FEATURED RESOURCES
Dynamic Coalition on the Sustainability of Journalism and News Media
Established in April 2019 and officially launched in November 2019, the Dynamic Coalition on the Sustainability of Journalism and News Media (DC-Sustainability) is an open, multi-stakeholder initiative formally operating within the U.N. Internet Governance Forum (IGF). It is meant to be a hub for the journalism, news media, press freedom, journalism support, and media development sectors to engage with important Internet governance and digital policy matters.
For more information, see our official charter (ratified on 27 November 2019)
To join, simply sign up to the mailing list or email us.
On 5 November 2020, we released our inaugural annual report
Joint Emergency Appeal for Journalism and Media Support
GFMD, the International Civil Society Organization on the Safety of Journalists Coalition (ICSO SoJ Coalition), and numerous GFMD members, partners, and affiliate networks launched an emergency appeal for journalism and media support in response to the COVID-19 crisis. The statement is a call to action to governments; journalism and media development donors and funders; journalism and media organisations; technology, telecommunication companies, and Internet intermediaries; advertisers, and all those who rely on journalism and news media to stay informed in this unprecedentedly challenging time. You can read the statement here
GIP Digital Watch newsletter
The Geneva Digital Watch newsletter is a monthly newsletter, published by the Geneva Internet Platform and DiploFoundation, as part of the GIP Digital Watch initiative, that means to be a one-stop shop for updates and developments in the Internet governance and policy ecosystem. It includes a round-up of developments for each month, interviews with prominent Internet governance experts, features and articles on various digital policy areas, and a just-for-fun section. The newsletter complements the GIP Digital Watch observatory and the monthly GIP briefings on Internet governance. Sign up for the monthly newsletter here
Governing digital convergence: An issue paper on media development and Internet governance
This issue paper is now a go-to document to examine the intersections between media development and Internet governance. Written on behalf of the Working Group on Media Development and Internet Governance, this document formulates a clear and concise agenda by outlining key issues relevant to the journalism support and media development community vis-à-vis Internet policy-making, development, and regulation, as well as providing recommendations for common priority areas of engagement. The document can be accessed here.
Internet governance: A guide to getting involved
This how-to guide provides many links and resources in order to help anyone get more involved in Internet governance at the local, national, regional, and international levels.
Media Development in the Digital Age: Five Ways to Engage in Internet Governance
This report makes the case to the journalism support and media development community that they can, and must, engage in the decision-making bodies that are shaping Internet governance to ensure that the Internet — and the growing media sphere it sustains — remains open, pluralistic, and democratic. It includes an examination of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), ICANN, IEEE, ITU, and IETF.
Media Independence and Sustainability policy brief
Written by GFMD’s Executive Director, Mira Milosevic, for the 2020 Global Conference for Media Freedom – hosted by the Government of Canada and the Government of Botswana as part of the Media Freedom Coalition – on 16 November 2020, this policy brief provides a short, yet concise overview of the various challenges to media sustainability and independence, particularly in the digital age.
Threats to Media Sustainability and Freedom of Expression in the Digital Era
Written by GFMD, this post was written for the Global Network Initiative (GNI) blog ahead of World Press Freedom Day 2020.
CONTENT-RELATED RESOURCES
Artificial Intelligence and Algorithms
A significant challenge for the current and future viability of journalism and media organizations is the implications of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of things (IoT), “big data,” blockchain technologies, and more. Such technologies are already having profound implications on journalism, media, and access to information in general, as exemplified by how AI, big data, and bots were used in various democratic elections (such as by Cambridge Analytica) in 2016, 2017, and 2018 to influence the outcome by flooding voters with false or misleading information. New technologies such as AI are significantly shaping news and media production and dissemination, as well as challenging both the practice and value of journalists. Internet companies, social media platforms, and other are increasingly using AI, Internet bots, and various algorithms in content moderation and in ranking the order for personalized search results and social media news feeds, which is also presenting a new challenge to privacy and free expression. Moreover, the use of AI in content moderation on the Internet without human judgment or due process can have a negative impact on optimizing the role of media and journalism for fostering a robust, pluralistic public sphere and enhancing democratic debates. For more information and resources, see:
- AI and Human Judgement (Kenan Malik)
- AlgorithmWatch
- Artificial Intelligence & Human Rights: Opportunities & Risks (Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society)
- Artificial Intelligence: Practice and Implications for Journalism (Tow Center for Journalism)
- Artificial Intelligence: The Promises and the Threats (UNESCO Courier)
- Automating Society: Taking Stock of Automated Decision-Making in the EU (AlgorithmWatch)
- Five reasons why now is the time to be thinking about artificial intelligence in your newsroom (Fathm)
- Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to advance Knowledge Societies and Good Governance (Internet Society, Mozilla, & UNESCO)
- How Innovative Newsrooms Are Using Artificial Intelligence (Open Society Foundations / GIJN)
- Human Rights in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (Access Now)
- GIS Watch 2019 – Artificial intelligence: Human rights, social justice and development (APC)
- Governance with teeth: How human rights can strengthen FAT and ethics initiatives on artificial intelligence
- Mixed Messages? The Limits of Automated Social Media Content Analysis
- New powers, new responsibilities: A global survey of journalism and artificial intelligence (LSE)
- OECD Principles on AI
- Principled artificial intelligence: Mapping consensus in ethical and rights-based approaches to principles for AI (Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society)
- Privacy and Freedom of Expression in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (ARTICLE 19 & Privacy International)
- Regulating social media content: Why AI alone cannot solve the problem (ARTICLE 19)
- Rising Through the Ranks: How Algorithms Rank and Curate Content in Search Results and on News Feeds (Open Technology Institute/New America)
- Spotlight on Artificial Intelligence and Freedom of Expression (OSCE)
- Steering AI and Advanced ICTs for Knowledge Societies: A Rights, Openness, Access, and Multi-stakeholder Perspective (UNESCO)
- Steering AI for Knowledge Societies: A ROAM Perspective (UNESCO)
- The Council of Europe’s expert committee on human rights dimensions of automated data processing and different forms of artificial intelligence (MSI-AUT)
- The Markup (link)
- Unboxing Artificial Intelligence: 10 steps to protect Human Rights (Council of Europe)
- Why algorithms can be racist and sexist (VOX/Recode)
- #YouTubeRegrets (Mozilla Foundation)
CVE, Harassment, and Hate Speech
Countering violent extremism (CVE), online harassment, and hate speech are common topics in digital policy. Below are a list of relevant resources addressing it in policy and programming:
- Bookmarks: A Manual for Combating Hate Speech Online Through Human Rights Education (Council of Europe)
- Caught in the Net: The Impact of ‘Extremist’ Speech Regulations on Human Rights Content (EFF / Syrian Archive /Witness)
- Christchurch Call to Eliminate Violent and Extremist Content Online (Governments of France and New Zealand)
- Civil Society Positions on the Christchurch Call Pledge
- Countering Hate Speech course (European Journalism Centre)
- Countering Online Hate Speech (UNESCO)
- Countering Violent Extremism through Media and Communications Strategies (Partnership for Conflict, Crime and Security Research)
- European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) General Policy Recommendation No. 15 on Combating Hate Speech
- Data-driven Approach to Countering Hate Speech (DACHS) (European Journalism Centre)
- GFMD Statement on the Christchurch Call and Countering Violent Extremism Online
- Guidance for Broadcasters: On using third-party content, including social media content (New Zealand Broadcasting Standards Authority)
- Hacking Online Hate: Building an Evidence Base for Educators (SELMA)
- Hatebase
- Hate Speech: Key Concept Paper (Media, Conflict and Democratisation – MeCoDEM)
- Hate Speech Explained: A Toolkit (ARTICLE 19)
- Hate Speech in the Media and Internet: A Case Study of the Kyrgyz Republic
- Into 2020: The State of Online Harassment (Online SOS)
- Media Development and Countering Violent Extremism: An Uneasy Relationship, a Need for Dialogue (CIMA)
- No Hate Speech Movement (Council of Europe)
- Starting Points for Combating Hate Speech Online: Three Studies About Online Hate Speech and Ways to Address It
- “Video Unavailable” Social Media Platforms Remove Evidence of War Crimes (HRW)
- Youth and Violent Extremism on Social Media (UNESCO)
Cybersecurity, Encryption, and Digital Security Tools
In the digital age, journalism safety must also include cybersecurity measures. As a result, myriad organisations have produced toolkits, resources, and guides for journalists and civil society organisations. These include:
- Advocacy in Restricted Spaces: A Toolkit for Civil Society Organizations (Lifeline) – available in Arabic, English, Español, Français, and Русский
- CPJ’s Journalists’ Safety Guide and Safety Kit, which includes cybersecurity resources as well. CPJ also created a Digital Safety Kit in English, Español, Français, and Русский
- Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) – Surveillance Self-defense (SSD): Tips, tools, and how-to’s for safer online communications
- Frontline Defenders – Security-in-a-box: Digital security tools and tactics
- Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) – Digital security
- Holistic Security Protocol for Human Rights Defenders (Open Briefing)
- Reporters Without Borders (RSF) – Digital Security for Journalists, a help desk featuring information on training, digital security guides, and FAQs/dangerous misconceptions
- Tactical Technology Collective (Tactical Tech) – Digital security & privacy
- Totem (Free Press Unlimited and Greenhost) – offers free online courses in English, French, and Farsi that cover a wide array of digital security-related topics
- WAN-IFRA – Top cybersecurity tips and tools for journalists
- We Live Security – Cybersecurity for journalists and the news media
Another important resource is the Digital Security Helplined, which is operated by Access Now. The Helpline works with individuals and organisations around the world to keep them safe online. If you’re at risk, we can help you improve your digital security practices to keep out of harm’s way. If you’re already under attack, we provide rapid-response emergency assistance.
Additional resources include:
- Beginners Guide to VPNs (Lifehacker)
- Choosing the best VPN (Cloudflare)
- Conferencing technology platform review (DiploFoundation)
- Country Legal Framework Resource (Global Network Initiative)
- EU Cybersecurity Strategy (European Commission)
- Fact Sheet: How Encryption Can Protect Journalists and the Free Press (CPJ/ISOC)
- How journalists can work from home securely (Free Press Foundation)
- How to Choose a VPN (Lifehacker)
- HTTPS Everywhere (EFF)
- Internet Censorship 2020: A Global Map of Internet Restrictions (Comparitech)
- LetsEncrypt.org
- Psiphon (VPN)
- Physical, emotional and digital protection while using home as office (Front Line Defenders)
- Remote Work and Personal Safety (TOR)
- Toolkit for inclusive and value-based cybersecurity policymaking (Global Partners Digital)
- World Map of Encryption (Global Partners Digital)
- Zoombombing prevention & resources guide (GFMD)
Digital Media Literacy
The importance of digital skills and media literacy (also known as media information literacy – MIL) has already been recognised by many Internet governance and development stakeholders, particularly in relation to education, democracy, access to information, and countering disinformation and misinformation. Stakeholders from across the Internet governance ecosystem recognise the importance of user capabilities (such as digital media literacy skills) as a core competency for the advantageous development of the Internet and enabling meaningful access. Digital media literacy includes topics such as but not limited to:
- What it means to use digital media in a responsible way;
- Understanding news cycles;
- Analyzing the bias held by different media outlets;
- Evaluating conflicts of interest and funding behind content producers;
- Recognising misinformation or “deep fakes;” and
- The ability to identify and evaluate the credibility of information.
Additional references and resources include:
- Bad News game (Drog)
- Center for Media Literacy
- Did media literacy backfire?
- Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of Action – A white paper by Renee Hobbs (Knight Foundation)
- Education 3.0 and Internet Governance: A New Global Alliance for Children and Young People’s Sustainable Digital Development (Global Commission on Internet Governance – GCIG)
- Fact-checking and verification resources (GIJN)
- Factitious game (American University)
- Fake news: Is media literacy the answer? (ECPMF)
- Focus on media and information literacy (Better Internet for Kids)
- Freedom of Expression, Access to Information, and Empowerment of People (UNESCO)
- Global Media and Information Literacy Assessment Framework: Country Readiness and Competencies (UNESCO)
- Learn to Discern: Media Literacy Trainer’s Manual (IFEX)
- Media and information literacy resources (UNESCO)
- Media Bias / Fact Check
- Media Education Lab
- Media Literacy: Empowering Youth Worldwide (CIMA)
- Media Literacy: Understanding the News (CIMA)
- Media Literacy as a Core Competency for Engaged Citizenship in Participatory Democracy
- Media literacy fundamentals (Media Smarts)
- Media Literacy and Internet Governance: A Necessary Marriage, Exemplified by the Case of the Belgian State Versus Facebook (Vrije Universiteit Brussels)
- Media Literacy Toolkit (Global Investigative Journalism Network)
- NewsGuard
- Play the villain: Learn to fight disinformation with news literacy (EuroDIG 2019 – video | wiki)
- Survey on Privacy in Media and Information Literacy with Youth Perspectives (UNESCO)
- The Promises, Challenges, and Futures of Media Literacy (Data & Society)
Disinformation and Misinformation
Disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation are the more precise words for the widely overused and highly problematic term “fake news” – a description that has been co-opted by authoritarians, undermines journalism, and endangers journalists/media workers. Disinformation and misinformation relate to trust in media institutions, journalists, and reporting, and is hardly a new phenomenon. While both disinformation and misinformation both refer to inaccurate or misleading information, according to the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), the difference between them is the nature of the intent. Misinformation is considered as more of a reporting ‘mistake’ that may or may not be spread intentionally, while disinformation is always purposefully and maliciously disseminated. Myriad organisations and initiatives have been established to address disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation – otherwise known as propaganda – and multiple resources exist as well, including but not limited to:
- 5 lessons for reporting in the age of disinformation (First Draft News)
- 2019 Cybersecurity Threatscape Report (Accenture)
- A guide to anti-misinformation actions around the world (Poynter)
- A Multi-dimensional Approach to Disinformation: Report of the Independent High level Group on Fake News and Online Disinformation
- A Short Guide to the History of ‘Fake News’ and Disinformation: A New International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) Learning Module
- Balancing Act: Countering Digital Disinformation While Respecting Freedom of Expression – Broadband Commission research report on Freedom of Expression and Addressing Disinformation on the Internet (ITU/UNESO)
- Bridging the Gap: Rebuilding Citizen Trust in the Media (Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) & Open Society Foundations)
- Certified Content Coalition (CCC)
- Challenging Truth and Trust: A Global Inventory of Organized Social Media Manipulation (Oxford University)
- Digital News Report: Misinformation and Disinformation Unpacked (Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism)
- Digital Planet 2017: How Competitiveness and Trust in Digital Economies Vary Across the World (The Fletcher School at Tufts University)
- Disinformation and ‘fake news’: Final Report (House of Commons, Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee, UK Government)
- Disinformation dossier (ECPMF)
- EU Code of Practice on Disinformation
- Everything in Moderation: An Analysis of How Internet Platforms Are Using Artificial Intelligence to Moderate User-Generated Content (Open Technology Institute/New America)
- ‘Fake news’ has real effect (Boston Herald)
- “Fake news” in the digital era (GIP Digital Watch)
- “Fake News,” lies, and propaganda: How to sort fact from fiction (University of Michigan)
- “Fake News Influences Real News” – Study finds fact-checkers have little influence on online news media (Boston University)
- Fake news can lead to false memories (PsychologicalScience.org)
- Factitious fake news identification game (American University)
- Fight “Fake News” (UNESCO)
- Fighting “fake news:” Can technology stem the tide? (Infographic)
- Fighting Fake News and Misinformation (Critical Information)
- First Draft News (organisation)
- Getting it Right: Strategies for truth-telling in a time of misinformation and polarization (American Press Institute)
- Global Disinformation Index (GDI)
- How Google Fights Disinformation (Google)
- How Internet Platforms Are Combating Disinformation and Misinformation in the Age of COVID-19 (Open Technology Institute/New America)
- Infodemic Toolkit for Fighting Disinformation on COVID-19 (RNW Media/RNTC)
- Informing the “Disinformation” Debate (Access Now, Civil Liberties Union for Europe, and European Digital Rights)
- Issue Brief: The “Demand Side” of the Disinformation Crisis (National Endowment for Democracy – NED)
- Journalism, ‘Fake News,’ and Disinformation: A Handbook for Journalism Education and Training (UNESCO)
- Junk News Aggregator: A tool to track misinformation (Oxford University’s Computational Propaganda Project)
- Media Bias / Fact Check (link)
- Misinfo Nation: Misinformation, Democracy, and the Internet (Mozilla)
- Mozilla’s Ad archive API work
- Online Harms White Paper (UK Government)
- DCMS initial response
- Propaganda and Freedom of the Media (OSCE)
- Regulating disinformation with artificial intelligence (European Parliamentary Research Service)
- Reporters: Stop calling everything ‘fake news’ (Poynter)
- RESIST: Counter-disinformation Toolkit (UK Government)
- Safeguarding Digital Democracy: Digital Innovation and Democracy Initiative Roadmap (German Marshall Fund)
- Social Media Analysis Toolkit (SMAT) – Open-source tool for tracking disinformation (Mozilla)
- State-sponsored Trolling: How Governments are Deploying Disinformation as Part of Broader Digital Harassment Campaigns (Institute for the Future)
- Sub-Saharan Africa Disinformation Tracker (Global Partners Digital and partners)
- Tackling disinformation around the world: A new policy report (WAN-IFRA)
- The Biology of Disinformation: Memes, Media Viruses, and Cultural Inoculation (Institute for the Future)
- The Global Disinformation Order: 2019 Global Inventory of Organised Social Media Manipulation (University of Oxford)
- The Market of Disinformation (Oxford Internet Institute)
- The way forward to tackle disinformation: Regulatory proposals for the online information ecosystem (EU Disinfo Lab)
- Verification Handbook (Book)
- Verification Handbook For Disinformation And Media Manipulation (European Journalism Centre)
- Visual guide to fighting “fake news” (Infographic)
- Weapons of Mass Distraction: Foreign State-Sponsored Disinformation in the Digital Age (Park Advisors)
- What can you trust on the Internet? A reading list (Mozilla)
- Wisdom of the Crowd: Multistakeholder Perspectives on the “Fake News” Debate (Internet Policy Observatory)
- World Group on Infodemics: Policy Framework (Forum on Information and Democracy)
Recommended COVID-19 misinformation and disinformation resources:
- MediaDev Insider issue on COVID-19 misinformation and disinformation (GFMD)
- Resources for tackling COVID-19 misinformation and disinformation (GFMD resource list)
Data Protection, Jurisdiction, and Intermediary Liability
When a government submits a request to access data, such as for a criminal investigation, the task falls to the organization hosting the content to release it. Yet, what happens if information that is deemed important was written by an agency that is legally registered in, say, country A, hosts their website in county B, but published the story in country C? Legal jurisdiction across borders is already complicated, yet the global nature of the Internet only exacerbates its complexity. Furthermore, the promise of the Internet as a vibrant place for discussion and information sharing has been upheld thanks to the concept of intermediary liability. It refers to legal protections that enable Internet service providers (ISPs), digital media platforms, and others to support expression without being directly responsible for the material stored on or moving across their networks. Without them, services would be much less willing to accept user-generated content for fear of potential civil and/or criminal liability. With increasing requests to access data by governments, it is key that the journalism support and media development community understands the myriad legal frameworks as well as their rights when it comes to cooperating with law enforcement agencies – particularly with regards to issues surrounding press freedom, freedom of expression, and journalists’ safety.
