COMMENT BLOG
A remark, a critique, an opinion…
Demanding accountability from democratic structures
It would be wonderful to begin 2020 with an upbeat account of communication rights being strengthened and protected around the world. There are undoubtedly many instances of positive and exciting changes taking place. Unfortunately, the overall picture is dispiriting....
Communicating with tenacity and courage
How wonderful that three women have been nominated for the prestigious Martin Ennals Award – the first time the jury has named three women for this top human rights prize. Unofficially known as the “Nobel Prize for human rights”, the Martin Ennals Award was created in...
Restoring the credibility of public service media
Public service journalism has a noble track record. But in the Zuckerberg Era – so-called by veteran journalist, economist, and political commentator Roberto Savio, co-founder of the Inter Press Service news agency – it has lost the high ground. In “What is journalism...
Social media – friend or foe?
Freedom House’s latest report on the state of the Internet says, “Repressive regimes, elected incumbents with authoritarian ambitions, and unscrupulous partisan operatives have exploited the unregulated spaces of social media platforms, converting them into...
Russian censorship by another name
In a digital era, Internet freedom is essential. Internet freedom includes digital rights, freedom of information, the right to Internet access, freedom from censorship, and net neutrality. In Russia, a new law enabling the government to disconnect users from the...
From global village to social isolation
How is “digital” transforming the way we live? Imagine the abode of the future – house, apartment, hotel room, log cabin, prison cell – equipped with a “plasma wall” incorporating all the telecommunications interfaces that enable social and cultural activity. Each...
Enabling more people to benefit from the Internet
Equitable access to the Internet is one of the claims of today’s communication rights. As the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) points out, not only is the Internet a pathway to information, communication, and economic opportunity, it is increasingly necessary...
Can we decontaminate our democratic “moral environment”?
In January 1990, the President of Czechoslovakia, Vaclav Havel, warned his people, “The worst thing is that we live in a contaminated moral environment. We fell morally ill because we became used to saying something different from what we thought.” He was referring to...
Media puppetry in Poland
Here is an example of why media independence is vital to people everywhere. In Poland, the ruling nationalist Law and Justice party (PiS) alleges the media are controlled by Germany and says foreign control should be stopped. The real aim is to bring the media into...
It takes a village to keep children safe both online and offline
Children now represent one third of all Internet users. This number is expected to increase once developing countries – where most of the world’s children live –become digitized. This is both exciting and worrisome. Exciting because it has been established that...
Measures to tackle disinformation and propaganda in Europe
Recently, the European parliament voted in favour of stronger EU measures aimed at countering “highly dangerous” Russian disinformation and at upgrading the EU’s anti-propaganda unit. The “European Parliament resolution on foreign electoral interference and...
Media reform is alive and kicking!
In September 2019, in a victory for the principles underlying media democracy, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit rebuked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by overturning the agency’s latest attempts to eliminate long-standing limits on...
PHOTO CREDIT: Paul Jeffrey/ACT Alliance