This handbook is principally concerned with the most recent generation of new information and communicationstechnologies: Computing and information technology; Broadcasting, including radio and television through terrestrial and satellite networks; Telecommunications, including telephony and datacommunications; and the Internet and Internet-enabled services. The increasingpervasiveness of ICTs within society changesthe relationship between the citizen and the state. ICTs facilitate both individual empowerment and state power. This gives rise to complex issues concerning rights and civil liberties. The authors argue that civil society organisations should be engaged in ICT policy issues because the way ICTs develop will have an enormous impact on future possibilitiesof working for social justice and sustainable development. The Aarhus Convention is mentioned in the handbook as an example of an international agreement which establishes information and participation rights in environmental decision-making. With discussions of e-waste and the climate change impacts of expansion of ICT access.