Recommended resources:
- Big Data, Not Big Brother: New Data Protection Laws and the Implications for Independent Media Around the World (CIMA)
- Content and Jurisdiction: Operational approaches (Internet and Jurisdiction Policy Network)
- Country Legal Framework Resource (CLFR) (Global Network Initiative)
- CYRILLA – open database of digital rights law from around the world
- Data and Jurisdiction: Operational approaches (Internet and Jurisdiction Policy Network)
- Domains and Jurisdiction: Operational approaches (Internet and Jurisdiction Policy Network)
- Empirical evidence of “over-removal” by Internet companies under intermediary liability laws (Daphne Keller, CIS at Stanford Law)
- Glossary of Platform Law and Policy Terms (DCPR)
- IGF Dynamic Coalition on Platform Responsibility (DCPR)
- Intermediary Liability (Center for Democracy and Technology)
- Intermediary Liability and Content Regulation (Global Network Initiative)
- Intermediary liability in Africa (Association of Progressive Communications)
- Internet and Jurisdiction Global Status Report 2019 (Internet and Jurisdiction Policy Network)
- Jurisdictional Assertions and Limits (Global Network Initiative)
- Manilla Principles on Intermediary Liability (link)
- Platform value(s): A multidimensional framework for online responsibility (DCPR)
- Policy Brief For Public and Private Decision-Makers Helps Determine the Geographic Scope of Content Restrictions (Internet and Jurisdiction Policy Network)
- Recommendations on Terms of Service and Human Rights (DCPR)
- Santa Clara Principles on Transparency and Accountability in Content Moderation (link)
- Terms of Service; Didn’t Read (ToSDR)
- Who Has Your Back? Government Data Requests 2017 (Electronic Frontier Foundation)
- World Intermediary Liability Map (Stanford Law School)
GDPR
The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a law on data protection and privacy that applies to all individuals within the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA), including both citizens and residents. It aims to simplify the regulatory environment for international business by unifying the regulation within the EU. Passed in 2016, GDPR went into effect on 25 May 2018, and brought with it a host of new measures that empower citizens and residents with control over their personal data, and it also addresses the export of personal data outside the EU. GDPR has set a standard internationally for the kinds of protections and rights it enables for citizens, and mandates that private sector companies and other entities operating within the EU provide data protection services, even if their headquarters are outside of the EU (referred to as extraterritorial applicability). If an organization or company fails to comply with GDPR rules, they can be fined up to 4% of annual global turnover or €20 Million (whichever is greater).
GDPR codifies certain policies and privacy standards into law, such as but not limited to:
- The need for clear consent and easily accessible terms and conditions.
- Notification of privacy breaches or when data has been compromised.
- The right of consumers (data subjects) to access and download their personal data, free of charge.
- The right to data erasure (also known as the right to be forgotten).
- Data portability, which is the right for a consumer to freely transfer their data from one service to another without penalty.
- The right to privacy by design, which refers to creating and designing services handling personal data that incorporate privacy principles and provide safeguards to protect data.
Additional resources:
- Two Years Under the EU GDPR: An Implementation Progress Report (Access Now)
Internet Shutdowns and Network Disruptions
Network disruptions refer to any action taken to limit the ability of a user to access part of the Internet. For example, this can include blocking social media websites during an election, restrictions on over-the-top (OTT) providers like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, blocking content on grounds that it will disturb public order, or even simply the slowing of Internet speeds. More specifically, Internet shutdowns occur when a government or an Internet service provider (ISP) mandates that access to the Internet be completely blocked, often to stymie political dissent and opposition, or to quell social unrest. Access Now recorded more than 116 Internet shutdowns across at least 30 countries from the period between January 2016 and September 2017, and the number of Internet shutdowns continues to increase, often citing dubious reasons. Whether it involves blocking access at a technical level or by even physically cutting the cables that deliver the Internet, Internet shutdowns stifle free expression, cut off access to information, and costs at least US$2.4 billion in lost gross domestic product (GDP) globally. For more information, see:
- #KeepItOn campaign (AccessNow)
- Country Legal Frameworks Resource (GNI)
- Dialling in the Law: A comparative assessment of jurisprudence on Internet shutdowns (APC / Cyrilla)
- Internet Shutdowns (APC)
- Internet Shutdowns: An Internet Society Public Policy Briefing (ISOC)
- Internet shutdowns: The “new normal” in government repression? (openDemocracy)
- Internet shutdowns cost countries $2.4 billion last year (Brookings)
- Internet Society Perspectives on Internet Content Blocking: An Overview (ISOC)
- Navitating Litigation during Internet Shutdowns in Southern Africa (MISA Zimbabwe / Southern Africa Litigation Centre)
- Netblocks: Mapping Internet freedom (observatory)
- Network disruptions (Global Network Initiative)
- Of Blackouts and Bandhs: The Strategy and Structure of Disconnected Protest in India (Jan Rydzak)
- The Rise of Internet Throttling: A Hidden Threat to Media Development (CIMA)
Media Sustainability and Digital Markets
The sustainability and economic viability of journalism and news media is one of – if not the – most critical issues currently facing the sector. Yet, global debates raging in legislatures and policy circles often overlook or minimise their attention to the news, journalism, and information ecosystems, and the implications of digital platforms’ market power on access and the availability of quality news content online. This includes the wider impact that the digital economy and platforms have on society. Any serious effort to address the myriad problems plaguing digital platforms must also address the challenges faced by news media. In other words, content-related issues must also be seen within the wider context of market-related challenges, while clearly distinguishing content regulation from market regulation vis-a-vis platforms. In order to foster a pluralistic media ecosystem that detects disinformation and produces high-quality, fact-based news, media sustainability must be considered a significant priority.
As more of our lives and subsequent outcomes of our decision-making are transformed into data, the uninhibited and opaque collection, use, and trade of personal data by several companies has created virtual (data) monopolies and bottlenecks to efficient and freely functioning digital marketplaces. Moreover, barriers to entry for new, innovative services are constantly rising, while the space for public services, including public service journalism, is rapidly shrinking. Multibillion-dollar technology companies compete directly with media companies for the attention, loyalty, and engagement of users, as well as for the wallets of every advertising company that used to help support the business model of journalism. Therefore, discussions about media sustainability in the digital age must address market-related issues, the role of major platforms, and myriad other issues related to business models, advertising, and funding high-quality journalism.
GFMD is addressing this within the Dynamic Coalition on the Sustainability of Journalism and News Media (DC-sustainability), a GFMD-led, multi-stakeholder initiative within the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), our Internet Governance Working Group, as well as through our advocacy efforts (e.g., our issue paper, and our blog post titled, “Digital platforms, regulation, and media sustainability: A lesson for Europe from Down Under”).
A non-exhaustive list of relevant resources such as conference proceedings, session recordings, and reports are listed below.
Articles and statements
- 5 Business Models for Local News to Watch in 2020 (GIJN)
- 5 CEOs of wealthy foundations pledge to do more to help charities pay overhead (Maria Di Mento – philanthropy.com)
- A digital declaration: On big data as surveillance capitalism (Shoshana Zuboff – Frankfurter Allgemeine)
- A long, slow slog, with no one coming to the rescue (Rasmus Kleis Nielsen – Nieman Lab)
- Advertising is the Internet’s original sin (The Atlantic)
- American journalism is dying. Its survival requires public funds (Victor Pickard – The Guardian)
- Australia is making Google and Facebook pay for news: what difference will the code make? (Amanda Meade – The Guardian)
- Australia’s new tech code is a road worth exploring (Anya Schiffrin Stiglitz – Financial Times)
- “Big tech is watching you. Who’s watching big tech?” The Markup is finally ready for liftoff (Sarah Scire – NiemanLab)
- Can Independent Journalism Thrive under Paywalls? (Prateek Sibal – Economic and Political Weekly)
- Common understanding of G7 competition authorities on “Competition and the Digital Economy” (G7 – July 2019)
- Competition rules could protect human rights on social media platforms (Maria Luisa Stasi – OpenGlobalRights)
- Digital platforms, regulation, and media sustainability: A lesson for Europe from Down Under (GFMD)
- Disinformation sites generate over $200 million: study (DW Akademie)
- Facebook just dealt another potentially lethal blow to local journalism (CNN Business)
- Foundation grants have strings attached, and nonprofit journalists sometimes don’t like being told what to do by them (Laura Hazard Owen and Joshua Benton – NiemanLab)
- Global journalism is fighting for international development funding but shouldn’t need to. Especially now. (Rieneke Van Santen – Medium)
- How can competition law help to secure freedom of expression on social media? (ARTICLE 19)
- How Google is hurting local news (Sean Fischer, Kokil Jaidka, and Yphtach Lelkes – Washington Post)
- How May Google Fight an Antitrust Case? Look at This Little-Noticed Paper (NY Times)
- How to ask for money (Splice Media)
- How to evaluate commercial revenue as a sustainability strategy for investigative media organisations (GIJN)
- Internet economics is a thing, and we need to take note (Geoff Huston – RIPE Labs)
- It’s not that we’ve failed to rein in Facebook and Google. We’ve not even tried (Shoshana Zuboff – The Guardian)
- It’s time to reboot the startup economy (Tim Wu – OneZero)
- Media Viability: 6 strategies for success (MDIF / DW Akademie)
- News media needs to convince readers to open their wallets. Consolidation has not helped (Elizabeth Hansen and Elizabeth Anne Watkins – Columbia Journalism Review)
- Public infrastructure isn’t just bridges and water mains: Here’s an argument for extending the concept to digital spaces (Joshua Benton – NeimanLab)
- Public investments for global news (Victor Pickard – Centre for International Governance Innovation)
- Restoring competition in ”winner-took-all” digital platform markets (UNCTAD)
- Targeted advertising is ruining the Internet and breaking the world (Nathalie Maréchal – Motherboard)
- The media’s post-advertising future is also its past (The Atlantic)
- The trilemma of big tech: We can have democracy, market dominance, and business models that optimise for anger and junk — but only two at a time (International Politics and Society)
- The Truth Is Paywalled But The Lies Are Free (Current Affairs)
- The world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data (The Economist)
- Threats to media sustainability and freedom of expression in the digital era (Michael J. Oghia & Mira Milosevic – GFMD)
- UNCTAD: ARTICLE 19 joins the 18th Intergovernmental Group of Experts’ meeting (ARTICLE 19)
- Universal Advertising Transparency by Default joint statement (EPD and partners)
- We can’t fight fake news without saving local journalism (Emily Bell – The Guardian)
- ‘We can’t reach the women who need us’: the LGBT YouTubers suing the tech giant for discrimination (Jenny Kleeman – The Guardian)
- We need to fix the news media, not just social media (Public Knowledge – Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3)
- We will finally confront systemic market failure (Victor Pickard – NiemanLab)
- Why am I not seeing this ad? (Jan Pieter Balkenende – EU Observer)
- Why Facebook Can’t Fix Itself (Andrew Marantz – The New Yorker)
- Why local journalism needs a funding pipeline (Yvonne Leow – Reynolds Journalism Institute)
- Year in review: Everything I wrote about media business and revenue models in 2019 (Damian Radcliffe – Medium)
Books
- How to Destroy Surveillance Capitalism (Cory Doctorow)
- Lawless: The Secret Rules That Govern our Digital Lives (Nicolas P. Suzor)
- New Media Unions: Organizing Digital Journalists (Nicole S. Cohen and Greig de Peuter)
- The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power (Shoshana Zuboff)
- The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age (Tim Wu)
Conferences, events, and session recordings
- Big Tech and the Future of Journalism: Reinventing news and information in the age of Google and Facebook (RightsCon Tunis 2019)
- Can media companies use community-based funding models while maintaining journalistic independence? (DW Akademie and Taz Panter Foundation – June 2019)
- Fending off the trolls: Journalists in defence of democracy (EuroDIG 2019 – video | wiki)
- Shaping competition policy in the era of digitisation (European Commission – January 2019 | video)
DC-Sustainability reports
- 2020 Annual Report: Dynamic Coalition on the Sustainability of Journalism and News Media
General resources, initiatives, and links
- A model ethical funding policy (DFF/CLUE/ECPMF) – .pdf | .doc
- Dynamic Coalition on Platform Responsibility (DCPR)
- Facebook Ad Library (link)
- GIJN’s sustainability resources (GIJN Helpdesk)
- Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM)
- News Sustainability & Business Models (Shorenstein Center)
- ProMarket – The blog of the Stigler Center at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- Save Journalism Project (link)
- United for News (link)
Indexes, guides, tools, and courses
- Corporate Accountability Index (Ranking Digital Rights)
- Digital Economy Enabling Environment Guide: Key Areas of Dialogue for Business and Policymakers (CIPE)
- Gather: An Engaged Journalism Collaborative (Knight Foundation)
- Global Disinformation Index (GDI)
- Journalism Now online interactive courses (Thomson Foundation)
- Knowledge Bridge – digital audience development (MDIF)
- Media Sustainability Barometer (Innovation Research Group with GFMD – full report)
- Media Sustainability Index (IREX)
- Media Viability Indicators (DW Akademie)
- Membership Puzzle Project (Studio 20/De Correspondent)
- Poynter’s News University (link)
- SembraMedia Virtual School (link)
- Transparency Report Tracking Tool (Open Technology Institute)
- World Economic Forum Strategic Intelligence (resource center)
Infographics
- Ad tech landscape (LUMA)
- How tech giants make their billions (Visual Capitalist)
- Who owns your favorite news media outlet? (Visual Capitalist)
Interviews, speeches, videos, and talks
- Competition and the digital economy (Margrethe Vestager – European Commission)
- Digiday’s path of profitable growth: Brian Morrissey interview (Reuters)
- Four Ways Journalism Can Make Money with MDIF Deputy CEO Mohamed Nanabhay (GIJN)
- Should Big Tech Be Regulated? (Intelligence Squared US debate)
- Video series examining best practices for making investigative journalism sustainable (GIJN)
- We’re building a dystopia just to make people click on ads (Zeynep Tufekci)
Legislation, litigation, and regulation
- ACCC Digital Platforms Inquiry: Final Report (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission)
- Cairncross Review: A sustainable future for journalism (UK Government)
- The UK Government’s official response
- Canada’s Communications Failure: Time to Act – final report (Government of Canada)
- Competition policy for the digital era: Final report (European Commission)
- Digital Competition Expert Panel (UK Government)
