Turkey, earthquake fall out takes political turn - Article

The devastating earthquakes that shook Turkey on February 6 have uncovered a divided country, where many denounce the earthquakes as an announced tragedy. The government responds to the protests by tightening censorship

By Kenan Behzat Sharpe

Originally published by OBCT, also available in ITA

Estonia: Criminal fines for journalists over public interest reporting send dangerous signal - Article

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners are concerned about the imposition of fines on two journalists and a news outlet in Estonia after they published information about pre-trial criminal proceedings without seeking permission or informing the prosecutor’s office

Shape the DSA so it can empower all users to act against wrongful platform decisions - Article

We co-signed an open letter to Members of the European Parliament promoted by EU DisinfoLab and HateAid concerning the need to fix asymmetries between users and platforms

Freedom on the Net 2019 - The crisis of social media - Reports

Freedom on the Net is an annual study of Internet freedom in 65 countries around the world, covering 87% of the world’s Internet users. It tracks improvement and decline in Internet freedom conditions each year.

CPDP 2019: Content regulation and its impact on democracy - HTML5 video

Internet platforms have become important fora of public debate, offering tools for increased democratic participation and engagement. The central role of internet platforms enables them to wield considerable control over online speech. Platforms effectively have the power to decide what content to disseminate and what content to remove. The same power is used to adjust content according to the profiles of users developed on the basis of their personal data. Recent scandals have shown that platforms can be misused as instruments of misinformation, propaganda and manipulation. Policy makers try to address the issue by regulating or by incentivising platforms to adopt codes of conduct.

The Expression Agenda 2017/2018. The state of freedom of expression around the world - Reports

ARTICLE 19 report shows sharp decline in global freedom of expression since 2014, and a continuous decline over ten years

Content or Context Moderation? - Reports

Robyn Caplan analyses three different types of content moderation: artisanal, community-reliant, and industrial, and highlights the tension between consistent decisions and context-based decisions

Freedom on the Net 2018 - The Rise of Digital Authoritarianism - Reports

Covering 87% of the world’s Internet users, Freedom on the Net is a study of Internet freedom in 65 countries around the globe that tracks improvements and declines in Internet freedom conditions each year

M.L. AND W.W. v. Germany: Recent Developments in Judicial Balancing of Privacy and Free Speech Online - Legal Resources

Recently, ECPMF reported on a ECtHR case concerning the “right to be forgotten” vis-à-vis two convicted criminals. A more in-depth analysis of this case follows, including a look into the question of judicial balancing online

Informational Autocrats - Academic Sources

The paper analyses the role of the media in establishing and maintaining modern-day authoritarian regimes. The authors offer a formal account of how such systems work, emphasising the importance of the gap in political knowledge between the “informed elite” and the general public as a key element of informational autocracy