Internet Governance

Officially launched in April 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, journalism support, and media development communities to engage with important Internet governance and digital policy matters.

For more information, see our overview and action plan.

To join, simply sign up to the mailing list or email us.

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

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.

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.

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:

• AlgorithmWatch
• Artificial Intelligence & Human Rights: Opportunities & Risks (Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society)
• Artificial​ ​Intelligence: Practice​ ​and Implications​ ​for Journalism (Tow Center for Journalism)
• Artificial Intelligence: The Promises and the Threats (UNESCO Courier)
• How Innovative Newsrooms Are Using Artificial Intelligence (Open Society Foundations / GIJN)
• Automating Society: Taking Stock of Automated Decision-Making in the EU (AlgorithmWatch)
• Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to advance Knowledge Societies and Good Governance (Internet Society, Mozilla, & UNESCO)
• Human Rights in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (Access Now)
• Governance with teeth: How human rights can strengthen FAT and ethics initiatives on artificial intelligence
• Mixed Messages? The Limits of Automated Social Media Content Analysis
• OECD Principles on AI
• Privacy and Freedom of Expression in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (ARTICLE 19 & Privacy International)
• Regulating social media content: Why AI alone cannot solve the problem (ARTICLE 19)
• Steering AI for Knowledge Societies: A ROAM Perspective (UNESCO)
• The Council of Europe’s expert committee on human rights dimensions of automated data processing and different forms of artificial intelligence (MSI-AUT)
• Unboxing Artificial Intelligence: 10 steps to protect Human Rights (Council of Europe)

Countering violent extremism (CVE) and hate speech are common topics in digital policy. Below are a list of relevant resources addressing it in policy and programming:

• Bookmarks: A Manual for Combating Hate Speech Online Through Human Rights Education (Council of Europe)
• Caught in the Net: The Impact of ‘Extremist’ Speech Regulations on Human Rights Content (EFF / Syrian Archive /Witness)
• Civil Society Positions on the Christchurch Call Pledge
• Countering Online Hate Speech (UNESCO)
• Countering Violent Extremism through Media and Communications Strategies (Partnership for Conflict, Crime and Security Research)
• European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) General Policy Recommendation No. 15 on Combating Hate Speech
• GFMD Statement on the Christchurch Call and Countering Violent Extremism Online
• Hacking Online Hate: Building an Evidence Base for Educators (SELMA)
• Hatebase
• Hate Speech: Key Concept Paper (Media, Conflict and Democratisation – MeCoDEM)
• Hate Speech Explained: A Toolkit (ARTICLE 19)
• Hate Speech in the Media and Internet: A Case Study of the Kyrgyz Republic
• Media Development and Countering Violent Extremism: An Uneasy Relationship, a Need for Dialogue (CIMA)
• No Hate Speech Movement (Council of Europe)
• Starting Points for Combating Hate Speech Online: Three Studies About Online Hate Speech and Ways to Address It
• Youth and Violent Extremism on Social Media (UNESCO)

In the digital age, journalism safety must also include cybersecurity measures. As a result, myriad organisations have produced toolkits and guides for journalists. These include:

• Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) – Journalists Safety Guide and Safety Kit. 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
• WAN-IFRA – Top cybersecurity tips and tools for journalists
• We Live Security – Cybersecurity for journalists and the news media

Additional resources include:

• Choosing the best VPN (Cloudflare)
• HTTPS Everywhere (EFF)
• LetsEncrypt.org
• Psiphon

The importance of digital skills and media literacy (also known as media information literacy – MIL) has already been recognised by many Internet governance and development stakeholders, particularly in relation to education, democracy, access to information, and countering disinformation and misinformation. Stakeholders from across the Internet governance ecosystem recognise the importance of user capabilities (such as digital media literacy skills) as a core competency for the advantageous development of the Internet and enabling meaningful access. Digital media literacy includes topics such as but not limited to:

• What it means to use digital media in a responsible way;
• Understanding news cycles;
• Analyzing the bias held by different media outlets;
• Evaluating conflicts of interest and funding behind content producers;
• Recognising misinformation or “deep fakes;” and
• The ability to identify and evaluate the credibility of information.

