Internet Governance

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 a GFMD-led, multi-stakeholder initiative formally operating within the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) that 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.

  • 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.

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:

  • 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:

  • Cybersecurity 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. These include:

    • 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
    • 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:

  • 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:

  • 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:

  • 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:

  • 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.

  • 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)
    • 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)

  • 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)
    • “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)
    • How can competition law help to secure freedom of expression on social media? (ARTICLE 19)
    • 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 world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data (The Economist)
    • UNCTAD: ARTICLE 19 joins the 18th Intergovernmental Group of Experts’ meeting (ARTICLE 19)
    • 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)
    • Year in review: Everything I wrote about media business and revenue models in 2019 (Damian Radcliffe – Medium)

     

    Books

     

    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)

     

    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, and courses

     

    Infographics

     

    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)

     

    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)
    • ACCC Digital Platforms Inquiry: Final Report (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission)
      • The Preliminary Report is available here
    • 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)
    • Business Models for Local News: A Field Scan (Shorenstein Center)
    • Canada’s Communications Failure: Time to Act – final report (Government of Canada)
    • 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)
    • Competition policy for the digital era: Final report (European Commission)
    • 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 Competition Expert Panel (UK Government)
    • 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)
    • 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)
    • 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)
    • 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)
    • Guide to audience revenue and engagement (Tow Center)
    • Holding Platforms Accountable: Online Speech in the Age of Algorithms (Open Technology Institute/New America)
    • 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)
    • 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)
    • 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)
    • 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)
      • Committee for the Study of Digital Platforms: Media Subcommittee (Report)
    • 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)
    • 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 Cairncross Review: A sustainable future for journalism (UK Government)
    • The economic value of data: Discussion paper (UK Government)
    • 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)
    • Unlocking digital competition, Report of the Digital Competition Expert Panel (UK Government)
    • 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)
    • Who Has Your Back? Censorship Edition 2019 (EFF)

  • 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
      • GDPR recitals: Your essential partners to understand and apply the GDPR
      • Right to erasure (ICO)

  • UN Special Rapporteur Reports

    The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, 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:

    • 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:

    • A guide to the UN’s special procedures, including the work of the special rapporteurs (IFEX)
    • Communications reports of special procedures (OHCHR)

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.

  • 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 blog covering various Internet developments, generally related to different aspects of Internet infrastructure
    • 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)
    • How to get involved in Internet governance (EuroDIG wiki)
    • Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network (I&J)
    • 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:

  • 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.

  • 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:

  • 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:

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:

  • Best Bits

    Best Bits 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.

  • 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
    • MSI-AUT – Committee of Experts on Human Rights Dimensions of Automated Data Processing and Different Forms of Artificial Intelligence

  • Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)

    The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also advocates for 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:

  • 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.

  • 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

  • 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:

  • 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:

    • Radio spectrum management
    • Reports from the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development

  • 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 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:

  • 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:

  • 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:

  • 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
UPDATES
RESOURCES

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 a GFMD-led, multi-stakeholder initiative formally operating within the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) that 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.

  • 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.

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:

  • 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:

  • Cybersecurity 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. These include:

    • 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
    • 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:

  • 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:

  • 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:

  • 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:

  • 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.

  • 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)
    • 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)

  • 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)
    • “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)
    • How can competition law help to secure freedom of expression on social media? (ARTICLE 19)
    • 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 world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data (The Economist)
    • UNCTAD: ARTICLE 19 joins the 18th Intergovernmental Group of Experts’ meeting (ARTICLE 19)
    • 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)
    • Year in review: Everything I wrote about media business and revenue models in 2019 (Damian Radcliffe – Medium)

     

    Books

     

    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)

     

    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, and courses

     

    Infographics

     

    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)

     

    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)
    • ACCC Digital Platforms Inquiry: Final Report (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission)
      • The Preliminary Report is available here
    • 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)
    • Business Models for Local News: A Field Scan (Shorenstein Center)
    • Canada’s Communications Failure: Time to Act – final report (Government of Canada)
    • 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)
    • Competition policy for the digital era: Final report (European Commission)
    • 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 Competition Expert Panel (UK Government)
    • 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)
    • 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)
    • 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)
    • 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)
    • Guide to audience revenue and engagement (Tow Center)
    • Holding Platforms Accountable: Online Speech in the Age of Algorithms (Open Technology Institute/New America)
    • 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)
    • 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)
    • 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)
    • 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)
      • Committee for the Study of Digital Platforms: Media Subcommittee (Report)
    • 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)
    • 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 Cairncross Review: A sustainable future for journalism (UK Government)
    • The economic value of data: Discussion paper (UK Government)
    • 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)
    • Unlocking digital competition, Report of the Digital Competition Expert Panel (UK Government)
    • 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)
    • Who Has Your Back? Censorship Edition 2019 (EFF)

  • 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
      • GDPR recitals: Your essential partners to understand and apply the GDPR
      • Right to erasure (ICO)

  • UN Special Rapporteur Reports

    The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, 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:

    • 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:

    • A guide to the UN’s special procedures, including the work of the special rapporteurs (IFEX)
    • Communications reports of special procedures (OHCHR)

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.

  • 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 blog covering various Internet developments, generally related to different aspects of Internet infrastructure
    • 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)
    • How to get involved in Internet governance (EuroDIG wiki)
    • Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network (I&J)
    • 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:

  • 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.

  • 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:

  • 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:

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:

  • Best Bits

    Best Bits 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.

  • 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
    • MSI-AUT – Committee of Experts on Human Rights Dimensions of Automated Data Processing and Different Forms of Artificial Intelligence

  • Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)

    The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also advocates for 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:

  • 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.

  • 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

  • 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:

  • 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:

    • Radio spectrum management
    • Reports from the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development

  • 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 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:

  • 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:

  • 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:

  • 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