- EU Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act (European Commission)
- European Democracy Action Plan (European Commission)
- Lawsuit against Facebook (2020 – U.S. Federal Trade Commission)
- Lawsuit filed against Google related to its ad business (2020 – multiple U.S. state attorneys general)
- Media and Audiovisual Action Plan (European Commission)
- Media Councils in the Digital Age: An inquiry into the practices of media self-regulatory bodies in the media landscape of today (DG-CNECT)
- The Economic Value of Data: Discussion paper (UK Government)
- Unlocking digital competition, Report of the Digital Competition Expert Panel (UK Government)
Research and reports
- 2019 Internet Society Global Internet Report: Consolidation in the Internet Economy (ISOC)
- A Human-Centric Digital Manifesto for Europe: How the Digital Transformation Can Serve the Public Interest (OSF)
- A Landscape Study of Emerging Local News Models Across America (Shorenstein Center)
- A Playbook for Launching a Local, Nonprofit News Outlet (Shorenstein Center)
- America’s Free Press and Monopoly: The Historical Role of Competition Policy in Protecting Independent Journalism in America (Open Markets Institute)
- Are social media companies motivated to be good corporate citizens? Examination of the connection between corporate social responsibility and social media safety (Telecommunications Policy)
- Best Practices on Platforms’ Implementation of the Right to an Effective Remedy (DCPR)
- Beyond Fixing Facebook: How the multibillion-dollar business behind online advertising could reinvent public media, revitalize journalism, and strengthen democracy (Free Press)
- Breaking up Big Tech: Separation of its Data, Cloud and Intelligence Layers (IT for Change)
- Business Models for Local News: A Field Scan (Shorenstein Center)
- Challenges of Competition and Regulation in the Telecom Sector (Economic and Political Weekly)
- Committee for the Study of Digital Platforms: Market Structure and Antitrust Subcommittee (University of Chicago)
- Competition issues in the digital economy (UNCTD – May 2019)
- Computer Law & Security Review special issue on platform responsibility (DCPR/Elsevier)
- Confronting the Crisis in Independent Media: A Role for International Assistance (CIMA)
- Data as a Contested Economic Resource: Framing the Issues (SSRN)
- Defending Independent Media: A Comprehensive Analysis of Aid Flows (CIMA)
- Digital Deceit: The Technologies Behind Precision Propaganda on the Internet (Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy)
- Digital Deceit II: A Policy Agenda to Fight Disinformation on the Internet (Shorenstein Center
on Media, Politics, and Public Policy) - Digital diplomacy: Technology governance for developing countries (Pathways for Prosperity Commission – summary | PDF)
- Digital Economy Report 2019 – Value Creation and Capture: Implications for Developing Countries (UNCTAD)
- Digital journalism & new business models: An overview of the business models and financing of news media and digital newsroom structures (EJF)
- Digital Trade Rules: A disastrous new constitution for the global economy written by and for Big Tech (Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung)
- Essential Platforms (Stanford Technology Law Review)
- Facebook Friends? The Impact of Facebook’s News Feed Algorithm Changes on Nonprofit Publishers (Shorenstein Center)
- Fighting for Survival: Media Startups in the Global South (CIMA)
- Firming Up Democracy’s Soft Underbelly: Authoritarian Influence and Media Vulnerability (NED)
- Framing Brief on Content Moderation Challenges in time of COVID-19 (Internet and Jurisdiction Policy Network)
- Freedom and Accountability A Transatlantic Framework for Moderating Speech Online (Annenberg Public Policy Center, UPenn)
- From start to success: A handbook for digital media entrepreneurs (DW Akademie)
- Funding Journalism, Finding Innovation: Success Stories and Ideas for Creative, Sustainable Partnerships (Shorenstein Center)
- Funding Public Media: An insight into contemporary funding models (Public Media Alliance)
- Funding the News: Foundations and Nonprofit Media (Shorenstein Center)
- Getting to the Source of Infodemics: It’s the Business Model (Ranking Digital Rights)
- Global Expression Report 2018/19: Monday and the Media (ARTICLE 19)
- Global Media Philanthropy: What Funders Need to Know About Data, Trends, and Pressing Issues Facing the Field (Media Impact Funders)
- Google Benefits from News Content (News Media Alliance)
- Google, the media patron: How the digital giant woos journalism (Otto Brenner Foundation)
- English write-up (European Journalism Observatory)
- Guide to audience revenue and engagement (Tow Center)
- Holding Platforms Accountable: Online Speech in the Age of Algorithms (Open Technology Institute/New America)
- How Big Is the Reporting Gap? To save journalism, we must understand what we’ve lost — and what’s worth saving (Free Press)
- How Google Abuses Its Position as a Market Dominant Platform – To Strong-arm News Publishers and Hurt Journalism (News Media Alliance)
- How to fund investigative Journalism (DW Akademie)
- Inflection Point: Impact, Threats, and Sustainability – A study of Latin American digital media entrepreneurs (SembraMedia – PDFs: EN, ES, PT)
- Inside the chaos of brand safety technology (Branded)
- Is Social Media a Threat to Democracy? (Omidyar Group)
- It’s Not Just the Content, It’s the Business Model: Democracy’s Online Speech Challenge (Ranking Digital Rights)
- La convergencia de medios, telecomunicaciones e Internet en la perspectiva de la competencia: Hacia un enfoque multicomprensivo (UNESCO Montevideo)
- Media Development Indicators (UNESCO)
- Money, money, money: Taxing tech may be key to the survival of journalism (Ethical Journalism Network)
- More than money: Rethinking media viability in the digital age (DW Akademie)
- New North-South Issues in the Digital Economy (CETRI)
- Pay Models for Online News in the US and Europe: 2019 Update (Reuters Institute)
- Platforms and Publishers: The End of an Era (Columbia Journalism Review / Tow Center)
- Platform regulations: How platforms are regulated and how they regulate us (DCPR)
- Recipient Perceptions of Media Development Assistance: A GFMD Study (Statement | Study)
- Regulating the new information intermediaries as gatekeepers of information diversity (University of Amsterdam)
- Reinventing Local TV News: Innovative Storytelling Practices to Engage New Audiences (Shorenstein Center)
- Restoring Competition in “Winner-Took-All” Digital Platform Markets (UNCTAD)
- Setting Rules for 2.7 Billion. A (First) Look into Facebook’s Norm-Making System: Results of a Pilot Study (Hans-Bredow-Institut)
- Small is Beautiful – New Business Models for Digital Media: A Case Study (Shorenstein Center)
- Social media gatekeeping: An analysis of the gatekeeping influence of newspapers’ public Facebook pages (New Media and Society)
- Special Delivery: How Internet Platforms Use Artificial Intelligence to Target and Deliver Ads (Open Technology Institute/New America)
- Spotlight: Rethinking digital ads (Mozilla’s Internet Health Report 2019)
- Stigler Committee on Digital Platforms: Final Report (Full report | Summary)
- Streaming War Won: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the News – Searching for a way for streaming to save the news (and for the news to save streaming) (Shorenstein Center)
- Strengthening Consumer Protection and Competition in the Digital Economy (UNCTAD)
- Supporting Media at a Time of Crisis: Donors Explore New Strategies (CIMA)
- Surveillance Giants: How the Business Model of Google and Facebook Threatens Human Rights (Amnesty International)
- Taxes: tech giants’ head start over traditional media (WAN-IFRA)
- The Black Market for Social Media Manipulation (NATO StratCom COE)
- The Economic Costs of Keyword Blacklists for Online Publishers (University of Baltimore/Cheq)
- See Cheq’s research library for more information on digital market research
- The Impact of Digital Platforms on News and Journalistic Content (Centre for Media Transition)
- The Market of Disinformation (Oxford Internet Institute)
- The Publisher’s Guide to eCommerce (WNiP)
- The Rise of Content Cartels: Urging transparency and accountability in industry-wide content removal decisions (Knight First Amendment Institute)
- The Separation of Platforms and Commerce (Columbia Law Review)
- The state of technology in global newsrooms 2019 (ICFJ)
- The Valorization of Surveillance: Towards a Political Economy of Facebook (Union for Democratic Communications)
- Tracking media development donor support: An update on 2016 funding levels (CIMA)
- Transparency Reporting Index (Access Now)
- Investigation of Competition in Digital Markets Final Report (U.S. House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee)
- Using Data Science Tools for Email Audience Analysis: A Research Guide (Shorenstein Center)
- VTDigger: A Rising Star in Nonprofit News (Shorenstein Center)
- Weaponizing the Digital Influence Machine: The Political Perils of Online Ad Tech (Data & Society)
- What Can Be Done? Digital Media Policy Options for Strengthening European Democracy (Reuters Institute)
- When content moderation hurts (Mozilla)
- Who Has Your Back? Censorship Edition 2019 (EFF)
- Why Google Dominates Advertising Markets (Stanford Technology Law Review)
Right to be Forgotten
The so-called “Right to be Forgotten” (RTBF) is a highly nuanced legal principle that, within the European context, enables an individual to request personally identifiable information be scrubbed from content to render it less accessible (known as “erasure”), and/or have the content removed from a search engine index (known as “delisting”). Other forms include fully removing content from the Internet. While the concept emerged out of a European legal tradition that favors the privacy of non-public individuals, in practice it has led to the censorship of information relevant to the public interest. It has endangered press freedom by leading to the removal of news articles, and it has hindered media development by erasing content from the digital public record. For more information, see the following resources related to RTBF, archives, and more:
- Access Now Position Paper: Understanding the “Right to be Forgotten” Globally
- Background: The Right to be Forgotten in National and Regional Contexts (IFLA)
- EU Data Protection Law: A “Right to be Forgotten?” (UK House of Lords)
- Europe’s top court backs Germany: Murderers have no right to be forgotten (European Centre for Press & Media Freedom – ECPMF)
- How the “Right to be Forgotten” Challenges Journalistic Principles (PDF)
- IFLA Statement on the Right to be Forgotten
- Information Not Found: The “Right to be Forgotten” as an Emerging Threat to Media Freedom in the Digital Age (CIMA)
- Media Online Archives: A Source for Historical Research or a Threat to Privacy? (Helsińska Fundacja Praw Człowieka)
- Mission creep: The expanding scope of the “right to be forgotten” (CIMA)
- The Internet has become the external hard drive for our memories (Scientific American)
- The “Right to be Forgotten” and Search Engine Liability (Brussels Privacy Hub)
- The “Right to Be Forgotten” – Negotiating Public and Private Ordering in the European Union
- The “Right to be Forgotten” – Remembering Freedom of Expression (ARTICLE 19)
Legal resources:
- Communiqué by Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE) Representative on Freedom of the Media on ruling of the European Union Court of Justice - Google Spain SL and Google Inc. v Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD) and Mario Costeja González (2014)
- Internet: Case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)
- P8_TA-PROV(2018)0204 – Media Pluralism and Media Freedom in the European Union (European Parliament)
- Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)2 of the Committee of Ministers to Member States on the Roles and Responsibilities of Internet Intermediaries (Council of Europe)
- RTBF & GDPR
UN Special Rapporteur Reports
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression as well as other UN Special Rapporteurs produce frequent reports for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) about issues related to media, digital rights, and security. These include but are not limited to:
- Disease pandemics and the freedom of opinion and expression (A/HRC/44/49 – 2020) – English
- Promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression (as it relates to artificial intelligence) (A/73/348 – 2018) – available in all official UN languages
- Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression (A/HRC/38/35 – 2018) – available in all official UN languages
- Report of the Special Rapporteur to the Human Rights Council on freedom of expression and the private sector in the digital age (A/HRC/32/38 – 2016) – available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish
- Report of the Special Rapporteur to the Human Rights Council on the use of encryption and anonymity to exercise the rights to freedom of opinion and expression in the digital age (A/HRC/29/32 – 2015) – available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish
Additional resources related to the special rapporteur’s work includes:
CONFERENCES AND FORA
Internet Freedom Festival
Internet Freedom Festival (IFF) is an annual event held in Valencia, Spain, that gathers more than 1,400 activists, journalists, technologists, and human rights defenders from over 130 countries for a week of hands-on, multidisciplinary collaboration, sharing, and learning to promote freedom of expression, protection from digital threats, and expanded access to online spaces.
- Apply for an IFF fellowship
Internet Governance Forum
The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is a multi-stakeholder dialogue platform held under the auspices of the United Nations. Established in 2006, it facilitates conversations and collaboration between stakeholders regarding Internet policy and emerging trends related to the Internet and information and communications technologies (ICTs) on equal footing, but does not issue recommendations. Additional resources relevant to the IGF include:
- Join the IGF’s newcomers track
- List of Dynamic Coalitions (DCs), such as the Dynamic Coalition on the Sustainability of Journalism and News Media (DC-Sustainability), Internet Rights and Principles Coalition (IRPC), DC on Platform Responsibility, and the DC on Publicness. You can also subscribe to the DC mailing list.
- Participate in a Best Practice Forum (BPF)
- Participate remotely in any IGF event
- Check out the IGF Academy – it aims to foster freedom of expression on the Internet and inclusive and transparent national Internet governance and policy processes.
In addition to the annual IGF, there is also a network of various national, regional, and subregional IGF initiatives (NRIs) that are held throughout the year and feed into the annual global IGF, such as the European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG). More information the NRIs, such as list of countries and regions organising an IGF, is available here.
IPDC Talks
The IPDC Talks, a day of dialogue and exchange, is held each year by UNESCO on 28 of September to celebrate a day widely recognised as International Right to Know (RTK) Day, otherwise known as the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI). The main goal of the event is to highlight the importance of Access to Information and to address core issues around this access which are crucial for a sustainable development and future as well as good governance.
MisinfoCon
MisinfoCon is an annual conference hosted by Mozilla, generally as part of MozFest, focusing on building solutions to online trust, verification, fact checking, and reader experience in the interest of addressing disinformation and misinformation in all of its forms.
Mozilla Festival
Mozilla Festival (MozFest) is an annual autumn gathering of technologists, activists, journalists, and others who work on collaborative projects related to the open Internet.
RightsCon
The RightsCon Summit Series is a multi-stakeholder event that focuses on human rights in the digital age, which is hosted by Access Now, an international digital rights and advocacy organization.
UNESCO World Press Freedom Day
The UNESCO World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) is an event that occurs annually on May 3, which focuses on celebrating and evaluating press freedom (both online and offline) around the world.
