions of technology and advocates for public policies and private practices that protect privacy, freedom of expression, and access to knowledge. The Institute also offers innovative methods of education, training, and opportunities for individuals and institutions, enabling them to understand the promises and challenges of new technologies. Finally, ITS Rio aims at strengthening Brazil, Latin America, and Global South voices in international debates on technology, the Internet, and their regulation.

ITS Rio is a non-profit independent organization and its team has developed expertise in the following areas over the course of ten years:

i) Identifying opportunities and challenges in emerging technologies and their ramifications, completing research on a series of legal questions related to such technologies;

ii) Analyzing issues from multiple perspectives (legal, economic, social, and cultural), highlighting critical aspects, particularly where they may restrict fundamental rights and or widen social inequalities;

iii) Clarifying issues regarding emerging technologies – promises and threats – to policymakers, experts, activists, and the public in general at a national, regional, and international level.

iv) Mobilizing progressive forces to capture value or oppose threats, and design collaborations between competing interests for the public good; and,

v) Bringing independent expertise and perspectives while working in partnership with universities, civil society actors, the private sector, and government agencies.

Their team consists of professors and researchers from different academic institutions such as the Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ), Pontifical Catholic University (PUC-Rio), Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV Rio and São Paulo), IBMEC, ESPM, MIT Media Lab, just to name a few. ITS Rio is also connected to a network of national and international partners and has, among its main activities, debates on privacy and personal data, human rights, internet governance, new Medias, e-commerce, social inclusion, digital education, culture, technology, and intellectual property, among others. The Institution is a multi-institutional hub, converging when it comes to its expert’s activities that may, given its distinct formation and academic connections, reflect on information technology, communications, and their impacts on society.