The theme for this year’s GISWatch – “transparency and accountability with a focus on corruption” – is for some a difficult one. At least two country report authors withdrew from participating in this year’s publication because of the consequences they could face locally from singling out specific acts of corruption in their countries. This is telling. It suggests that to consider ICTs and corruption directly is to put the spotlight more narrowly on what governments or businesses or state authorities are actually doing – and this can, as some authors contend, be risky.