WSIS Forum
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum is an annual event hosted each spring by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland, which is relevant to ICT for development (ICT4D). It facilitates the implementation of the WSIS Action Lines for advancing sustainable development.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Capacity Building Programmes
Many capacity building programmes and summer schools on Internet governance exist around the world. They include:
- Afghan School on Internet Governance (AfSIG)
- African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG)
- Annenberg-Oxford Media Policy Summer Institute (AnOx)
- Armenian School on Internet Governance (ArmSIG)
- Arusha Women School of Internet Governance (AruWSIG)
- Asia Pacific School on Internet Governance (APSIG)
- Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) Summer School of Investigative Reporting
- Bangladesh School of Internet Governance (bdSIG)
- Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF) Summer School for Journalists and Media Practitioners
- European Summer School on Internet Governance (EuroSSIG)
- India School on Internet Governance (InSIG)
- Media and Digital Literacy Academy of Beirut (MDLAB)
- Middle East and Adjoining Countries School on Internet Governance (MEACSIG)
- Nepal School on Internet Governance (NpSIG)
- North American School of Internet Governance (NASIG)
- South School of Internet Governance (SSIG)
- West African School of Internet Governance (WASIG)
Miscellaneous Resources
- Advocacy Playbook: Strategies to Build Coalitions and Create Tactics, Advocacy Scenarios, and Resources (Open Internet for Democracy)
- Books, articles and blogs about journalism – for journalists (Reuters Institute)
- CircleID – A publishing platform covering various Internet developments, generally related to different aspects of Internet infrastructure and policy
- Compendium of Digital Government Initiatives in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic (UNDESA)
- European Digital Rights Initiative’s (EDRi) guide to How The Internet Works
- Explaining Internet Governance to Friends and Family: How to Improve Our Communication (report)
- GFMD guide: How to use your right of access to information (ATI)
- Global Internet Policy Observatory (GIPO)
- Handbook of Global Media and Communication Policy (International Association for Media and Communication Research – IAMCR)
- How to get involved in Internet governance (EuroDIG wiki)
- Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network (I&J)
- Internet Infrastructure and Human Rights: A Reading List (Stanford PACS)
- Principles of the Law Governing the Internet
- The Broadband Commission on Sustainable Development – a joint International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and UNESCO venture that publishes an annual report titled “The State of Broadband“
- World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Tunis Agenda for the Information Society
Multi-stakeholder Model
A foundational ethos of Internet policy-making is the the multi-stakeholder model. It is an open, inclusive, bottom-up mechanism where all interested individuals and groups can collaborate together based on transparency and accountability to discuss common issues and generate robust, holistic solutions based on dialogue and consensus. For more information, see:
- Exploring Multi-Stakeholder Internet Governance (EastWest Institute)
- Best Practice Forum on Strengthening Multistakeholder Participation Mechanisms (IGF 2015)
- Internet Governance – Why the Multistakeholder Approach Works (ISOC)
- Multistakeholderism in Action: Analysing Indian Engagement at Global Internet Governance Institutions (CCG Delhi)
- What if we all governed the Internet? Advancing multistakeholder participation in Internet governance (UNESCO)
- Who Runs the Internet? The Global Multi-stakeholder Model of Internet Governance (CIGI)
GFMD MEMBERS
ARTICLE 19
The open flow of information has been key to the Internet’s transformative effect in modern society. In order to safeguard its benefits, the right to free expression must be defended when addressing issues of content and defining the technical management of the Internet’s architecture. That’s what ARTICLE 19 focuses on in this space. It is also one of the core members behind the Working Group on Internet Governance that was established at IGF 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland. Some of their resources we recommend includes:
- Global Expression Report 2018/19
- Governance with teeth: How human rights can strengthen FAT and ethics initiatives on artificial intelligence
- How can competition law help to secure freedom of expression on social media?
- Media Development in the Digital Age
- Open Development: Access to Information and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- Press Freedom Under Threat: International Mission to the United States
- Privacy and Freedom of Expression in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (with Privacy International)
- Public Interest, Private Infrastructure: Barriers and Drivers for Adopting Human Rights Standards in the Internet Infrastructure Industry
- Response to the Consultations on the White Paper on Online Harms
- UNCTAD: ARTICLE 19 joins the 18th Intergovernmental Group of Experts’ meeting
They have many more resources as well regarding the following:
Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA)
The Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) is spearheading multiple initiatives to address how journalists and media organisations can participate more meaningfully in Internet policy-related discussions. They also produce relevant guides, briefs, reports, and other resources that focus on or relate to Internet policies impacting the media, democratisation, and development sectors.It is also one of the core members behind the Working Group on Internet Governance that was established at IGF 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland. Two featured resources we recommend are:
- Getting Involved in Internet Governance: An Introductory Guide
- Media Development in the Digital Age: Five Ways to Engage in Internet Governance (in collaboration with ARTICLE 19)
- Also see the GFMD webinar about this resource
Other examples include:
- A New Wave of Censorship: Distributed Attacks on Expression and Press Freedom
- CIMA blog posts about the Internet and Internet governance
- Confronting the Crisis in Independent Media: A Role for International Assistance
- “Free Internet” and the Costs to Media Pluralism: The Hazards of Zero-Rating the News
- The Rise of Internet Throttling: A Hidden Threat to Media Development
- The Missing Stakeholder in Internet Governance – The Media
- The Politics of Media Development: The Importance of Engaging Government and Civil Society
- The Power of Airwaves: The Role of Spectrum Management in Media Development
Deutsche Welle Akademie (DW-A)
Deutsche Welle (DW) Akademie provides multiple Internet governance-related resources on their #MediaDev page. A featured resource we recommend is:
- Guidebook on Internet Governance: Media Freedom in a Connected World
Others include:
- Audience Research in Media Development: Overview, Case Studies, and Lessons Learned
- Dossier: Digital Rights, Privacy, & Security
- Internet governance: Why you should care
- Media Freedom Indices in the Media Development Context: How the Different Information Tools Can Be Used
- More than money: Rethinking media viability in the digital age
- #SpeakUp! Digital Inclusion Barometer
Free Press Unlimited (FPU)
Free Press Unlimited (FPU) has actively advocated for greater involvement of journalists and the media development community in Internet governance and policy discussions.
- Free Press Unlimited wants public dialogue on Internet governance
International Media Support (IMS)
International Media Support (IMS) is a Denmark-based NGO that has been significantly increased its involvement within the Internet governance ecosystem, such as within the IGF and ICANN. It is also one of the core members behind the Working Group on Internet Governance that was established at IGF 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland. Relevant resources include:
- IMS publications
- The battle for freedom of expression online: Where are the journalists?
IREX
IREX engages in a host of activities, some of which relate to education, media literacy, and Internet freedom. They also publish a Media Sustainability Index (MSI). Other relevant resources include:
- Impact Study in Ukraine: Winning the War on State-sponsored Propaganda (using news media literacy)
WAN-IFRA
The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) is an active stakeholder within the Internet governance ecosystem. They have highlighted multiple issues, from network neutrality to copyright, over time, especially as it relates to journalism in the digital age. Furthermore, they also amplify the voice of journalists and publishers within Internet governance processes. For more information, see this link and their list of reports and publications. Some of their resources relevant to Internet governance include:
- Blockchain and the Future of News
- Best Practices in Digital Media
- News literacy and news publishers: 7 ways forward to help young audiences fight fake news and do much, much more
- Right to be Forgotten – The European ruling and its extra-EU implementation
- Tackling disinformation around the world: A new policy report
OTHER ORGANISATIONS AND INITIATIVES
Access Now
Access Now is an international non-profit, human rights, public policy, and advocacy group dedicated to an open and free Internet. Access Now hosts the RightsCon Summit Series each year, and also initiated the #KeepItOn campaign against Internet shutdowns. They also produce reports and briefings, such as the following resource:
- 26 recommendations on content governance: A guide for lawmakers, regulators, and company policy makers
- Access Now Position Paper: Understanding the “Right to be Forgotten” Globally
- Human Rights in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
- Proposals for Regulating Internet Apps and Services: Understanding the Digital Rights Impact of the “over-the-top” (OTT) Debate
- Transparency Reporting Index
Association for Progressive Communications (APC)
The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) is an international network of organizations that was founded in 1990 to provide communication infrastructure, including Internet-based applications, to groups and individuals who work for peace, gender equality, human rights, protection of the environment, and sustainability. They have multiple publicationsand other resources relevant to journalists and media development organizations such as:
- Feminist Principles of the Internet
- Global Information Society Watch (GIS Watch)
Council of Europe (CoE)
The Council of Europe produces many relevant resources on Internet freedom, freedom of expression, algorithm transparency, and more. They also host specialised working groups, such as:
- MSI-JOQ – Committee of Experts on Quality Journalism in the Digital Age
- Draft recommendation on promoting a favourable environment for
quality journalism in the digital age - Draft study on media and information literacy in the digital
environment
- Draft recommendation on promoting a favourable environment for
- MSI-AUT – Committee of Experts on Human Rights Dimensions of Automated Data Processing and Different Forms of Artificial Intelligence
- MSI-JOQ – Committee of Experts on Quality Journalism in the Digital Age
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also advocates for Internet freedom.
- No press freedom without Internet freedom
DiploFoundation and GIP Digital Watch
DiploFoundation is a non-profit foundation established by the governments of Malta and Switzerland. Diplo works to increase the role of small and developing states, and to improve global governance and international policy development. One of its initiatives, the GIP Digital Watch observatory, is a comprehensive Internet governance and digital policy observatory that provides monthly updates about digital policy as well as tracks issues and policy developments. Some of their resources include:
- Contribute to the DiploFoundation blog
- DiploFoundation’s IG acronym glossary
- Monthly briefings
- Read the Introduction to Internet Governance (7th edition) e-book (for free)
- Sign up for one of their online courses, such as the Introduction to Internet Governance
- Stay updated with upcoming Internet policy events
- Subscribe to the newsletter
Freedom House
Freedom House has multiple resources relevant to Internet freedom, including:
GigaNET
The Global Internet Governance Academic Network (GigaNET) is an international association of academic researchers. Members include researchers from a wide range of disciplines and locations who are contributing to research, teaching, and engagement in local, regional, and international debates on Internet governance.
Global Network Initiative (GNI)
Launched in 2008, the Global Network Initiative (GNI) is a multi-stakeholder initiative that helps companies respect freedom of expression and privacy rights when faced with government pressure to hand over user data, remove content, or restrict communications. For more information, see the GNI Principles and their Country Legal Frameworks Resource (CLFR). GFMD became an official member of GNI in June 2019.
Additional resources include:
- Content Regulation and Human Rights: Analysis and Recommendations (briefing)
Global Partners Digital (GPD)
Global Partners Digital (GPD) is a social purpose company working to protect and promote human rights values online, and the governance processes that uphold and further these values. Their two main priorities are to grow the number of civil society groups engaging in the internet policy and governance arena, and to make governments, public authorities, international institutions, and businesses aware of the benefits of internet policies and governance processes that promote and protect human rights. Relevant resources include:
- A Rights-respecting Model of Online Content Regulation by Platforms
- Content regulation laws threaten our freedom of expression. We need a new approach
- Framework for Multistakeholder Cyber Policy Development
- GPD’s Organisational Development Framework
- GPD’s response to David Kaye’s report on platform content regulation
- GPD’s response to the UK’s Online Harms White Paper
- How to Engage in Cyber Policy video series
- Some thoughts on the updated UN Resolution on Human Rights and the Internet
- Travel Guide to the Digital World: Cybersecurity Policy for Human Rights Defenders
- World Map of Encryption
ICANN
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is the organisation responsible for operating the Domain Name System (DNS), which is essentially the equivalent of the Internet’s phone book – holding the registry of all Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and domain names. It is governed by an international, multi-stakeholder community. ICANN holds three meetings each year, rotating among the different regions. For more information, see the following resources:
- Apply for the ICANN Fellowship program if you’d like to be introduced to ICANN and want to take part in its work
- ICANNWiki – A non-profit organisation dedicated to providing a community-developed wiki on ICANN and Internet governance
- Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) list of stakeholder groups and constituencies
- GNSO document archive
- GNSO Projects List – a compilation of all active and/or open projects within the GNSO
- Join a group or constituency, such as the Non-Commercial Stakeholders’ Group (NCSG)
- Join a working group – e.g., the Middle East and Adjoining Countries Strategy Working Group (MEAC-SWG)
- Learn about how to write ICANN policy via the Noncommercial User’s Constituency’s (NCUC) Policy Writing Course
- Participate in meetings remotely
- Read the ICANN beginners guide
- Submit a public comment
- Visit ICANN Learn and take a free course
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a professional body that primarily works at the physical (infrastructure) layer of the Internet. It develops international standards for modern telecommunications and ICT hardware, such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and is a key area of engagement vis-à-vis strengthening Wi-Fi security standards.
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)
The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) has multiple Internet governance-related resources, including:
- Development and Access to Information
- IFLA and the Information Society
- What is Internet Governance?
International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the United Nations body responsible for global radio spectrum and satellite orbit management. Working primarily at both the physical (infrastructure) and logical (protocols, standards, and applications) layers, it also develops certain technical standards that ensure networks and technologies seamlessly interconnect. Additionally, it works to improve access to ICTs to underserved communities worldwide. Key resources include:
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is a key organization involved in the development of technical standards and protocols – the basic traffic rules of the Internet that define how information travels across the network, and who can connect to whom and to what content. Housed within the Internet Society, the work of IETF encompasses protocols that range from Internet Protocol (IP), the basic language that enables two devices to communicate, to applications like email.
Internet Governance Caucus
The Internet Governance Caucus (IGC) is a civil society network on Internet governance and Internet rights. It offers an open space where each group can present and advocate for the initiatives that they believe offer the best positive agenda for advancing broadly shared civil society interests in Internet governance. Participate by signing up for their mailing list.
Internet Governance Project
The Internet Governance Project (IGP) is a leading source of independent analysis of global Internet governance. It is comprised of a group of professors, postdoctoral researchers, and students hosted at the School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology. For more information, see the IGP guide to Internet governance.
Internet Society (ISOC)
The Internet Society (ISOC) is a non-profit organisation that was founded in 1992 to provide leadership in Internet-related standards, education, access, and policy. It features chapters all over the world, and ISOC members are involved in every aspect of Internet governance. Some of their resources include:
- Apply for an ambassadorship to the IGF (when the call opens each summer)
- Apply for a fellowship to attend one of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) meetings
- Become a global member (for free) and join a chapter
- Check out their publications, such as the 2017 Global Internet Report: Paths to Our Digital Future
- ISOC’s online course “Shaping the Internet: History and Futures”
- ISOC’s guide to the Internet ecosystem
- Join the ISOC Policy or other mailing lists
- Participate in an e-learning course as part of the Next Generation Leaders program (NGL)
- Young journalists and students: apply for ISOC’s Youth@IGF programme (ages 18-25)
Media and Development Forum (FoME)
The Media and Development Forum (Forum Medien und Entwicklung – FoME) is a network of German institutions and individuals active in the field of media development cooperation. In addition to hosting an annual Symposium, they also feature many relevant resources and publications. You can also join their mailing list.
Mozilla
Mozilla is a non-profit technology organisation that is also heavily invested in digital policy discussions and protecting human rights online. In addition to creating technology like code, apps, and the Firefox browser, Mozilla also engages in policy development, advocacy, and curates resources like the annual Internet Health Report and related toolkits.
openDemocracy
Human Rights & The Internet (HRI) is a special section of openDemocracy focusing on various technology-related rights issues.
Open Internet for Democracy
The Open Internet for Democracy project is a collaborative initiative by the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), the National Democratic Institute (NDI), and the Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA). It is endeavoring to build a network of open Internet advocates who champion the democratic values and principles that should guide the future development of the Internet.
- Apply to be an Open Internet Leader
- Democratic Principles for an Open Internet
Ranking Digital Rights (RDR)
Ranking Digital Rights (RDR) works to promote freedom of expression and privacy on the internet by creating global standards and incentives for companies to respect and protect users’ rights. They fulfill their mission primarily by publishing the RDR Corporate Accountability Index, which evaluates the world’s most powerful Internet, mobile, and telecommunications companies’ disclosed policies and practices affecting users’ freedom of expression and privacy.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Reporters Without Borders (RWB), or Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF), is based in Paris, France, and promotes and defends the freedom to be informed and to inform others throughout the world. They have multiple publications, and also produce the annual World Press Freedom Index. Other resources include:
- Digital Security for Journalists – A help desk featuring information on training, digital security guides, and FAQs/dangerous misconceptions
- International Declaration on Information and Democracy: principles for the global information and communication space
- Internet Governance – The Position of Reporters Without Borders
Reuters Institute
The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University publishes an annual Digital News Report, which tracks digital news consumption across countries, and provides timely data and analysis for industry, regulators, and academia.
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has multiple resources that pertain to Internet freedom, freedom of expression, and more. They include:
- Fostering Freedom Online: The Role of Internet Intermediaries
- Freedom of Connection, Freedom of Expression: The Changing Legal and Regulatory Ecology Shaping the Internet
- Internet Universality Indicators
- Media Development Indicators: A Framework for Assessing Media Development
- Steering AI and Advanced ICTs for Knowledge Societies: A Rights, Openness, Access, and Multi-stakeholder Perspective
- UNESCO Journalists’ Safety Indicators
- UNESCO Series on Internet Freedom
- World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development
Web Foundation
Established in 2009 by the inventor of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the World Wide Web Foundation seeks to advance the open web as a public good and a basic right. They offer multiple resources such as research, as well as initiatives and projects including:
- Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) – Working to make Internet access more affordable and inclusive. A key resource they public is the annual Affordability Report
- Contract for the Web
- Open Data Barometer – It measures the prevalence and impact of open data initiatives around the world
- Open Data Charter – Guides and supports governments as they implement shared open data principles, standards and best practices
- Open Data Labs – Employs a combination of research, incubation, training, and engagement to ensure that open data is used to address practical problems in developing and emerging economies
- Web Index – The first measure of the web’s contribution to social, economic, and political progress, studying 86 countries across the world
- Web We Want – a global coalition working to defend, claim, and change the future of the Web
- RESOURCES
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FEATURED RESOURCES
Dynamic Coalition on the Sustainability of Journalism and News Media
Established in April 2019 and officially launched in November 2019, the Dynamic Coalition on the Sustainability of Journalism and News Media (DC-Sustainability) is an open, multi-stakeholder initiative formally operating within the U.N. Internet Governance Forum (IGF). It is meant to be a hub for the journalism, news media, press freedom, journalism support, and media development sectors to engage with important Internet governance and digital policy matters.
