mediadev library

Filter

109

Sort by:

Direction:

Online Content Regulation in the Asia-Pacific: Limiting Civil Society’s Capacity to Hold Governments Accountable

Bangkog: Asia Centre (2024), v, 37 pp.

"Governments have updated penal codes and national security laws, enacted fake news and cybersecurity laws as well as laws that govern internet service providers and technology companies. These laws have widely been used to block and remove online content that call out blind spots in government poli ... cies and to intimidate and prosecute these content creators through hefty fines and jail time. Efforts to hold political office holders and government officials accountable for their policies are increasingly penalised. These government actions have significantly impacted civil society actors in numerous ways. First, individuals and organisations utilising the online sphere to hold government officials and policies accountable have come under intense scrutiny, resulting in the criminalisation of critics and the blocking and removal of online content deemed sensitive by state authorities. Second, the effectiveness of civil society in holding governments accountable is compromised, as state authorities routinely direct internet service providers and technology companies to block or remove online content considered sensitive or illegal. Consequently, individuals and organisations increasingly find their digital content at risk of being blocked or removed, succumbing to government directives to internet service providers and technology companies. This diminishes civil society’s calls for accountability. Third, on several instances, governments have imposed internet shutdowns - particularly during elections and politically sensitive periods - to disrupt the information flow. Ultimately, this has limited civil society’s ability to send and receive communications effectively to mobilise people to hold governments publicly accountable during politically important instances. Fourth, troll ng has surfaced as a mainstream strategy to harass and intimidate individuals and organisations who seek to hold governments accountable. Typically orchestrated by organised groups or cybertroopers, these digital attacks increasingly involve online hate speech directed at women who call out blindspots in government policies. Fifth, the ways of working of INGOs and CSOs have changed, leading many organisations to restrict the scope and assertiveness of their communications to shield themselves from government retribution and trolling. Some entities have opted to remove the visibility of their organisations, incorporating measures such as disallowing the use of their logos or the publishing of videos, photos and text by local partners in order to distance themselves from particular activities and contents of knowledge products. Given these developments, the principal recommendation is that key stakeholders, including international organisations, governments, ISPs and technology companies, and civil society actors, should recognise that criticism of government policies and officials is a legitimate activity and a vital form of expression for civil society. Hence, any measures, whether legal or non-legal, that interfere with or criminalise this legitimate activity should be rescinded or disallowed. Instead, measures should be put in place to ensure that civil society is empowered to call out the blind spots in government policies." (Executive summary) more

Download (0)

Data Governance in Zimbabwe: Opportunities and Challenges

Scott Timcke, Hanani Hlomani

Cape Town: Research ICT Africa (2023), 12 pp.

"Recent legislation on data linking national security and cybersecurity undermines the creation of a trustworthy data environment. Restrictions on information flows have immediate and medium-term costs to digital economic activity, which in turn have knock-on effects for the prospect of any subseque ... more

Download (0)

Social Media Platforms and Challenges for Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights

Beatriz Botero Arcila, Rachel Griffin

Brussels: European Parliament, Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs (2023), 151 pp.

"This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the LIBE Committee, examines risks that contemporary social media - focusing in particular on the most widely-used platforms - present for democracy, the rul ... more

Download (0)

Digital constitutionalism: The role of internet bills of rights

Edoardo Celeste

London; New York: Routledge (2023), xii, 242 pp.

"Investigating the impact of digital technology on contemporary constitutionalism, this book offers an overview of the transformations that are currently occurring at constitutional level, highlighting their link with ongoing societal changes. It reconstructs the multiple ways in which constitutiona ... more

Download (0)

Das digitale Briefgeheimnis: Herleitung des Rechts auf Verschlüsselung

Dennis-Kenji Kipker

Potsdam: Friedrich Naumann Stiftung (2023), 26 pp.

"1. Aus dem nationalen Verfassungsrecht ist ein Recht auf Verschlüsselung ableitbar. 2. Aus dem europäischen Verfassungsrecht ist ein Recht auf Verschlüsselung ableitbar. 3. Ein Recht auf Verschlüsselung ergibt sich zwar nicht als solches aus den nationalen und europäischen verfassungsrechtlich ... more

External Link (10)

Google Scholar (8)

WorldCat (7)

Digital Dissidence and Social Media Censorship in Africa

Farooq A. Kperogi (ed.)

London; New York: Routledge (2023), 292 pp.

"Drawing on cases from across the continent, contributors explore the form and nature of social media and government censorship, often via antisocial media laws, or less overt tactics such as state cybersurveillance, spyware attacks on social media activists, or the artful deployment of the rhetoric ... more

External Link (9)

Google Scholar (7)

WorldCat (8)

Censorship from Plato to Social Media: The Complexity of Social Media's Content Regulation and Moderation Practices

Gergely Gosztonyi

Cham: Springer (2023), xiv, 189 pp.

"In many countries, censorship, blocking of internet access and internet content for political purposes are still part of everyday life. Will filtering, blocking, and hacking replace scissors and black ink? This book argues that only a broader understanding of censorship can effectively protect free ... more

External Link (13)

Internet Freedoms in Malaysia: Regulating Online Discourse on Race, Religion, and Royalty

Bangkok: Asia Centre (2023), 49 pp.

Download (0)

Legal and Normative Frameworks for Combatting Online Violence Against Women Journalists

Angelique Lu, Julie Posetti, Nabeelah Shabbir

November 2022: UNESCO;International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) (2022), 35 pp.

