COMMENT BLOG
A remark, a critique, an opinion…
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...
‘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...
Protest in the digital realm
Digital technology is a growing force in today’s world. Since advocacy groups during the Vietnam War became incensed by televised images of suffering and torture, information and communication technology has changed the way we interact with the world around us. But it...
PHOTO CREDIT: Paul Jeffrey/ACT Alliance