For more information, see our official charter (ratified on 27 November 2019)
To join, simply sign up to the mailing list or email us.
On 5 November 2020, we released our inaugural annual report
Joint Emergency Appeal for Journalism and Media Support
GFMD, the International Civil Society Organization on the Safety of Journalists Coalition (ICSO SoJ Coalition), and numerous GFMD members, partners, and affiliate networks launched an emergency appeal for journalism and media support in response to the COVID-19 crisis. The statement is a call to action to governments; journalism and media development donors and funders; journalism and media organisations; technology, telecommunication companies, and Internet intermediaries; advertisers, and all those who rely on journalism and news media to stay informed in this unprecedentedly challenging time. You can read the statement here
GIP Digital Watch newsletter
The Geneva Digital Watch newsletter is a monthly newsletter, published by the Geneva Internet Platform and DiploFoundation, as part of the GIP Digital Watch initiative, that means to be a one-stop shop for updates and developments in the Internet governance and policy ecosystem. It includes a round-up of developments for each month, interviews with prominent Internet governance experts, features and articles on various digital policy areas, and a just-for-fun section. The newsletter complements the GIP Digital Watch observatory and the monthly GIP briefings on Internet governance. Sign up for the monthly newsletter here
Governing digital convergence: An issue paper on media development and Internet governance
This issue paper is now a go-to document to examine the intersections between media development and Internet governance. Written on behalf of the Working Group on Media Development and Internet Governance, this document formulates a clear and concise agenda by outlining key issues relevant to the journalism support and media development community vis-à-vis Internet policy-making, development, and regulation, as well as providing recommendations for common priority areas of engagement. The document can be accessed here.
Internet governance: A guide to getting involved
This how-to guide provides many links and resources in order to help anyone get more involved in Internet governance at the local, national, regional, and international levels.
Media Development in the Digital Age: Five Ways to Engage in Internet Governance
This report makes the case to the journalism support and media development community that they can, and must, engage in the decision-making bodies that are shaping Internet governance to ensure that the Internet — and the growing media sphere it sustains — remains open, pluralistic, and democratic. It includes an examination of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), ICANN, IEEE, ITU, and IETF.
Media Independence and Sustainability policy brief
Written by GFMD’s Executive Director, Mira Milosevic, for the 2020 Global Conference for Media Freedom – hosted by the Government of Canada and the Government of Botswana as part of the Media Freedom Coalition – on 16 November 2020, this policy brief provides a short, yet concise overview of the various challenges to media sustainability and independence, particularly in the digital age.
Threats to Media Sustainability and Freedom of Expression in the Digital Era
Written by GFMD, this post was written for the Global Network Initiative (GNI) blog ahead of World Press Freedom Day 2020.
CONTENT-RELATED RESOURCES
Artificial Intelligence and Algorithms
A significant challenge for the current and future viability of journalism and media organizations is the implications of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of things (IoT), “big data,” blockchain technologies, and more. Such technologies are already having profound implications on journalism, media, and access to information in general, as exemplified by how AI, big data, and bots were used in various democratic elections (such as by Cambridge Analytica) in 2016, 2017, and 2018 to influence the outcome by flooding voters with false or misleading information. New technologies such as AI are significantly shaping news and media production and dissemination, as well as challenging both the practice and value of journalists. Internet companies, social media platforms, and other are increasingly using AI, Internet bots, and various algorithms in content moderation and in ranking the order for personalized search results and social media news feeds, which is also presenting a new challenge to privacy and free expression. Moreover, the use of AI in content moderation on the Internet without human judgment or due process can have a negative impact on optimizing the role of media and journalism for fostering a robust, pluralistic public sphere and enhancing democratic debates. For more information and resources, see:
- AI and Human Judgement (Kenan Malik)
- AlgorithmWatch
- Artificial Intelligence & Human Rights: Opportunities & Risks (Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society)
- Artificial Intelligence: Practice and Implications for Journalism (Tow Center for Journalism)
- Artificial Intelligence: The Promises and the Threats (UNESCO Courier)
- Automating Society: Taking Stock of Automated Decision-Making in the EU (AlgorithmWatch)
- Five reasons why now is the time to be thinking about artificial intelligence in your newsroom (Fathm)
- Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to advance Knowledge Societies and Good Governance (Internet Society, Mozilla, & UNESCO)
- How Innovative Newsrooms Are Using Artificial Intelligence (Open Society Foundations / GIJN)
- Human Rights in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (Access Now)
- GIS Watch 2019 – Artificial intelligence: Human rights, social justice and development (APC)
- Governance with teeth: How human rights can strengthen FAT and ethics initiatives on artificial intelligence
- Mixed Messages? The Limits of Automated Social Media Content Analysis
- New powers, new responsibilities: A global survey of journalism and artificial intelligence (LSE)
- OECD Principles on AI
- Principled artificial intelligence: Mapping consensus in ethical and rights-based approaches to principles for AI (Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society)
- Privacy and Freedom of Expression in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (ARTICLE 19 & Privacy International)
- Regulating social media content: Why AI alone cannot solve the problem (ARTICLE 19)
- Rising Through the Ranks: How Algorithms Rank and Curate Content in Search Results and on News Feeds (Open Technology Institute/New America)
- Spotlight on Artificial Intelligence and Freedom of Expression (OSCE)
- Steering AI and Advanced ICTs for Knowledge Societies: A Rights, Openness, Access, and Multi-stakeholder Perspective (UNESCO)
- Steering AI for Knowledge Societies: A ROAM Perspective (UNESCO)
- The Council of Europe’s expert committee on human rights dimensions of automated data processing and different forms of artificial intelligence (MSI-AUT)
- The Markup (link)
- Unboxing Artificial Intelligence: 10 steps to protect Human Rights (Council of Europe)
- Why algorithms can be racist and sexist (VOX/Recode)
- #YouTubeRegrets (Mozilla Foundation)
CVE, Harassment, and Hate Speech
Countering violent extremism (CVE), online harassment, and hate speech are common topics in digital policy. Below are a list of relevant resources addressing it in policy and programming:
- Bookmarks: A Manual for Combating Hate Speech Online Through Human Rights Education (Council of Europe)
- Caught in the Net: The Impact of ‘Extremist’ Speech Regulations on Human Rights Content (EFF / Syrian Archive /Witness)
- Christchurch Call to Eliminate Violent and Extremist Content Online (Governments of France and New Zealand)
- Civil Society Positions on the Christchurch Call Pledge
- Countering Hate Speech course (European Journalism Centre)
- Countering Online Hate Speech (UNESCO)
- Countering Violent Extremism through Media and Communications Strategies (Partnership for Conflict, Crime and Security Research)
- European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) General Policy Recommendation No. 15 on Combating Hate Speech
- Data-driven Approach to Countering Hate Speech (DACHS) (European Journalism Centre)
- GFMD Statement on the Christchurch Call and Countering Violent Extremism Online
- Guidance for Broadcasters: On using third-party content, including social media content (New Zealand Broadcasting Standards Authority)
- Hacking Online Hate: Building an Evidence Base for Educators (SELMA)
- Hatebase
- Hate Speech: Key Concept Paper (Media, Conflict and Democratisation – MeCoDEM)
- Hate Speech Explained: A Toolkit (ARTICLE 19)
- Hate Speech in the Media and Internet: A Case Study of the Kyrgyz Republic
- Into 2020: The State of Online Harassment (Online SOS)
- Media Development and Countering Violent Extremism: An Uneasy Relationship, a Need for Dialogue (CIMA)
- No Hate Speech Movement (Council of Europe)
- Starting Points for Combating Hate Speech Online: Three Studies About Online Hate Speech and Ways to Address It
- “Video Unavailable” Social Media Platforms Remove Evidence of War Crimes (HRW)
- Youth and Violent Extremism on Social Media (UNESCO)
Cybersecurity, Encryption, and Digital Security Tools
In the digital age, journalism safety must also include cybersecurity measures. As a result, myriad organisations have produced toolkits, resources, and guides for journalists and civil society organisations. These include:
- Advocacy in Restricted Spaces: A Toolkit for Civil Society Organizations (Lifeline) – available in Arabic, English, Español, Français, and Русский
- CPJ’s Journalists’ Safety Guide and Safety Kit, which includes cybersecurity resources as well. CPJ also created a Digital Safety Kit in English, Español, Français, and Русский
- Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) – Surveillance Self-defense (SSD): Tips, tools, and how-to’s for safer online communications
- Frontline Defenders – Security-in-a-box: Digital security tools and tactics
- Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) – Digital security
- Holistic Security Protocol for Human Rights Defenders (Open Briefing)
- Reporters Without Borders (RSF) – Digital Security for Journalists, a help desk featuring information on training, digital security guides, and FAQs/dangerous misconceptions
- Tactical Technology Collective (Tactical Tech) – Digital security & privacy
- Totem (Free Press Unlimited and Greenhost) – offers free online courses in English, French, and Farsi that cover a wide array of digital security-related topics
- WAN-IFRA – Top cybersecurity tips and tools for journalists
- We Live Security – Cybersecurity for journalists and the news media
Another important resource is the Digital Security Helplined, which is operated by Access Now. The Helpline works with individuals and organisations around the world to keep them safe online. If you’re at risk, we can help you improve your digital security practices to keep out of harm’s way. If you’re already under attack, we provide rapid-response emergency assistance.
Additional resources include:
- Beginners Guide to VPNs (Lifehacker)
- Choosing the best VPN (Cloudflare)
- Conferencing technology platform review (DiploFoundation)
- Country Legal Framework Resource (Global Network Initiative)
- EU Cybersecurity Strategy (European Commission)
- Fact Sheet: How Encryption Can Protect Journalists and the Free Press (CPJ/ISOC)
- How journalists can work from home securely (Free Press Foundation)
- How to Choose a VPN (Lifehacker)
- HTTPS Everywhere (EFF)
- Internet Censorship 2020: A Global Map of Internet Restrictions (Comparitech)
- LetsEncrypt.org
- Psiphon (VPN)
- Physical, emotional and digital protection while using home as office (Front Line Defenders)
- Remote Work and Personal Safety (TOR)
- Toolkit for inclusive and value-based cybersecurity policymaking (Global Partners Digital)
- World Map of Encryption (Global Partners Digital)
- Zoombombing prevention & resources guide (GFMD)
Digital Media Literacy
The importance of digital skills and media literacy (also known as media information literacy – MIL) has already been recognised by many Internet governance and development stakeholders, particularly in relation to education, democracy, access to information, and countering disinformation and misinformation. Stakeholders from across the Internet governance ecosystem recognise the importance of user capabilities (such as digital media literacy skills) as a core competency for the advantageous development of the Internet and enabling meaningful access. Digital media literacy includes topics such as but not limited to:
- What it means to use digital media in a responsible way;
- Understanding news cycles;
- Analyzing the bias held by different media outlets;
- Evaluating conflicts of interest and funding behind content producers;
- Recognising misinformation or “deep fakes;” and
- The ability to identify and evaluate the credibility of information.
Additional references and resources include:
- Bad News game (Drog)
- Center for Media Literacy
- Did media literacy backfire?
- Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of Action – A white paper by Renee Hobbs (Knight Foundation)
- Education 3.0 and Internet Governance: A New Global Alliance for Children and Young People’s Sustainable Digital Development (Global Commission on Internet Governance – GCIG)
- Fact-checking and verification resources (GIJN)
- Factitious game (American University)
- Fake news: Is media literacy the answer? (ECPMF)
- Focus on media and information literacy (Better Internet for Kids)
- Freedom of Expression, Access to Information, and Empowerment of People (UNESCO)
- Global Media and Information Literacy Assessment Framework: Country Readiness and Competencies (UNESCO)
- Learn to Discern: Media Literacy Trainer’s Manual (IFEX)
- Media and information literacy resources (UNESCO)
- Media Bias / Fact Check
- Media Education Lab
- Media Literacy: Empowering Youth Worldwide (CIMA)
- Media Literacy: Understanding the News (CIMA)
- Media Literacy as a Core Competency for Engaged Citizenship in Participatory Democracy
- Media literacy fundamentals (Media Smarts)
- Media Literacy and Internet Governance: A Necessary Marriage, Exemplified by the Case of the Belgian State Versus Facebook (Vrije Universiteit Brussels)
- Media Literacy Toolkit (Global Investigative Journalism Network)
- NewsGuard
- Play the villain: Learn to fight disinformation with news literacy (EuroDIG 2019 – video | wiki)
- Survey on Privacy in Media and Information Literacy with Youth Perspectives (UNESCO)
- The Promises, Challenges, and Futures of Media Literacy (Data & Society)
Disinformation and Misinformation
Disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation are the more precise words for the widely overused and highly problematic term “fake news” – a description that has been co-opted by authoritarians, undermines journalism, and endangers journalists/media workers. Disinformation and misinformation relate to trust in media institutions, journalists, and reporting, and is hardly a new phenomenon. While both disinformation and misinformation both refer to inaccurate or misleading information, according to the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), the difference between them is the nature of the intent. Misinformation is considered as more of a reporting ‘mistake’ that may or may not be spread intentionally, while disinformation is always purposefully and maliciously disseminated. Myriad organisations and initiatives have been established to address disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation – otherwise known as propaganda – and multiple resources exist as well, including but not limited to:
- 5 lessons for reporting in the age of disinformation (First Draft News)
- 2019 Cybersecurity Threatscape Report (Accenture)
- A guide to anti-misinformation actions around the world (Poynter)
- A Multi-dimensional Approach to Disinformation: Report of the Independent High level Group on Fake News and Online Disinformation
- A Short Guide to the History of ‘Fake News’ and Disinformation: A New International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) Learning Module
- Balancing Act: Countering Digital Disinformation While Respecting Freedom of Expression – Broadband Commission research report on Freedom of Expression and Addressing Disinformation on the Internet (ITU/UNESO)
- Bridging the Gap: Rebuilding Citizen Trust in the Media (Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) & Open Society Foundations)
- Certified Content Coalition (CCC)
- Challenging Truth and Trust: A Global Inventory of Organized Social Media Manipulation (Oxford University)
- Digital News Report: Misinformation and Disinformation Unpacked (Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism)
- Digital Planet 2017: How Competitiveness and Trust in Digital Economies Vary Across the World (The Fletcher School at Tufts University)
- Disinformation and ‘fake news’: Final Report (House of Commons, Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee, UK Government)
- Disinformation dossier (ECPMF)
- EU Code of Practice on Disinformation
- Everything in Moderation: An Analysis of How Internet Platforms Are Using Artificial Intelligence to Moderate User-Generated Content (Open Technology Institute/New America)
- ‘Fake news’ has real effect (Boston Herald)
- “Fake news” in the digital era (GIP Digital Watch)
- “Fake News,” lies, and propaganda: How to sort fact from fiction (University of Michigan)
- “Fake News Influences Real News” – Study finds fact-checkers have little influence on online news media (Boston University)
- Fake news can lead to false memories (PsychologicalScience.org)
- Factitious fake news identification game (American University)
- Fight “Fake News” (UNESCO)
- Fighting “fake news:” Can technology stem the tide? (Infographic)
- Fighting Fake News and Misinformation (Critical Information)
- First Draft News (organisation)
- Getting it Right: Strategies for truth-telling in a time of misinformation and polarization (American Press Institute)
- Global Disinformation Index (GDI)
- How Google Fights Disinformation (Google)
- How Internet Platforms Are Combating Disinformation and Misinformation in the Age of COVID-19 (Open Technology Institute/New America)
- Infodemic Toolkit for Fighting Disinformation on COVID-19 (RNW Media/RNTC)
- Informing the “Disinformation” Debate (Access Now, Civil Liberties Union for Europe, and European Digital Rights)
- Issue Brief: The “Demand Side” of the Disinformation Crisis (National Endowment for Democracy – NED)
- Journalism, ‘Fake News,’ and Disinformation: A Handbook for Journalism Education and Training (UNESCO)
- Junk News Aggregator: A tool to track misinformation (Oxford University’s Computational Propaganda Project)
- Media Bias / Fact Check (link)
- Misinfo Nation: Misinformation, Democracy, and the Internet (Mozilla)
- Mozilla’s Ad archive API work
- Online Harms White Paper (UK Government)
- DCMS initial response
- Propaganda and Freedom of the Media (OSCE)
- Regulating disinformation with artificial intelligence (European Parliamentary Research Service)
- Reporters: Stop calling everything ‘fake news’ (Poynter)
- RESIST: Counter-disinformation Toolkit (UK Government)
- Safeguarding Digital Democracy: Digital Innovation and Democracy Initiative Roadmap (German Marshall Fund)
- Social Media Analysis Toolkit (SMAT) – Open-source tool for tracking disinformation (Mozilla)
- State-sponsored Trolling: How Governments are Deploying Disinformation as Part of Broader Digital Harassment Campaigns (Institute for the Future)
- Sub-Saharan Africa Disinformation Tracker (Global Partners Digital and partners)
- Tackling disinformation around the world: A new policy report (WAN-IFRA)
- The Biology of Disinformation: Memes, Media Viruses, and Cultural Inoculation (Institute for the Future)
- The Global Disinformation Order: 2019 Global Inventory of Organised Social Media Manipulation (University of Oxford)
- The Market of Disinformation (Oxford Internet Institute)
- The way forward to tackle disinformation: Regulatory proposals for the online information ecosystem (EU Disinfo Lab)
- Verification Handbook (Book)
- Verification Handbook For Disinformation And Media Manipulation (European Journalism Centre)
- Visual guide to fighting “fake news” (Infographic)
- Weapons of Mass Distraction: Foreign State-Sponsored Disinformation in the Digital Age (Park Advisors)
- What can you trust on the Internet? A reading list (Mozilla)
- Wisdom of the Crowd: Multistakeholder Perspectives on the “Fake News” Debate (Internet Policy Observatory)
- World Group on Infodemics: Policy Framework (Forum on Information and Democracy)
Recommended COVID-19 misinformation and disinformation resources:
- MediaDev Insider issue on COVID-19 misinformation and disinformation (GFMD)
- Resources for tackling COVID-19 misinformation and disinformation (GFMD resource list)
Data Protection, Jurisdiction, and Intermediary Liability
When a government submits a request to access data, such as for a criminal investigation, the task falls to the organization hosting the content to release it. Yet, what happens if information that is deemed important was written by an agency that is legally registered in, say, country A, hosts their website in county B, but published the story in country C? Legal jurisdiction across borders is already complicated, yet the global nature of the Internet only exacerbates its complexity. Furthermore, the promise of the Internet as a vibrant place for discussion and information sharing has been upheld thanks to the concept of intermediary liability. It refers to legal protections that enable Internet service providers (ISPs), digital media platforms, and others to support expression without being directly responsible for the material stored on or moving across their networks. Without them, services would be much less willing to accept user-generated content for fear of potential civil and/or criminal liability. With increasing requests to access data by governments, it is key that the journalism support and media development community understands the myriad legal frameworks as well as their rights when it comes to cooperating with law enforcement agencies – particularly with regards to issues surrounding press freedom, freedom of expression, and journalists’ safety.
