The Global Network Initiative (GNI) is excited to announce four independent experts who have joined our Academic constituency as members: Amrita Sengupta, Francisco Brito Cruz, Margaret Nyambura Ndung’u, and Steve Feldstein.
GNI’s Executive Director, Jason Pielemeier, welcomed these new members: “Amrita, Chico, Margaret, and Steve each bring unique applied and theoretical expertise and regional focus into GNI. We look forward to learning from their work on critical topics like Artificial Intelligence, content regulation, cybersecurity, and surveillance.”
Amrita Sengupta is a CyberBrics fellow, conducting research on AI governance and sovereignty, and the interactions of AI and digital public infrastructure, at the Centre for Technology and Society-FGV, Rio de Janeiro. Until recently Amrita was the Research and Programme Lead at the Centre for Internet and Society, India. A trained sociologist, Amrita’s research interests and work lie in the areas of AI governance, trust and online harms, platform accountability, information disorders, and gender and technology. She holds an undergraduate degree in sociology from Miranda House, Delhi University, and a postgraduate degree in internet studies from the Oxford Internet Institute. In the past, Amrita has worked in managing and implementing large scale people practices, diversity and inclusion in the workplace, as well as in conducting and leading long-form research on impacts of emerging technologies on businesses and society, with both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Amrita is on the Board of The Green Web Foundation, which investigates the environmental impacts of technology.
“I am pleased to join the Global Network Initiative as an independent academic member. GNI’s multistakeholder framework is both critical and essential to strengthening accountability in the tech sector. I look forward to engaging with the GNI community and contributing to shaping governance models that reflect a just and inclusive digital future,” said Sengupta.
Francisco Brito Cruz is co-founder of InternetLab, professor in the Digital Law postgraduate program at Fundação Getúlio Vargas Law School in São Paulo, and a member of the Steering Committee of the World Movement for Democracy. He was a visiting researcher at the Center for the Study of Law and Society at the University of California, Berkeley (2013) and a member of the Electoral Law Commission of the Brazilian Bar Association — São Paulo Section (2019-2020). Also founded and coordinated the Law, Internet, and Society Nucleous at the University of São Paulo (NDIS-USP, 2012-2014, 2016-2019). Cruz is co-author of the books “Sobrevivendo nas Redes: Guia do Cidadão” (Moderna, 2018), “Direito Eleitoral na Era Digital” (Literacy, 2019) and “A Internet no banco dos réus” (IASP, 2017) and author of the book “Novo jogo, velhas regras” (Letramento, 2020).
“Joining the Global Network Initiative is a natural extension of my work at the intersection of technology, regulation, and human rights,” reflected Cruz. “I was part of the Initiative while I worked as a director of InternetLab, and now I am joining as an individual scholar. I’m eager to contribute to GNI’s unique multistakeholder dialogue by bringing perspectives from Latin America’s evolving digital governance landscape, where questions of accountability, free expression, and state capacity are deeply intertwined. I believe GNI’s collaborative framework offers an essential space to translate human rights principles into practice in the tech ecosystem.”
Margaret Nyambura Ndung’u is a distinguished ICT expert with three decades of experience spanning public, private, and development sectors. She has shaped key strategies and policies, in the digital space. She is a Senior Associate and the lead Kenya Partner for Research ICT Africa. She is a founding member of the Network of African Women in Cybersecurity and actively participates in global digital policy discourses at the internet Governance Forum. She is a member of the Policy Network of Meaningful Access (PNMA). She sits on the Digital Innovation Board of the ITU Innovation & Entrepreneurship Alliance for Digital Development and the DPI Safeguards Advisory Board. Dr. Ndung’u holds a PhD in Information Systems from the University of Nairobi and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Tshwane University of Technology in South Africa.
“Becoming part of the Global Network Initiative represents a meaningful step in my journey to champion responsible and ethical technology. As we continue to build and strengthen Digital Public Infrastructure, it is vital that we embed strong safeguards that uphold data protection, privacy, and inclusion for all. – ensuring technology works for everyone, everywhere,” said Ndung’u. “I am particularly passionate about advancing child online safety and empowerment through creating digital spaces where young people can learn, connect, and thrive securely. I look forward to collaborating with fellow members of the GNI to drive impactful, rights-centered approaches that foster trust, accountability, and human dignity in the digital transformation era.”
Steven Feldstein is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program where he focuses on issues of technology and democracy, human rights, and U.S. foreign policy. Previously, he was the holder of the Frank and Bethine Church Chair of Public Affairs and an associate professor at Boise State University, and served as a deputy assistant secretary in the democracy, human rights, and labor bureau in the U.S. Department of State as an appointee under President Obama. Feldstein also served as the director of policy at the U.S. Agency for International Development. Feldstein’s articles and essays have been published widely and he is the author of The Rise of Digital Repression: How Technology is Reshaping Power, Politics, and Resistance (Oxford University Press, 2021). He is a graduate of Princeton University and Berkeley Law.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to engage with and support the Global Network Initiative’s mission. Our moment demands that tech companies protect users’ freedom of expression and privacy by anchoring their decisions and governance structures in established human rights principles. My work has focused on how autocratic leaders and non-democratic states exploit advanced technology for political gain. Countering these trends requires sustained engagement from public and private stakeholders willing to take difficult stands. GNI’s multistakeholder framework offers a unique approach to these challenges, and I’m eager to collaborate with members on concrete, impactful action,” noted Feldstein.