"In this chapter, international, regional and State-level legal and normative frameworks for responding to online violence against women journalists are examined, while exemplar judgements are catalogued, and gaps in law enforcement are highlighted. Here, insights gleaned from 184 in-depth interview ... more

External Link (9)

Data Governance, Asian Alternatives: How India and Korea Are Creating New Models and Policies

Evan A. Feigenbaum, Michael R. Nelson (eds.)

Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (2022), 114 pp.

"This volume highlights some of the alternative models that have originated in two major Asian democracies, India and South Korea. It compares these two countries’ distinctive approaches through case studies that demonstrate just how much more complex the world will be than the common-place predic ... more

External Link (9)

Lois sur la cybercriminalité & négation de la liberté de presse en Afrique de l’Ouest: Burkina Faso, Mali & Niger (Sahel)

Hamadou Tidiane Sy (dir.)

École Supérieure de Journalisme, des Métiers de l’Internet et de la Communication (E-jicom);International Media Support (IMS) (2022), 57 pp.

"Pour faciliter le travail des journalistes, il importe de s’assurer que leur droit de rechercher, d’accéder à l’information, de produire et de publier du contenu d’intérêt public n’est pas restreint. Pour l’avenir de la démocratie et de la presse qui lui est congénitale, il est im ... more

Download (0)

The Utility and Viability of Digital Technologies in the Production and Distribution of Critical Content in East Africa

Nairobi: Hivos East Africa (2022), 52 pp.

"This research explored the utility and viability of digital technologies in the production and promotion of critical audio-visual content by creatives. More specifically, it sought to establish regional trends in the creative sector with regard to uptake of technology in the development of critical ... more

Download (0)

The Law of Global Digitality

Matthias C. Kettemann, Alexander Peukert, Indra Spiecker (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2022), xiii, 258 pp.

"The book compares six different areas of law that have been particularly exposed to global digitality, namely laws regulating consumer contracts, data protection, the media, fnancial markets, criminal activity and intellectual property law. Comparing how these very different areas of law have evolv ... more

Download (0)

Labelling Fake News: The Politics of Regulating Disinformation in Thailand

Janjira Sombatpoonsiri

Perspective , issue 34 (2022), 14 pp.

"In Thailand, determining what news is true or fake appears to be a political matter. The Thai authorities associate "fake news" with public harm and as a national threat, giving rise to stringent regulatory responses. Official hostility toward "fake news" is influenced by virulent political conflic ... more

Download (0)

A Human Rights Approach to Tackle Disinformation: Submission to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

Amnesty International (2022), 16 pp.

"Instead of criminalising or otherwise silencing people to address misinformation and disinformation, States should step up their efforts to ensure credible, reliable, objective, evidence-based and accessible information is disseminated to all." (Back cover)

Download (0)

Counter Digital Revolution, Disinformation, and Journalistic Constraints in Arab Media

Sahar Khamis, Khalid Al-Jaber

Journalism Research, volume 5, issue 3 (2022), pp. 234-252

"The spread of social media platforms ushered the beginning of an unprecedented communication era, which is borderless, immediate, widespread, and defies restrictions and censorship. Digital technology aided the spread of democracy and freedom of expression and helped to overthrow some Arab regimes ... more

External Link (8)

Google Scholar (7)

WorldCat (8)

Media Governance: A Cosmopolitan Critique

Sarah Anne Ganter, Hanan Badr (eds.)

Cham: Palgrave Macmillan (2022), xv, 318 pp.

"The book offers a critical map to navigate the field of media governance. A thread of cosmopolitan critique connects the fourteen chapters to enhance media governance literature beyond the West and regional foci. The first part addresses the epistemological and ontological flaws in the use and adap ... more

External Link (10)

Media Influence Matrix Mexico: Government, Politics and Regulation

Argelia Muñoz Larroa, Rodrigo Gómez, Juan Larrosa Fuentes

London; Montevideo: Media and Journalism Research Center (MJRC);Observacom (2022), 34 pp.

"Despite the positive impact of the constitutional reform of 2013 and other previous or related regulations, media policy in Mexico is still faced with numerous challenges. Many objectives of the 2013 reform, in fact, could not be achieved because of a series of secondary laws that have been adopted ... more

External Link (11)

Google Scholar (9)

WorldCat (7)

Regulating Big Tech: Policy Responses to Digital Dominance
Top Insights

Martin Moore, Damian Tambini (eds.)

New York: Oxford University Press (2022), xii, 368 pp.

"This book has compiled the tech policy debate into a toolkit for policy makers, legal experts, and academics seeking to address platform dominance and its impact on society today. It discusses the global consensus around technology regulation with recommendations of cutting-edge policy innovations ... more

Download (0)

La protección del espacio cívico en línea: Un repaso a las amenazas actuales a la libertad de expresión en internet

Asociación por los Derechos Civiles (ADC) (2021), 32 pp.

"La Asociación por los Derechos Civiles (ADC) tiene la misión de defender los derechos fundamentales mediante la contribución al diseño de políticas por parte del sector público y privado. Las respuestas de los gobiernos deben promover un espacio público amplio y robusto en internet. Este deb ... more

Regulating Big Tech: Policy Responses to Digital Dominance Top Insights

Regulating Big Tech: Policy Responses to Digital Dominance
Top Insights