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111. Ethnic Origin and Disability Data Collection in Europe: Measuring Inequality—Combating Discrimination

Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
The report Ethnic Origin and Disability Data Collection in Europe: Measuring Inequality—Combating Discrimination is published within the framework of the Equality Data Initiative, a project launched by the Open Society Foundations in collaboration with the Migration Policy Group and the European Network Against Racism to increase awareness within the European Union for the need to collect reliable data for groups at risk of discrimination. The report challenges the commonly held view in Europe that the collection of disability and ethnic data is categorically prohibited. It voices the necessity to involve the affected communities in the process of defining best practices and to respect binding core principles of data collection such as self-identification of the data subject and consent-based, voluntary, and anonymized data collection. The focus of the research is on Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Romania, and Sweden in the field of public education and on France in the field of public employment. Most of these EU member states collect data about their citizens in one or other way. However—as the report suggests—their methods lead to results that are either inaccurate or unreliable. The report makes recommendations for action at both the national and EU levels in order to achieve effective change in the field of equality data and to use data to promote equal treatment. Advocacy and strategic litigation are needed to steer national debates away from taboos, and question unlawful, harmful, or simply unsuitable data collection practices, and to call for the inclusion of disability and ethnic minority communities in the process. The European Commission and other EU institutions can provide guidance in this process by issuing recommendations and guidelines on equality data collection.
Topic:
Migration, Science and Technology, European Union, Citizenship, Discrimination, Disability, Data, Digital Policy, and Migrant Workers
Political Geography:
Europe

112. Shutting the Backdoor: The Perils of National Security and Digital Surveillance Programs

Author:
Ronald J. Deibert
Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI)
Abstract:
As governments have sought to monitor digital communications for security purposes, the “backdoor” paradigm has become the predominant approach. Strictly speaking, backdoors refer to special methods of bypassing normal authentication procedures to secretly access computing systems. But here the concept is used in a broader sense to describe a range of policies and practices whereby governments compel, or otherwise get the cooperation of, private sector companies to provide access to data they control. The backdoor paradigm is not only a concern for political reasons, particularly for civil liberties, it is also bad for digital security and foreign policy. Law enforcement and intelligence agencies should instead seek to work within the information-rich world of Big Data that surrounds us with any access to private communications made exceptional and strictly controlled by lawful procedures and oversight mechanisms.
Topic:
Intelligence, National Security, Cybersecurity, Surveillance, and Digital Policy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

113. Mapping Digital Media: German Public Service Broadcasting and Online Activity

Author:
Johannes Weberling
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
Few countries support public service broadcasting more enthusiastically than Germany, where the public service broadcasters (PSBs) are seen as more informal, modern, and entertaining than before, without having lost their reputation for quality. The combined budgets of all the PSBs far exceed the combined advertising revenue of private broadcasters. Yet the PSBs face a demographic threat. Around half of their viewers are over 65 years old, while only 5 percent are under 30. If the PSBs are to safeguard their future, they must attract younger audiences. This means developing services online. At the same time, following private-sector complaints, the European Commission decided the license fee was distorting competition. The PSBs responded with a public value test to assess new services. Debate in this context has centered on two crucial questions: whether or not internet portals and online products fall within the remit of public service broadcasting, and whether PSBs should be allowed to compete for advertising with private media. In this paper, Johannes Weberling explains the German search for an equitable balance between public and private media interests online, in the light of European Union concerns over state aid.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Communications, Media, Public Sector, and Digital Policy
Political Geography:
Europe and Germany

114. Mapping Digital Media: Online Media and Defamation

Author:
Toby Mendel
Publication Date:
04-2011
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
The internet is fantastically enabling for the news media, creating previously unimagined possibilities in terms of distribution, audience interaction, and archiving. But it also presents new threats, such as in the area of defamation law, already a significant problem for many media outlets. This paper assesses these problems against international guarantees of freedom of expression and comparative national practice, through both law and self-regulation, highlighting solutions that are more protective of free expression, as well as those that are not. It also probes new ideas such as greater reliance on the right of reply—which the internet enables—and the notion that some spaces on the Internet should be protected against any defamation liability.
Topic:
Communications, Law, Regulation, Media, News Analysis, and Digital Policy
Political Geography:
Global Focus