The mission of the Institute for Technology & Society (ITS) is to ensure that Brazil responds 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 analyzes the legal, social, economic and cultural dimensions of technology and advocates for public policies and private practices which protect privacy, freedom of expression and access to knowledge. The Institute also offers innovative education, training and capacity development to individuals and institutions to enable them to understand the promises and challenges of new technology. Last, not least, ITS aims to strengthen the voice of Brazil, Latin America and the Global South in international debates on technology and its regulation.
ITS is a non-profit independent think-tank. The ITS team, for more than ten years, has developed the expertise of: (i) identify emergent technology opportunities and challenges with broad social & economic ramifications and performing the initial research to make clear the range of issues to be addressed; (ii) analyze these issues from multiple perspectives (legal, economic, social, cultural) highlighting critical aspects, particularly where they may restrict fundamental rights or widen social inequalities; (iii) make the issues involved – promises and threats — clear to policy makers, other experts, activists and the general public at national, regional and international levels; (iv) mobilize progressive forces to capture value or oppose threats, and design collaborations between competing interests for the public good; and, (v) bring independent expertise and perspectives into working partnership with universities, civil society actors, the private sector and government agencies.