Additional references and resources include:

• Bad News game (Drog)
• Center for Media Literacy
• Did media literacy backfire?
• Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of Action – A white paper by Renee Hobbs (Knight Foundation)
• Education 3.0 and Internet Governance: A New Global Alliance for Children and Young People’s Sustainable Digital Development (Global Commission on Internet Governance – GCIG)
• Fact-checking and verification resources (GIJN)
• Factitious game (American University)
• Fake news: Is media literacy the answer? (ECPMF)
• Focus on media and information literacy (Better Internet for Kids)
• Freedom of Expression, Access to Information, and Empowerment of People (UNESCO)
• Global Media and Information Literacy Assessment Framework: Country Readiness and Competencies (UNESCO)
• Media and information literacy resources (UNESCO)
• Media Bias / Fact Check
• Media Education Lab
• Media Literacy: Empowering Youth Worldwide (CIMA)
• Media Literacy: Understanding the News (CIMA)
• Media Literacy as a Core Competency for Engaged Citizenship in Participatory Democracy
• Media literacy fundamentals (Media Smarts)
• Media Literacy and Internet Governance: A Necessary Marriage, Exemplified by the Case of the Belgian State Versus Facebook (Vrije Universiteit Brussels)
• Media Literacy Toolkit (Global Investigative Journalism Network)
• Play the villain: Learn to fight disinformation with news literacy (EuroDIG 2019 – video | wiki)
• Survey on Privacy in Media and Information Literacy with Youth Perspectives (UNESCO)
• The Promises, Challenges, and Futures of Media Literacy (Data & Society)

Disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation are the more precise words for the widely overused and highly problematic term “fake news” – a description that has been co-opted by authoritarians, undermines journalism, and endangers journalists/media workers. Disinformation and misinformation relate to trust in media institutions, journalists, and reporting, and is hardly a new phenomenon. While both disinformation and misinformation both refer to inaccurate or misleading information, according to the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), the difference between them is the nature of the intent. Misinformation is considered as more of a reporting ‘mistake’ that may or may not be spread intentionally, while disinformation is always purposefully and maliciously disseminated. Myriad organisations and initiatives have been established to address disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation – otherwise known as propaganda – and multiple resources exist as well, including but not limited to:

• 5 lessons for reporting in the age of disinformation (First Draft News)
• 2019 Cybersecurity Threatscape Report (Accenture)
• A guide to anti-misinformation actions around the world (Poynter)
• A Multi-dimensional Approach to Disinformation: Report of the Independent High level Group on Fake News and Online Disinformation
• A Short Guide to the History of ‘Fake News’ and Disinformation: A New International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) Learning Module
• Bridging the Gap: Rebuilding Citizen Trust in the Media (Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) & Open Society Foundations)
• Certified Content Coalition (CCC)
• Challenging Truth and Trust: A Global Inventory of Organized Social Media Manipulation (Oxford University)
• Digital News Report: Misinformation and Disinformation Unpacked (Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism)
• Digital Planet 2017: How Competitiveness and Trust in Digital Economies Vary Across the World (The Fletcher School at Tufts University)
• Disinformation and ‘fake news’: Final Report (House of Commons, Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee, UK Government)
• Disinformation dossier (ECPMF)
• EU Code of Practice on Disinformation
• ‘Fake news’ has real effect (Boston Herald)
• “Fake news” in the digital era (GIP Digital Watch)
• “Fake News,” lies, and propaganda: How to sort fact from fiction (University of Michigan)
• “Fake News Influences Real News” – Study finds fact-checkers have little influence on online news media (Boston University)
• Fake news can lead to false memories (PsychologicalScience.org)
• Factitious fake news identification game (American University)
• Fight “Fake News” (UNESCO)
• Fighting “fake news:” Can technology stem the tide? (Infographic)
• Fighting Fake News and Misinformation (Critical Information)
• Global Disinformation Index (GDI)
• How Google Fights Disinformation (Google)
• Informing the “Disinformation” Debate (Access Now, Civil Liberties Union for Europe, and European Digital Rights)
• Issue Brief: The “Demand Side” of the Disinformation Crisis (National Endowment for Democracy – NED)
• Journalism, ‘Fake News,’ and Disinformation: A Handbook for Journalism Education and Training (UNESCO)
• Junk News Aggregator: A tool to track misinformation (Oxford University’s Computational Propaganda Project)
• Media Bias / Fact Check (link)
• Misinfo Nation: Misinformation, Democracy, and the Internet (Mozilla)
• Mozilla’s Ad archive API work
• Online Harms White Paper (UK Government)
• Propaganda and Freedom of the Media (OSCE)
• Regulating disinformation with artificial intelligence (European Parliamentary Research Service)
• Reporters: Stop calling everything ‘fake news’ (Poynter)
• State-sponsored Trolling: How Governments are Deploying Disinformation as Part of Broader Digital Harassment Campaigns (Institute for the Future)
• Tackling disinformation around the world: A new policy report (WAN-IFRA)
• The Biology of Disinformation: Memes, Media Viruses, and Cultural Inoculation (Institute for the Future)
• The Global Disinformation Order: 2019 Global Inventory of Organised Social Media Manipulation (University of Oxford)
• Visual guide to fighting “fake news” (Infographic)
• Weapons of Mass Distraction: Foreign State-Sponsored Disinformation in the Digital Age (Park Advisors)
• What can you trust on the Internet? A reading list (Mozilla)
• Wisdom of the Crowd: Multistakeholder Perspectives on the “Fake News” Debate (Internet Policy Observatory)

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.

