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2. Weaponizing Privacy and Copyright Law for Censorship
- Author:
- Courtney C. Radsch
- Publication Date:
- 05-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
- Abstract:
- Freedom of the press is facing growing restrictions from technology policies that censor the media under the guise of protecting privacy. US and European copyright and privacy laws transcend borders and affect how news media can operate globally. Fundamental journalistic practices such as the ability to claim fair use and conduct investigative reporting in the public interest are under threat. This paper examines the global impact of techno-legal regimes such as the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the EU Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (Copyright Directive), and the “right to be forgotten” and the EU General Data Protection Regulation. The misuse of regulations developed in the Global North is particularly detrimental to media outlets in the Global South, which regularly face censorship. This paper offers solutions to protect news media from the silencing efforts of powerful government and business actors.
- Topic:
- Intellectual Property/Copyright, Governance, Privacy, Internet, Journalism, Censorship, and Freedom of Press
- Political Geography:
- Europe and United States of America
3. Media and Democratic Backsliding – Lessons from the Turkish Case
- Author:
- Eylem Yanardağoğlu
- Publication Date:
- 06-2022
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP)
- Abstract:
- There has been a global trend towards democratic backsliding in various new and established democracies across the world since the 2010s. The Freedom House Freedom in the World report for 2022 noted that there have now been 15 consecutive years of decline in global freedom and that the long democratic recession is deepening. In Turkey, the AKP came to power in 2002 at a time marked by a relatively pro-European Union and pluralistic outlook in politics. The democratic backsliding in Turkey has been more obvious since 2007 and the start of the AKP’s second term in power. It deepened especially after the 2016 coup attempt and the transition to a presidential system in 2017. This democratic regression has also impacted on the media sector globally, especially through various coercive and non-coercive media capture strategies. Media concentration has been ongoing in many countries for many decades with a concomitant negative impact on media freedom, leading to a gradual decline in free and independent media. Current forms of media capture are considered more impactful than earlier methods, due to the rise of business structures that operate in tandem with state authorities to capture media outlets. In Turkey, and across those countries in which media capture is prevalent, the mainstream media is vanishing as a result of polarization; two distinct journalisms are emerging in their place, one of which is based on a propaganda model and erodes media and press freedom.
- Topic:
- Authoritarianism, Democracy, AKP, Polarization, Freedom of Press, and Democratic Backsliding
- Political Geography:
- Turkey and Middle East
4. How the EU Can Defend Media Freedom and Pluralism in Hungary and Poland
- Author:
- Anna Wójcik
- Publication Date:
- 11-2022
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMFUS)
- Abstract:
- In recent years, the European Union has suffered from the erosion of media freedom and pluralism, particularly in Hungary and Poland, where this has been part of a broader decline in democratic standards that has reversed gains made from the transitioning from communism. The main problems include the lack of independence of media regulators; public media being turned into propaganda outlets for the government, characterized by reporting bias and vilifying the opposition; private media capture; the state disproportionately funding government-supporting private media, including through state-controlled companies’ advertising; and creating obstacles for private media independent of government, including through revoking licenses and threatening new taxes. In Poland, the number of strategic lawsuits against public participation against certain media that criticize the government have also greatly increased. The EU has been in the prepared to tackle the issue of breaches of media freedom and pluralism chiefly through a combination of political instruments and new legislation, which may eventually embolden the EU institutions to take legal action. However, it is important to ensure any new legislative initiative will have added value. The EU already has avenues for legal actions to protect media freedom and pluralism in member states.
- Topic:
- European Union, Media, Freedom of Press, and Pluralism
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Poland, and Hungary
5. Starr Forum: Speaking Truth to a New Power: Perspectives on Free Press and Democracy in South Africa
- Publication Date:
- 09-2022
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- MIT Center for International Studies
- Abstract:
- What is the state of democracy and the free press in South Africa?
- Topic:
- Mass Media, Democracy, Media, and Freedom of Press
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
6. Libel Conviction in Peru: A ‘Dagger’ for InvestigativeJournalism
- Author:
- Carlos Lauría
- Publication Date:
- 01-2022
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
- Abstract:
- A recent defamation case against a Peruvian journalist and publisher has sparked concern about freedomof speech.
- Topic:
- Crime, Human Rights, Journalism, and Freedom of Press
- Political Geography:
- South America and Peru
7. Starr Forum: Autocracy’s Assault on Press Freedom
- Publication Date:
- 02-2022
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- MIT Center for International Studies
- Abstract:
- Experts discuss the threat to free media in Central and Eastern Europe and what it means for the West
- Topic:
- Media, Journalism, Freedom of Press, and Autocracy
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Eastern Europe, and Central Europe