Recommended resources:
- Big Data, Not Big Brother: New Data Protection Laws and the Implications for Independent Media Around the World (CIMA)
- Content and Jurisdiction: Operational approaches (Internet and Jurisdiction Policy Network)
- Country Legal Framework Resource (CLFR) (Global Network Initiative)
- CYRILLA – open database of digital rights law from around the world
- Data and Jurisdiction: Operational approaches (Internet and Jurisdiction Policy Network)
- Domains and Jurisdiction: Operational approaches (Internet and Jurisdiction Policy Network)
- Empirical evidence of “over-removal” by Internet companies under intermediary liability laws (Daphne Keller, CIS at Stanford Law)
- Glossary of Platform Law and Policy Terms (DCPR)
- IGF Dynamic Coalition on Platform Responsibility (DCPR)
- Intermediary Liability (Center for Democracy and Technology)
- Intermediary Liability and Content Regulation (Global Network Initiative)
- Intermediary liability in Africa (Association of Progressive Communications)
- Internet and Jurisdiction Global Status Report 2019 (Internet and Jurisdiction Policy Network)
- Jurisdictional Assertions and Limits (Global Network Initiative)
- Manilla Principles on Intermediary Liability (link)
- Platform value(s): A multidimensional framework for online responsibility (DCPR)
- Policy Brief For Public and Private Decision-Makers Helps Determine the Geographic Scope of Content Restrictions (Internet and Jurisdiction Policy Network)
- Recommendations on Terms of Service and Human Rights (DCPR)
- Santa Clara Principles on Transparency and Accountability in Content Moderation (link)
- Terms of Service; Didn’t Read (ToSDR)
- Who Has Your Back? Government Data Requests 2017 (Electronic Frontier Foundation)
- World Intermediary Liability Map (Stanford Law School)
GDPR
The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a law on data protection and privacy that applies to all individuals within the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA), including both citizens and residents. It aims to simplify the regulatory environment for international business by unifying the regulation within the EU. Passed in 2016, GDPR went into effect on 25 May 2018, and brought with it a host of new measures that empower citizens and residents with control over their personal data, and it also addresses the export of personal data outside the EU. GDPR has set a standard internationally for the kinds of protections and rights it enables for citizens, and mandates that private sector companies and other entities operating within the EU provide data protection services, even if their headquarters are outside of the EU (referred to as extraterritorial applicability). If an organization or company fails to comply with GDPR rules, they can be fined up to 4% of annual global turnover or €20 Million (whichever is greater).
GDPR codifies certain policies and privacy standards into law, such as but not limited to:
- The need for clear consent and easily accessible terms and conditions.
- Notification of privacy breaches or when data has been compromised.
- The right of consumers (data subjects) to access and download their personal data, free of charge.
- The right to data erasure (also known as the right to be forgotten).
- Data portability, which is the right for a consumer to freely transfer their data from one service to another without penalty.
- The right to privacy by design, which refers to creating and designing services handling personal data that incorporate privacy principles and provide safeguards to protect data.
Additional resources:
- Two Years Under the EU GDPR: An Implementation Progress Report (Access Now)
Internet Shutdowns and Network Disruptions
Network disruptions refer to any action taken to limit the ability of a user to access part of the Internet. For example, this can include blocking social media websites during an election, restrictions on over-the-top (OTT) providers like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, blocking content on grounds that it will disturb public order, or even simply the slowing of Internet speeds. More specifically, Internet shutdowns occur when a government or an Internet service provider (ISP) mandates that access to the Internet be completely blocked, often to stymie political dissent and opposition, or to quell social unrest. Access Now recorded more than 116 Internet shutdowns across at least 30 countries from the period between January 2016 and September 2017, and the number of Internet shutdowns continues to increase, often citing dubious reasons. Whether it involves blocking access at a technical level or by even physically cutting the cables that deliver the Internet, Internet shutdowns stifle free expression, cut off access to information, and costs at least US$2.4 billion in lost gross domestic product (GDP) globally. For more information, see:
- #KeepItOn campaign (AccessNow)
- Country Legal Frameworks Resource (GNI)
- Dialling in the Law: A comparative assessment of jurisprudence on Internet shutdowns (APC / Cyrilla)
- Internet Shutdowns (APC)
- Internet Shutdowns: An Internet Society Public Policy Briefing (ISOC)
- Internet shutdowns: The “new normal” in government repression? (openDemocracy)
- Internet shutdowns cost countries $2.4 billion last year (Brookings)
- Internet Society Perspectives on Internet Content Blocking: An Overview (ISOC)
- Navitating Litigation during Internet Shutdowns in Southern Africa (MISA Zimbabwe / Southern Africa Litigation Centre)
- Netblocks: Mapping Internet freedom (observatory)
- Network disruptions (Global Network Initiative)
- Of Blackouts and Bandhs: The Strategy and Structure of Disconnected Protest in India (Jan Rydzak)
- The Rise of Internet Throttling: A Hidden Threat to Media Development (CIMA)
Media Sustainability and Digital Markets
The sustainability and economic viability of journalism and news media is one of – if not the – most critical issues currently facing the sector. Yet, global debates raging in legislatures and policy circles often overlook or minimise their attention to the news, journalism, and information ecosystems, and the implications of digital platforms’ market power on access and the availability of quality news content online. This includes the wider impact that the digital economy and platforms have on society. Any serious effort to address the myriad problems plaguing digital platforms must also address the challenges faced by news media. In other words, content-related issues must also be seen within the wider context of market-related challenges, while clearly distinguishing content regulation from market regulation vis-a-vis platforms. In order to foster a pluralistic media ecosystem that detects disinformation and produces high-quality, fact-based news, media sustainability must be considered a significant priority.
As more of our lives and subsequent outcomes of our decision-making are transformed into data, the uninhibited and opaque collection, use, and trade of personal data by several companies has created virtual (data) monopolies and bottlenecks to efficient and freely functioning digital marketplaces. Moreover, barriers to entry for new, innovative services are constantly rising, while the space for public services, including public service journalism, is rapidly shrinking. Multibillion-dollar technology companies compete directly with media companies for the attention, loyalty, and engagement of users, as well as for the wallets of every advertising company that used to help support the business model of journalism. Therefore, discussions about media sustainability in the digital age must address market-related issues, the role of major platforms, and myriad other issues related to business models, advertising, and funding high-quality journalism.
GFMD is addressing this within the Dynamic Coalition on the Sustainability of Journalism and News Media (DC-sustainability), a GFMD-led, multi-stakeholder initiative within the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), our Internet Governance Working Group, as well as through our advocacy efforts (e.g., our issue paper, and our blog post titled, “Digital platforms, regulation, and media sustainability: A lesson for Europe from Down Under”).
A non-exhaustive list of relevant resources such as conference proceedings, session recordings, and reports are listed below.
Articles and statements
- 5 Business Models for Local News to Watch in 2020 (GIJN)
- 5 CEOs of wealthy foundations pledge to do more to help charities pay overhead (Maria Di Mento – philanthropy.com)
- A digital declaration: On big data as surveillance capitalism (Shoshana Zuboff – Frankfurter Allgemeine)
- A long, slow slog, with no one coming to the rescue (Rasmus Kleis Nielsen – Nieman Lab)
- Advertising is the Internet’s original sin (The Atlantic)
- American journalism is dying. Its survival requires public funds (Victor Pickard – The Guardian)
- Australia is making Google and Facebook pay for news: what difference will the code make? (Amanda Meade – The Guardian)
- Australia’s new tech code is a road worth exploring (Anya Schiffrin Stiglitz – Financial Times)
- “Big tech is watching you. Who’s watching big tech?” The Markup is finally ready for liftoff (Sarah Scire – NiemanLab)
- Can Independent Journalism Thrive under Paywalls? (Prateek Sibal – Economic and Political Weekly)
- Common understanding of G7 competition authorities on “Competition and the Digital Economy” (G7 – July 2019)
- Competition rules could protect human rights on social media platforms (Maria Luisa Stasi – OpenGlobalRights)
- Digital platforms, regulation, and media sustainability: A lesson for Europe from Down Under (GFMD)
- Disinformation sites generate over $200 million: study (DW Akademie)
- Facebook just dealt another potentially lethal blow to local journalism (CNN Business)
- Foundation grants have strings attached, and nonprofit journalists sometimes don’t like being told what to do by them (Laura Hazard Owen and Joshua Benton – NiemanLab)
- Global journalism is fighting for international development funding but shouldn’t need to. Especially now. (Rieneke Van Santen – Medium)
- How can competition law help to secure freedom of expression on social media? (ARTICLE 19)
- How Google is hurting local news (Sean Fischer, Kokil Jaidka, and Yphtach Lelkes – Washington Post)
- How May Google Fight an Antitrust Case? Look at This Little-Noticed Paper (NY Times)
- How to ask for money (Splice Media)
- How to evaluate commercial revenue as a sustainability strategy for investigative media organisations (GIJN)
- Internet economics is a thing, and we need to take note (Geoff Huston – RIPE Labs)
- It’s not that we’ve failed to rein in Facebook and Google. We’ve not even tried (Shoshana Zuboff – The Guardian)
- It’s time to reboot the startup economy (Tim Wu – OneZero)
- Media Viability: 6 strategies for success (MDIF / DW Akademie)
- News media needs to convince readers to open their wallets. Consolidation has not helped (Elizabeth Hansen and Elizabeth Anne Watkins – Columbia Journalism Review)
- Public infrastructure isn’t just bridges and water mains: Here’s an argument for extending the concept to digital spaces (Joshua Benton – NeimanLab)
- Public investments for global news (Victor Pickard – Centre for International Governance Innovation)
- Restoring competition in ”winner-took-all” digital platform markets (UNCTAD)
- Targeted advertising is ruining the Internet and breaking the world (Nathalie Maréchal – Motherboard)
- The media’s post-advertising future is also its past (The Atlantic)
- The trilemma of big tech: We can have democracy, market dominance, and business models that optimise for anger and junk — but only two at a time (International Politics and Society)
- The Truth Is Paywalled But The Lies Are Free (Current Affairs)
- The world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data (The Economist)
- Threats to media sustainability and freedom of expression in the digital era (Michael J. Oghia & Mira Milosevic – GFMD)
- UNCTAD: ARTICLE 19 joins the 18th Intergovernmental Group of Experts’ meeting (ARTICLE 19)
- Universal Advertising Transparency by Default joint statement (EPD and partners)
- We can’t fight fake news without saving local journalism (Emily Bell – The Guardian)
- ‘We can’t reach the women who need us’: the LGBT YouTubers suing the tech giant for discrimination (Jenny Kleeman – The Guardian)
- We need to fix the news media, not just social media (Public Knowledge – Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3)
- We will finally confront systemic market failure (Victor Pickard – NiemanLab)
- Why am I not seeing this ad? (Jan Pieter Balkenende – EU Observer)
- Why Facebook Can’t Fix Itself (Andrew Marantz – The New Yorker)
- Why local journalism needs a funding pipeline (Yvonne Leow – Reynolds Journalism Institute)
- Year in review: Everything I wrote about media business and revenue models in 2019 (Damian Radcliffe – Medium)
Books
- How to Destroy Surveillance Capitalism (Cory Doctorow)
- Lawless: The Secret Rules That Govern our Digital Lives (Nicolas P. Suzor)
- New Media Unions: Organizing Digital Journalists (Nicole S. Cohen and Greig de Peuter)
- The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power (Shoshana Zuboff)
- The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age (Tim Wu)
Conferences, events, and session recordings
- Big Tech and the Future of Journalism: Reinventing news and information in the age of Google and Facebook (RightsCon Tunis 2019)
- Can media companies use community-based funding models while maintaining journalistic independence? (DW Akademie and Taz Panter Foundation – June 2019)
- Fending off the trolls: Journalists in defence of democracy (EuroDIG 2019 – video | wiki)
- Shaping competition policy in the era of digitisation (European Commission – January 2019 | video)
DC-Sustainability reports
- 2020 Annual Report: Dynamic Coalition on the Sustainability of Journalism and News Media
General resources, initiatives, and links
- A model ethical funding policy (DFF/CLUE/ECPMF) – .pdf | .doc
- Dynamic Coalition on Platform Responsibility (DCPR)
- Facebook Ad Library (link)
- GIJN’s sustainability resources (GIJN Helpdesk)
- Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM)
- News Sustainability & Business Models (Shorenstein Center)
- ProMarket – The blog of the Stigler Center at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- Save Journalism Project (link)
- United for News (link)
Indexes, guides, tools, and courses
- Corporate Accountability Index (Ranking Digital Rights)
- Digital Economy Enabling Environment Guide: Key Areas of Dialogue for Business and Policymakers (CIPE)
- Gather: An Engaged Journalism Collaborative (Knight Foundation)
- Global Disinformation Index (GDI)
- Journalism Now online interactive courses (Thomson Foundation)
- Knowledge Bridge – digital audience development (MDIF)
- Media Sustainability Barometer (Innovation Research Group with GFMD – full report)
- Media Sustainability Index (IREX)
- Media Viability Indicators (DW Akademie)
- Membership Puzzle Project (Studio 20/De Correspondent)
- Poynter’s News University (link)
- SembraMedia Virtual School (link)
- Transparency Report Tracking Tool (Open Technology Institute)
- World Economic Forum Strategic Intelligence (resource center)
Infographics
- Ad tech landscape (LUMA)
- How tech giants make their billions (Visual Capitalist)
- Who owns your favorite news media outlet? (Visual Capitalist)
Interviews, speeches, videos, and talks
- Competition and the digital economy (Margrethe Vestager – European Commission)
- Digiday’s path of profitable growth: Brian Morrissey interview (Reuters)
- Four Ways Journalism Can Make Money with MDIF Deputy CEO Mohamed Nanabhay (GIJN)
- Should Big Tech Be Regulated? (Intelligence Squared US debate)
- Video series examining best practices for making investigative journalism sustainable (GIJN)
- We’re building a dystopia just to make people click on ads (Zeynep Tufekci)
Legislation, litigation, and regulation
- ACCC Digital Platforms Inquiry: Final Report (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission)
- Cairncross Review: A sustainable future for journalism (UK Government)
- The UK Government’s official response
- Canada’s Communications Failure: Time to Act – final report (Government of Canada)
- Competition policy for the digital era: Final report (European Commission)
- Digital Competition Expert Panel (UK Government)