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)

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 issues, 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, statements, and infographics

• 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)
• 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)
• How can competition law help to secure freedom of expression on social media? (ARTICLE 19)
• 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)
• 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 need to fix the news media, not just social media – Part I (of III) (Public Knowledge)
• We will finally confront systemic market failure (Victor Pickard – Nieman Lab)

Books

• The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power (Shoshana Zuboff)

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)
• GIJN’s sustainability resources (GIJN Helpdesk)
• Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM)
• 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 and guides

• Corporate Accountability Index (Ranking Digital Rights)
• Digital Economy Enabling Environment Guide: Key Areas of Dialogue for Business and Policymakers (CIPE)
• Global Disinformation Index (GDI)
• Media Sustainability Barometer (Innovation Research Group with GFMD – full report)
• Media Sustainability Index (IREX)
• World Economic Forum Strategic Intelligence (resource center)

Infographics

• Ad tech landscape (LUMA)
• How tech giants make their billions (Visual Capitalist)
• Who owns your favorite news media outlet? (Visual Capitalist)

Interviews, speeches, and talks

• Competition and the digital economy (Margrethe Vestager – European Commission)
• Digiday’s path of profitable growth: Brian Morrissey interview (Reuters)
• 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)
• 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)
• Beyond Fixing Facebook: How the multibillion-dollar business behind online advertising could reinvent public media, revitalize journalism, and strengthen democracy (Free Press)
• Big Data, Not Big Brother: New Data Protection Laws and the Implications for Independent Media Around the World (CIMA)
• 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)
• Confronting the Crisis in Independent Media: A Role for International Assistance (CIMA)
• 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)
• Fighting for Survival: Media Startups in the Global South (CIMA)
• Funding Public Media: An insight into contemporary funding models (Public Media Alliance)
• 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)
• How to fund investigative Journalism (DW Akademie)
• Is Social Media a Threat to Democracy? (Omidyar Group)
• 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)
• Pay Models for Online News in the US and Europe: 2019 Update (Reuters Institute)
• Recipient Perceptions of Media Development Assistance: A GFMD Study (Statement | Study)
• 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)
• Taxes: tech giants’ head start over traditional media (WAN-IFRA)
• The Cairncross Review: A sustainable future for journalism (UK Government)
• The economic value of data: Discussion paper (UK Government)
• The Separation of Platforms and Commerce (Columbia Law Review)
• Tracking media development donor support: An update on 2016 funding levels (CIMA)
• Unlocking digital competition, Report of the Digital Competition Expert Panel (UK Government)
• Weaponizing the Digital Influence Machine: The Political Perils of Online Ad Tech (Data & Society)

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)

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)

Internet Freedom Festival (IFF) is an annual event held in Valencia, Spain, that gathers more than 1,400 activists, journalists, technologists, and human rights defenders from over 130 countries for a week of hands-on, multidisciplinary collaboration, sharing, and learning to promote freedom of expression, protection from digital threats, and expanded access to online spaces.

• Apply for an IFF fellowship

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.

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 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 (MozFest) is an annual autumn gathering of technologists, activists, journalists, and others who work on collaborative projects related to the open Internet.

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.

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.

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.

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
• Balkan School of Internet Governance (BSIG)
• 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)

• 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
• Country Legal Framework Resource (CLFR) (Global Network Initiative)
• 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)
• 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

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)

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. A featured resource we recommend is:

• Media Development in the Digital Age

Some of their other resources include:

• 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?
• 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:

• Access to Information
• Digital Rights
• Media Freedom
• Privacy & Surveillance

The Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) is spearheading multiple initiatives to address how journalists and media organisations can participate more meaningfully in Internet policy-related discussions. They also produce relevant guides, briefs, reports, and other resources that focus on or relate to Internet policies impacting the media, democratisation, and development sectors.It is also one of the core members behind the Working Group on Internet Governance that was established at IGF 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland. Two featured resources we recommend are:

• Getting Involved in Internet Governance: An Introductory Guide
• Media Development in the Digital Age: Five Ways to Engage in Internet Governance (in collaboration with ARTICLE 19)
  • Also see the GFMD webinar about this resource

Other examples include:

• A New Wave of Censorship: Distributed Attacks on Expression and Press Freedom
• CIMA blog posts about the Internet and Internet governance
• Confronting the Crisis in Independent Media: A Role for International Assistance
• The Missing Stakeholder in Internet Governance – The Media
• The Politics of Media Development: The Importance of Engaging Government and Civil Society
• The Power of Airwaves: The Role of Spectrum Management in Media Development

Deutsche Welle (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) has actively advocated for greater involvement of journalists and the media development community in Internet governance and policy discussions.

• Free Press Unlimited wants public dialogue on Internet governance

International Media Support (IMS) 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 engages in a host of activities, some of which relate to education, media literacy, and Internet freedom. They also publish a Media Sustainability Index (MSI). Other relevant resources include:

• Impact Study in Ukraine: Winning the War on State-sponsored Propaganda (using news media literacy)

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) is an active stakeholder within the Internet governance ecosystem. They have highlighted multiple issues, from network neutrality to copyright, over time, especially as it relates to journalism in the digital age. Furthermore, they also amplify the voice of journalists and publishers within Internet governance processes. For more information, see this link and their list of reports and publications. Some of their resources relevant to Internet governance include:

• Blockchain and the Future of News
• Best Practices in Digital Media
• News literacy and news publishers: 7 ways forward to help young audiences fight fake news and do much, much more
• Right to be Forgotten – The European ruling and its extra-EU implementation
• Tackling disinformation around the world: A new policy report

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:

• Access Now Position Paper: Understanding the “Right to be Forgotten” Globally
• Human Rights in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (Access Now)
• Proposals for Regulating Internet Apps and Services: Understanding the Digital Rights Impact of the “over-the-top” (OTT) Debate

The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) is an international network of organizations that was founded in 1990 to provide communication infrastructure, including Internet-based applications, to groups and individuals who work for peace, gender equality, human rights, protection of the environment, and sustainability. They have multiple publicationsand other resources relevant to journalists and media development organizations such as:

• Feminist Principles of the Internet
• Global Information Society Watch (GIS Watch)

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.

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

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also advocates for Internet freedom.

• No press freedom without Internet freedom

DiploFoundation is a non-profit foundation established by the governments of Malta and Switzerland. Diplo works to increase the role of small and developing states, and to improve global governance and international policy development. One of its initiatives, the GIP Digital Watch observatory, is a comprehensive Internet governance and digital policy observatory that provides monthly updates about digital policy as well as tracks issues and policy developments. Some of their resources include:

• Contribute to the DiploFoundation blog
• DiploFoundation’s IG acronym glossary
• Monthly briefings
• Read the Introduction to Internet Governance (7th edition) e-book (for free)
• Sign up for one of their online courses, such as the Introduction to Internet Governance
• Stay updated with upcoming Internet policy events
• Subscribe to the newsletter

The Forum for Media & Development (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.

Freedom House has multiple resources relevant to Internet freedom, including:

• Freedom in the World
• Freedom on the Net
• Internet Freedom Election Monitor

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.

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) 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

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
(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

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.

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) has multiple Internet governance-related resources, including:

• Development and Access to Information
• IFLA and the Information Society
• What is Internet Governance?

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

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.

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.

The Internet Society (ISOC) is a non-profit organisation that was founded in 1992 to provide leadership in Internet-related standards, education, access, and policy. It features chapters all over the world, and ISOC members are involved in every aspect of Internet governance. Some of their resources include:

• Apply for an ambassadorship to the IGF (when the call opens each summer)
• Apply for a fellowship to attend one of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) meetings
• Become a global member (for free) and join a chapter
• Check out their publications, such as the 2017 Global Internet Report: Paths to Our Digital Future
• ISOC’s online course “Shaping the Internet: History and Futures”
• ISOC’s guide to the Internet ecosystem
• Join the ISOC Policy or other mailing lists
• Participate in an e-learning course as part of the Next Generation Leaders program (NGL)
• Young journalists and students: apply for ISOC’s Youth@IGF programme (ages 18-25)

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.

Human Rights & The Internet (HRI) is a special section of openDemocracy focusing on various technology-related rights issues.

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) 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 (RWB), or Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF), is based in Paris, France, and promotes and defends the freedom to be informed and to inform others throughout the world. They have multiple publications, and also produce the annual World Press Freedom Index. Other resources include:

• Digital Security for Journalists – A help desk featuring information on training, digital security guides, and FAQs/dangerous misconceptions
• International Declaration on Information and Democracy: principles for the global information and communication space
• Internet Governance – The Position of Reporters Without Borders

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.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has multiple resources that pertain to Internet freedom, freedom of expression, and more. They include:

• Fostering Freedom Online: The Role of Internet Intermediaries
• Freedom of Connection, Freedom of Expression: The Changing Legal and Regulatory Ecology Shaping the Internet
• Internet Universality Indicators
• Media Development Indicators: A Framework for Assessing Media Development
• UNESCO Journalists’ Safety Indicators
• UNESCO Series on Internet Freedom
• World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development

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
• 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