- EU Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act (European Commission)
- European Democracy Action Plan (European Commission)
- Lawsuit against Facebook (2020 – U.S. Federal Trade Commission)
- Lawsuit filed against Google related to its ad business (2020 – multiple U.S. state attorneys general)
- Media and Audiovisual Action Plan (European Commission)
- Media Councils in the Digital Age: An inquiry into the practices of media self-regulatory bodies in the media landscape of today (DG-CNECT)
- The Economic Value of Data: Discussion paper (UK Government)
- Unlocking digital competition, Report of the Digital Competition Expert Panel (UK Government)
Research and reports
- 2019 Internet Society Global Internet Report: Consolidation in the Internet Economy (ISOC)
- A Human-Centric Digital Manifesto for Europe: How the Digital Transformation Can Serve the Public Interest (OSF)
- A Landscape Study of Emerging Local News Models Across America (Shorenstein Center)
- A Playbook for Launching a Local, Nonprofit News Outlet (Shorenstein Center)
- America’s Free Press and Monopoly: The Historical Role of Competition Policy in Protecting Independent Journalism in America (Open Markets Institute)
- Are social media companies motivated to be good corporate citizens? Examination of the connection between corporate social responsibility and social media safety (Telecommunications Policy)
- Best Practices on Platforms’ Implementation of the Right to an Effective Remedy (DCPR)
- Beyond Fixing Facebook: How the multibillion-dollar business behind online advertising could reinvent public media, revitalize journalism, and strengthen democracy (Free Press)
- Breaking up Big Tech: Separation of its Data, Cloud and Intelligence Layers (IT for Change)
- Business Models for Local News: A Field Scan (Shorenstein Center)
- Challenges of Competition and Regulation in the Telecom Sector (Economic and Political Weekly)
- Committee for the Study of Digital Platforms: Market Structure and Antitrust Subcommittee (University of Chicago)
- Competition issues in the digital economy (UNCTD – May 2019)
- Computer Law & Security Review special issue on platform responsibility (DCPR/Elsevier)
- Confronting the Crisis in Independent Media: A Role for International Assistance (CIMA)
- Data as a Contested Economic Resource: Framing the Issues (SSRN)
- Defending Independent Media: A Comprehensive Analysis of Aid Flows (CIMA)
- Digital Deceit: The Technologies Behind Precision Propaganda on the Internet (Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy)
- Digital Deceit II: A Policy Agenda to Fight Disinformation on the Internet (Shorenstein Center
on Media, Politics, and Public Policy) - Digital diplomacy: Technology governance for developing countries (Pathways for Prosperity Commission – summary | PDF)
- Digital Economy Report 2019 – Value Creation and Capture: Implications for Developing Countries (UNCTAD)
- Digital journalism & new business models: An overview of the business models and financing of news media and digital newsroom structures (EJF)
- Digital Trade Rules: A disastrous new constitution for the global economy written by and for Big Tech (Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung)
- Essential Platforms (Stanford Technology Law Review)
- Facebook Friends? The Impact of Facebook’s News Feed Algorithm Changes on Nonprofit Publishers (Shorenstein Center)
- Fighting for Survival: Media Startups in the Global South (CIMA)
- Firming Up Democracy’s Soft Underbelly: Authoritarian Influence and Media Vulnerability (NED)
- Framing Brief on Content Moderation Challenges in time of COVID-19 (Internet and Jurisdiction Policy Network)
- Freedom and Accountability A Transatlantic Framework for Moderating Speech Online (Annenberg Public Policy Center, UPenn)
- From start to success: A handbook for digital media entrepreneurs (DW Akademie)
- Funding Journalism, Finding Innovation: Success Stories and Ideas for Creative, Sustainable Partnerships (Shorenstein Center)
- Funding Public Media: An insight into contemporary funding models (Public Media Alliance)
- Funding the News: Foundations and Nonprofit Media (Shorenstein Center)
- Getting to the Source of Infodemics: It’s the Business Model (Ranking Digital Rights)
- Global Expression Report 2018/19: Monday and the Media (ARTICLE 19)
- Global Media Philanthropy: What Funders Need to Know About Data, Trends, and Pressing Issues Facing the Field (Media Impact Funders)
- Google Benefits from News Content (News Media Alliance)
- Google, the media patron: How the digital giant woos journalism (Otto Brenner Foundation)
- English write-up (European Journalism Observatory)
- Guide to audience revenue and engagement (Tow Center)
- Holding Platforms Accountable: Online Speech in the Age of Algorithms (Open Technology Institute/New America)
- How Big Is the Reporting Gap? To save journalism, we must understand what we’ve lost — and what’s worth saving (Free Press)
- How Google Abuses Its Position as a Market Dominant Platform – To Strong-arm News Publishers and Hurt Journalism (News Media Alliance)
- How to fund investigative Journalism (DW Akademie)
- Inflection Point: Impact, Threats, and Sustainability – A study of Latin American digital media entrepreneurs (SembraMedia – PDFs: EN, ES, PT)
- Inside the chaos of brand safety technology (Branded)
- Is Social Media a Threat to Democracy? (Omidyar Group)
- It’s Not Just the Content, It’s the Business Model: Democracy’s Online Speech Challenge (Ranking Digital Rights)
- La convergencia de medios, telecomunicaciones e Internet en la perspectiva de la competencia: Hacia un enfoque multicomprensivo (UNESCO Montevideo)
- Media Development Indicators (UNESCO)
- Money, money, money: Taxing tech may be key to the survival of journalism (Ethical Journalism Network)
- More than money: Rethinking media viability in the digital age (DW Akademie)
- New North-South Issues in the Digital Economy (CETRI)
- Pay Models for Online News in the US and Europe: 2019 Update (Reuters Institute)
- Platforms and Publishers: The End of an Era (Columbia Journalism Review / Tow Center)
- Platform regulations: How platforms are regulated and how they regulate us (DCPR)
- Recipient Perceptions of Media Development Assistance: A GFMD Study (Statement | Study)
- Regulating the new information intermediaries as gatekeepers of information diversity (University of Amsterdam)
- Reinventing Local TV News: Innovative Storytelling Practices to Engage New Audiences (Shorenstein Center)
- Restoring Competition in “Winner-Took-All” Digital Platform Markets (UNCTAD)
- Setting Rules for 2.7 Billion. A (First) Look into Facebook’s Norm-Making System: Results of a Pilot Study (Hans-Bredow-Institut)
- Small is Beautiful – New Business Models for Digital Media: A Case Study (Shorenstein Center)
- Social media gatekeeping: An analysis of the gatekeeping influence of newspapers’ public Facebook pages (New Media and Society)
- Special Delivery: How Internet Platforms Use Artificial Intelligence to Target and Deliver Ads (Open Technology Institute/New America)
- Spotlight: Rethinking digital ads (Mozilla’s Internet Health Report 2019)
- Stigler Committee on Digital Platforms: Final Report (Full report | Summary)
- Streaming War Won: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the News – Searching for a way for streaming to save the news (and for the news to save streaming) (Shorenstein Center)
- Strengthening Consumer Protection and Competition in the Digital Economy (UNCTAD)
- Supporting Media at a Time of Crisis: Donors Explore New Strategies (CIMA)
- Surveillance Giants: How the Business Model of Google and Facebook Threatens Human Rights (Amnesty International)
- Taxes: tech giants’ head start over traditional media (WAN-IFRA)
- The Black Market for Social Media Manipulation (NATO StratCom COE)
- The Economic Costs of Keyword Blacklists for Online Publishers (University of Baltimore/Cheq)
- See Cheq’s research library for more information on digital market research
- The Impact of Digital Platforms on News and Journalistic Content (Centre for Media Transition)
- The Market of Disinformation (Oxford Internet Institute)
- The Publisher’s Guide to eCommerce (WNiP)
- The Rise of Content Cartels: Urging transparency and accountability in industry-wide content removal decisions (Knight First Amendment Institute)
- The Separation of Platforms and Commerce (Columbia Law Review)
- The state of technology in global newsrooms 2019 (ICFJ)
- The Valorization of Surveillance: Towards a Political Economy of Facebook (Union for Democratic Communications)
- Tracking media development donor support: An update on 2016 funding levels (CIMA)
- Transparency Reporting Index (Access Now)
- Investigation of Competition in Digital Markets Final Report (U.S. House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee)
- Using Data Science Tools for Email Audience Analysis: A Research Guide (Shorenstein Center)
- VTDigger: A Rising Star in Nonprofit News (Shorenstein Center)
- Weaponizing the Digital Influence Machine: The Political Perils of Online Ad Tech (Data & Society)
- What Can Be Done? Digital Media Policy Options for Strengthening European Democracy (Reuters Institute)
- When content moderation hurts (Mozilla)
- Who Has Your Back? Censorship Edition 2019 (EFF)
- Why Google Dominates Advertising Markets (Stanford Technology Law Review)
Right to be Forgotten
The so-called “Right to be Forgotten” (RTBF) is a highly nuanced legal principle that, within the European context, enables an individual to request personally identifiable information be scrubbed from content to render it less accessible (known as “erasure”), and/or have the content removed from a search engine index (known as “delisting”). Other forms include fully removing content from the Internet. While the concept emerged out of a European legal tradition that favors the privacy of non-public individuals, in practice it has led to the censorship of information relevant to the public interest. It has endangered press freedom by leading to the removal of news articles, and it has hindered media development by erasing content from the digital public record. For more information, see the following resources related to RTBF, archives, and more:
- Access Now Position Paper: Understanding the “Right to be Forgotten” Globally
- Background: The Right to be Forgotten in National and Regional Contexts (IFLA)
- EU Data Protection Law: A “Right to be Forgotten?” (UK House of Lords)
- Europe’s top court backs Germany: Murderers have no right to be forgotten (European Centre for Press & Media Freedom – ECPMF)
- How the “Right to be Forgotten” Challenges Journalistic Principles (PDF)
- IFLA Statement on the Right to be Forgotten
- Information Not Found: The “Right to be Forgotten” as an Emerging Threat to Media Freedom in the Digital Age (CIMA)
- Media Online Archives: A Source for Historical Research or a Threat to Privacy? (Helsińska Fundacja Praw Człowieka)
- Mission creep: The expanding scope of the “right to be forgotten” (CIMA)
- The Internet has become the external hard drive for our memories (Scientific American)
- The “Right to be Forgotten” and Search Engine Liability (Brussels Privacy Hub)
- The “Right to Be Forgotten” – Negotiating Public and Private Ordering in the European Union
- The “Right to be Forgotten” – Remembering Freedom of Expression (ARTICLE 19)
Legal resources:
- Communiqué by Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE) Representative on Freedom of the Media on ruling of the European Union Court of Justice - Google Spain SL and Google Inc. v Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD) and Mario Costeja González (2014)
- Internet: Case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)
- P8_TA-PROV(2018)0204 – Media Pluralism and Media Freedom in the European Union (European Parliament)
- Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)2 of the Committee of Ministers to Member States on the Roles and Responsibilities of Internet Intermediaries (Council of Europe)
- RTBF & GDPR
UN Special Rapporteur Reports
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression as well as other UN Special Rapporteurs produce frequent reports for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) about issues related to media, digital rights, and security. These include but are not limited to:
- Disease pandemics and the freedom of opinion and expression (A/HRC/44/49 – 2020) – English
- Promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression (as it relates to artificial intelligence) (A/73/348 – 2018) – available in all official UN languages
- Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression (A/HRC/38/35 – 2018) – available in all official UN languages
- Report of the Special Rapporteur to the Human Rights Council on freedom of expression and the private sector in the digital age (A/HRC/32/38 – 2016) – available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish
- Report of the Special Rapporteur to the Human Rights Council on the use of encryption and anonymity to exercise the rights to freedom of opinion and expression in the digital age (A/HRC/29/32 – 2015) – available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish
Additional resources related to the special rapporteur’s work includes:
CONFERENCES AND FORA
Internet Freedom Festival
Internet Freedom Festival (IFF) is an annual event held in Valencia, Spain, that gathers more than 1,400 activists, journalists, technologists, and human rights defenders from over 130 countries for a week of hands-on, multidisciplinary collaboration, sharing, and learning to promote freedom of expression, protection from digital threats, and expanded access to online spaces.
- Apply for an IFF fellowship
Internet Governance Forum
The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is a multi-stakeholder dialogue platform held under the auspices of the United Nations. Established in 2006, it facilitates conversations and collaboration between stakeholders regarding Internet policy and emerging trends related to the Internet and information and communications technologies (ICTs) on equal footing, but does not issue recommendations. Additional resources relevant to the IGF include:
- Join the IGF’s newcomers track
- List of Dynamic Coalitions (DCs), such as the Dynamic Coalition on the Sustainability of Journalism and News Media (DC-Sustainability), Internet Rights and Principles Coalition (IRPC), DC on Platform Responsibility, and the DC on Publicness. You can also subscribe to the DC mailing list.
- Participate in a Best Practice Forum (BPF)
- Participate remotely in any IGF event
- Check out the IGF Academy – it aims to foster freedom of expression on the Internet and inclusive and transparent national Internet governance and policy processes.
In addition to the annual IGF, there is also a network of various national, regional, and subregional IGF initiatives (NRIs) that are held throughout the year and feed into the annual global IGF, such as the European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG). More information the NRIs, such as list of countries and regions organising an IGF, is available here.
IPDC Talks
The IPDC Talks, a day of dialogue and exchange, is held each year by UNESCO on 28 of September to celebrate a day widely recognised as International Right to Know (RTK) Day, otherwise known as the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI). The main goal of the event is to highlight the importance of Access to Information and to address core issues around this access which are crucial for a sustainable development and future as well as good governance.
MisinfoCon
MisinfoCon is an annual conference hosted by Mozilla, generally as part of MozFest, focusing on building solutions to online trust, verification, fact checking, and reader experience in the interest of addressing disinformation and misinformation in all of its forms.
Mozilla Festival
Mozilla Festival (MozFest) is an annual autumn gathering of technologists, activists, journalists, and others who work on collaborative projects related to the open Internet.
RightsCon
The RightsCon Summit Series is a multi-stakeholder event that focuses on human rights in the digital age, which is hosted by Access Now, an international digital rights and advocacy organization.
UNESCO World Press Freedom Day
The UNESCO World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) is an event that occurs annually on May 3, which focuses on celebrating and evaluating press freedom (both online and offline) around the world.
WSIS Forum
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum is an annual event hosted each spring by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland, which is relevant to ICT for development (ICT4D). It facilitates the implementation of the WSIS Action Lines for advancing sustainable development.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Capacity Building Programmes
Many capacity building programmes and summer schools on Internet governance exist around the world. They include:
- Afghan School on Internet Governance (AfSIG)
- African School on Internet Governance (AfriSIG)
- Annenberg-Oxford Media Policy Summer Institute (AnOx)
- Armenian School on Internet Governance (ArmSIG)
- Arusha Women School of Internet Governance (AruWSIG)
- Asia Pacific School on Internet Governance (APSIG)
- Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) Summer School of Investigative Reporting
- Bangladesh School of Internet Governance (bdSIG)
- Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF) Summer School for Journalists and Media Practitioners
- European Summer School on Internet Governance (EuroSSIG)
- India School on Internet Governance (InSIG)
- Media and Digital Literacy Academy of Beirut (MDLAB)
- Middle East and Adjoining Countries School on Internet Governance (MEACSIG)
- Nepal School on Internet Governance (NpSIG)
- North American School of Internet Governance (NASIG)
- South School of Internet Governance (SSIG)
- West African School of Internet Governance (WASIG)
Miscellaneous Resources
- Advocacy Playbook: Strategies to Build Coalitions and Create Tactics, Advocacy Scenarios, and Resources (Open Internet for Democracy)
- Books, articles and blogs about journalism – for journalists (Reuters Institute)
- CircleID – A publishing platform covering various Internet developments, generally related to different aspects of Internet infrastructure and policy
- Compendium of Digital Government Initiatives in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic (UNDESA)
- European Digital Rights Initiative’s (EDRi) guide to How The Internet Works
- Explaining Internet Governance to Friends and Family: How to Improve Our Communication (report)
- GFMD guide: How to use your right of access to information (ATI)
- Global Internet Policy Observatory (GIPO)
- Handbook of Global Media and Communication Policy (International Association for Media and Communication Research – IAMCR)
- How to get involved in Internet governance (EuroDIG wiki)
- Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network (I&J)
- Internet Infrastructure and Human Rights: A Reading List (Stanford PACS)
- Principles of the Law Governing the Internet
- The Broadband Commission on Sustainable Development – a joint International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and UNESCO venture that publishes an annual report titled “The State of Broadband“
- World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Tunis Agenda for the Information Society
Multi-stakeholder Model
A foundational ethos of Internet policy-making is the the multi-stakeholder model. It is an open, inclusive, bottom-up mechanism where all interested individuals and groups can collaborate together based on transparency and accountability to discuss common issues and generate robust, holistic solutions based on dialogue and consensus. For more information, see:
- Exploring Multi-Stakeholder Internet Governance (EastWest Institute)
- Best Practice Forum on Strengthening Multistakeholder Participation Mechanisms (IGF 2015)
- Internet Governance – Why the Multistakeholder Approach Works (ISOC)
- Multistakeholderism in Action: Analysing Indian Engagement at Global Internet Governance Institutions (CCG Delhi)
- What if we all governed the Internet? Advancing multistakeholder participation in Internet governance (UNESCO)
- Who Runs the Internet? The Global Multi-stakeholder Model of Internet Governance (CIGI)
- ACTORS
-
GFMD MEMBERS
ARTICLE 19
The open flow of information has been key to the Internet’s transformative effect in modern society. In order to safeguard its benefits, the right to free expression must be defended when addressing issues of content and defining the technical management of the Internet’s architecture. That’s what ARTICLE 19 focuses on in this space. It is also one of the core members behind the Working Group on Internet Governance that was established at IGF 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland. Some of their resources we recommend includes:
- Global Expression Report 2018/19
- Governance with teeth: How human rights can strengthen FAT and ethics initiatives on artificial intelligence
- How can competition law help to secure freedom of expression on social media?
- Media Development in the Digital Age
- Open Development: Access to Information and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- Press Freedom Under Threat: International Mission to the United States
- Privacy and Freedom of Expression in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (with Privacy International)
- Public Interest, Private Infrastructure: Barriers and Drivers for Adopting Human Rights Standards in the Internet Infrastructure Industry
- Response to the Consultations on the White Paper on Online Harms
- UNCTAD: ARTICLE 19 joins the 18th Intergovernmental Group of Experts’ meeting
They have many more resources as well regarding the following:
Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA)
The Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) is spearheading multiple initiatives to address how journalists and media organisations can participate more meaningfully in Internet policy-related discussions. They also produce relevant guides, briefs, reports, and other resources that focus on or relate to Internet policies impacting the media, democratisation, and development sectors.It is also one of the core members behind the Working Group on Internet Governance that was established at IGF 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland. Two featured resources we recommend are:
- Getting Involved in Internet Governance: An Introductory Guide
- Media Development in the Digital Age: Five Ways to Engage in Internet Governance (in collaboration with ARTICLE 19)
- Also see the GFMD webinar about this resource
Other examples include:
- A New Wave of Censorship: Distributed Attacks on Expression and Press Freedom
- CIMA blog posts about the Internet and Internet governance
- Confronting the Crisis in Independent Media: A Role for International Assistance
- “Free Internet” and the Costs to Media Pluralism: The Hazards of Zero-Rating the News
- The Rise of Internet Throttling: A Hidden Threat to Media Development
- The Missing Stakeholder in Internet Governance – The Media
- The Politics of Media Development: The Importance of Engaging Government and Civil Society
- The Power of Airwaves: The Role of Spectrum Management in Media Development
Deutsche Welle Akademie (DW-A)
Deutsche Welle (DW) Akademie provides multiple Internet governance-related resources on their #MediaDev page. A featured resource we recommend is:
- Guidebook on Internet Governance: Media Freedom in a Connected World
Others include:
- Audience Research in Media Development: Overview, Case Studies, and Lessons Learned
- Dossier: Digital Rights, Privacy, & Security
- Internet governance: Why you should care
- Media Freedom Indices in the Media Development Context: How the Different Information Tools Can Be Used
- More than money: Rethinking media viability in the digital age
- #SpeakUp! Digital Inclusion Barometer
Free Press Unlimited (FPU)
Free Press Unlimited (FPU) has actively advocated for greater involvement of journalists and the media development community in Internet governance and policy discussions.
- Free Press Unlimited wants public dialogue on Internet governance
International Media Support (IMS)
International Media Support (IMS) is a Denmark-based NGO that has been significantly increased its involvement within the Internet governance ecosystem, such as within the IGF and ICANN. It is also one of the core members behind the Working Group on Internet Governance that was established at IGF 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland. Relevant resources include:
- IMS publications
- The battle for freedom of expression online: Where are the journalists?
IREX
IREX engages in a host of activities, some of which relate to education, media literacy, and Internet freedom. They also publish a Media Sustainability Index (MSI). Other relevant resources include:
- Impact Study in Ukraine: Winning the War on State-sponsored Propaganda (using news media literacy)
WAN-IFRA
The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) is an active stakeholder within the Internet governance ecosystem. They have highlighted multiple issues, from network neutrality to copyright, over time, especially as it relates to journalism in the digital age. Furthermore, they also amplify the voice of journalists and publishers within Internet governance processes. For more information, see this link and their list of reports and publications. Some of their resources relevant to Internet governance include:
- Blockchain and the Future of News
- Best Practices in Digital Media
- News literacy and news publishers: 7 ways forward to help young audiences fight fake news and do much, much more
- Right to be Forgotten – The European ruling and its extra-EU implementation
- Tackling disinformation around the world: A new policy report
OTHER ORGANISATIONS AND INITIATIVES
Access Now
Access Now is an international non-profit, human rights, public policy, and advocacy group dedicated to an open and free Internet. Access Now hosts the RightsCon Summit Series each year, and also initiated the #KeepItOn campaign against Internet shutdowns. They also produce reports and briefings, such as the following resource:
- 26 recommendations on content governance: A guide for lawmakers, regulators, and company policy makers
- Access Now Position Paper: Understanding the “Right to be Forgotten” Globally
- Human Rights in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
- Proposals for Regulating Internet Apps and Services: Understanding the Digital Rights Impact of the “over-the-top” (OTT) Debate
- Transparency Reporting Index
Association for Progressive Communications (APC)
The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) is an international network of organizations that was founded in 1990 to provide communication infrastructure, including Internet-based applications, to groups and individuals who work for peace, gender equality, human rights, protection of the environment, and sustainability. They have multiple publicationsand other resources relevant to journalists and media development organizations such as:
- Feminist Principles of the Internet
- Global Information Society Watch (GIS Watch)
Council of Europe (CoE)
The Council of Europe produces many relevant resources on Internet freedom, freedom of expression, algorithm transparency, and more. They also host specialised working groups, such as:
- MSI-JOQ – Committee of Experts on Quality Journalism in the Digital Age
- Draft recommendation on promoting a favourable environment for
quality journalism in the digital age - Draft study on media and information literacy in the digital
environment
- Draft recommendation on promoting a favourable environment for
- MSI-AUT – Committee of Experts on Human Rights Dimensions of Automated Data Processing and Different Forms of Artificial Intelligence
- MSI-JOQ – Committee of Experts on Quality Journalism in the Digital Age
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also advocates for Internet freedom.
- No press freedom without Internet freedom
DiploFoundation and GIP Digital Watch
DiploFoundation is a non-profit foundation established by the governments of Malta and Switzerland. Diplo works to increase the role of small and developing states, and to improve global governance and international policy development. One of its initiatives, the GIP Digital Watch observatory, is a comprehensive Internet governance and digital policy observatory that provides monthly updates about digital policy as well as tracks issues and policy developments. Some of their resources include:
- Contribute to the DiploFoundation blog
- DiploFoundation’s IG acronym glossary
- Monthly briefings
- Read the Introduction to Internet Governance (7th edition) e-book (for free)
- Sign up for one of their online courses, such as the Introduction to Internet Governance
- Stay updated with upcoming Internet policy events
- Subscribe to the newsletter
Freedom House
Freedom House has multiple resources relevant to Internet freedom, including:
GigaNET
The Global Internet Governance Academic Network (GigaNET) is an international association of academic researchers. Members include researchers from a wide range of disciplines and locations who are contributing to research, teaching, and engagement in local, regional, and international debates on Internet governance.
Global Network Initiative (GNI)
Launched in 2008, the Global Network Initiative (GNI) is a multi-stakeholder initiative that helps companies respect freedom of expression and privacy rights when faced with government pressure to hand over user data, remove content, or restrict communications. For more information, see the GNI Principles and their Country Legal Frameworks Resource (CLFR). GFMD became an official member of GNI in June 2019.
Additional resources include:
- Content Regulation and Human Rights: Analysis and Recommendations (briefing)
Global Partners Digital (GPD)
Global Partners Digital (GPD) is a social purpose company working to protect and promote human rights values online, and the governance processes that uphold and further these values. Their two main priorities are to grow the number of civil society groups engaging in the internet policy and governance arena, and to make governments, public authorities, international institutions, and businesses aware of the benefits of internet policies and governance processes that promote and protect human rights. Relevant resources include:
- A Rights-respecting Model of Online Content Regulation by Platforms
- Content regulation laws threaten our freedom of expression. We need a new approach
- Framework for Multistakeholder Cyber Policy Development
- GPD’s Organisational Development Framework
- GPD’s response to David Kaye’s report on platform content regulation
- GPD’s response to the UK’s Online Harms White Paper
- How to Engage in Cyber Policy video series
- Some thoughts on the updated UN Resolution on Human Rights and the Internet
- Travel Guide to the Digital World: Cybersecurity Policy for Human Rights Defenders
- World Map of Encryption
ICANN
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is the organisation responsible for operating the Domain Name System (DNS), which is essentially the equivalent of the Internet’s phone book – holding the registry of all Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and domain names. It is governed by an international, multi-stakeholder community. ICANN holds three meetings each year, rotating among the different regions. For more information, see the following resources:
- Apply for the ICANN Fellowship program if you’d like to be introduced to ICANN and want to take part in its work
- ICANNWiki – A non-profit organisation dedicated to providing a community-developed wiki on ICANN and Internet governance
- Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) list of stakeholder groups and constituencies
- GNSO document archive
- GNSO Projects List – a compilation of all active and/or open projects within the GNSO
- Join a group or constituency, such as the Non-Commercial Stakeholders’ Group (NCSG)
- Join a working group – e.g., the Middle East and Adjoining Countries Strategy Working Group (MEAC-SWG)
- Learn about how to write ICANN policy via the Noncommercial User’s Constituency’s (NCUC) Policy Writing Course
- Participate in meetings remotely
- Read the ICANN beginners guide
- Submit a public comment
- Visit ICANN Learn and take a free course
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a professional body that primarily works at the physical (infrastructure) layer of the Internet. It develops international standards for modern telecommunications and ICT hardware, such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and is a key area of engagement vis-à-vis strengthening Wi-Fi security standards.
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)
The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) has multiple Internet governance-related resources, including:
- Development and Access to Information
- IFLA and the Information Society
- What is Internet Governance?
International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the United Nations body responsible for global radio spectrum and satellite orbit management. Working primarily at both the physical (infrastructure) and logical (protocols, standards, and applications) layers, it also develops certain technical standards that ensure networks and technologies seamlessly interconnect. Additionally, it works to improve access to ICTs to underserved communities worldwide. Key resources include:
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is a key organization involved in the development of technical standards and protocols – the basic traffic rules of the Internet that define how information travels across the network, and who can connect to whom and to what content. Housed within the Internet Society, the work of IETF encompasses protocols that range from Internet Protocol (IP), the basic language that enables two devices to communicate, to applications like email.
Internet Governance Caucus
The Internet Governance Caucus (IGC) is a civil society network on Internet governance and Internet rights. It offers an open space where each group can present and advocate for the initiatives that they believe offer the best positive agenda for advancing broadly shared civil society interests in Internet governance. Participate by signing up for their mailing list.
Internet Governance Project
The Internet Governance Project (IGP) is a leading source of independent analysis of global Internet governance. It is comprised of a group of professors, postdoctoral researchers, and students hosted at the School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology. For more information, see the IGP guide to Internet governance.
Internet Society (ISOC)
The Internet Society (ISOC) is a non-profit organisation that was founded in 1992 to provide leadership in Internet-related standards, education, access, and policy. It features chapters all over the world, and ISOC members are involved in every aspect of Internet governance. Some of their resources include:
- Apply for an ambassadorship to the IGF (when the call opens each summer)
- Apply for a fellowship to attend one of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) meetings
- Become a global member (for free) and join a chapter
- Check out their publications, such as the 2017 Global Internet Report: Paths to Our Digital Future
- ISOC’s online course “Shaping the Internet: History and Futures”
- ISOC’s guide to the Internet ecosystem
- Join the ISOC Policy or other mailing lists
- Participate in an e-learning course as part of the Next Generation Leaders program (NGL)
- Young journalists and students: apply for ISOC’s Youth@IGF programme (ages 18-25)
Media and Development Forum (FoME)
The Media and Development Forum (Forum Medien und Entwicklung – FoME) is a network of German institutions and individuals active in the field of media development cooperation. In addition to hosting an annual Symposium, they also feature many relevant resources and publications. You can also join their mailing list.
Mozilla
Mozilla is a non-profit technology organisation that is also heavily invested in digital policy discussions and protecting human rights online. In addition to creating technology like code, apps, and the Firefox browser, Mozilla also engages in policy development, advocacy, and curates resources like the annual Internet Health Report and related toolkits.
openDemocracy
Human Rights & The Internet (HRI) is a special section of openDemocracy focusing on various technology-related rights issues.
Open Internet for Democracy
The Open Internet for Democracy project is a collaborative initiative by the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), the National Democratic Institute (NDI), and the Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA). It is endeavoring to build a network of open Internet advocates who champion the democratic values and principles that should guide the future development of the Internet.
- Apply to be an Open Internet Leader
- Democratic Principles for an Open Internet
Ranking Digital Rights (RDR)
Ranking Digital Rights (RDR) works to promote freedom of expression and privacy on the internet by creating global standards and incentives for companies to respect and protect users’ rights. They fulfill their mission primarily by publishing the RDR Corporate Accountability Index, which evaluates the world’s most powerful Internet, mobile, and telecommunications companies’ disclosed policies and practices affecting users’ freedom of expression and privacy.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Reporters Without Borders (RWB), or Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF), is based in Paris, France, and promotes and defends the freedom to be informed and to inform others throughout the world. They have multiple publications, and also produce the annual World Press Freedom Index. Other resources include:
- Digital Security for Journalists – A help desk featuring information on training, digital security guides, and FAQs/dangerous misconceptions
- International Declaration on Information and Democracy: principles for the global information and communication space
- Internet Governance – The Position of Reporters Without Borders
Reuters Institute
The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University publishes an annual Digital News Report, which tracks digital news consumption across countries, and provides timely data and analysis for industry, regulators, and academia.
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has multiple resources that pertain to Internet freedom, freedom of expression, and more. They include:
- Fostering Freedom Online: The Role of Internet Intermediaries
- Freedom of Connection, Freedom of Expression: The Changing Legal and Regulatory Ecology Shaping the Internet
- Internet Universality Indicators
- Media Development Indicators: A Framework for Assessing Media Development
- Steering AI and Advanced ICTs for Knowledge Societies: A Rights, Openness, Access, and Multi-stakeholder Perspective
- UNESCO Journalists’ Safety Indicators
- UNESCO Series on Internet Freedom
- World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development
Web Foundation
Established in 2009 by the inventor of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the World Wide Web Foundation seeks to advance the open web as a public good and a basic right. They offer multiple resources such as research, as well as initiatives and projects including:
- Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) – Working to make Internet access more affordable and inclusive. A key resource they public is the annual Affordability Report
- Contract for the Web
- Open Data Barometer – It measures the prevalence and impact of open data initiatives around the world
- Open Data Charter – Guides and supports governments as they implement shared open data principles, standards and best practices
- Open Data Labs – Employs a combination of research, incubation, training, and engagement to ensure that open data is used to address practical problems in developing and emerging economies
- Web Index – The first measure of the web’s contribution to social, economic, and political progress, studying 86 countries across the world
- Web We Want – a global coalition working to defend, claim, and change the future of the Web
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