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Case Study on ICT and Human Rights (Policies of EU)

Rikke Frank Jørgensen, Anja Møller Pedersen, Wolfgang Benedek, Reinmar Nindler

European Commission (2017), x, 95 pp.

"The first part of the study focuses on the EU’s internal policies in the field of online content regulation. Drawing on case-studies of three EU directives – Directive 2000/31/EC on e-commerce, Directive 2011/93/EU on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child porn ... ography and Directive 2004/48/EC on intellectual property rights enforcement – the study seeks to illustrate how dealing with alleged illegal content through blocking, filtering and take-down of content within co- and self-regulatory frameworks shaped around ‘Internet intermediaries’ challenge freedom of expression and information. The directives presuppose, accept or encourage self-regulation and, combined with schemes of limited liability, subject the intermediaries to an increasing pressure to implement public policy in the online domain. However, these practices and their limitations to freedom of expression are rarely framed as human rights issues, nor do they have the required safeguards. Based on analysis of the EU directives, the study explores the weaknesses – seen from a human rights perspective – of the European approach towards tackling illegal content on the Internet. The study provides a number of suggestions to ensure that the EU addresses the human rights implications of co- and self-regulation, including the strengthening of safeguards and guidance for Member States and intermediaries to implement the said EU policy. Also, the study calls for a comprehensive EU freedom of expression and information framework, covering both its internal and external policy. In line with this, the EU should consider the freedom of expression and information implications of current and new policies when reviewing them according to the Digital Single Market Strategy. The second part addresses the external policies of the EU with a focus on the protection and support of Human Rights Defenders using digital means (‘Digital Defenders’). For this purpose, EU policies and instruments of relevance for Digital Defenders are analysed, including the implementation of the Internet Freedom Strategy and the No Disconnect Strategy. The programmes under the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights are reviewed with respect to their relevance for human rights activities online, taking into account the recent EU Guidelines on Freedom of Expression Online and Offline. This part of the study also explores the related issues of the safety of journalists (which are often citizen journalists), export control of surveillance technology by the EU Member States and the cooperation with other international organisations active in the field of online rights. Proposals are offered on how to improve the general environment for Digital Defenders and their right to freedom of expression and information, and how to improve the coherence of EU action in this field. The newly created Human Rights Defenders Mechanism can play a pivotal role in this regard, as could updated EU Guidelines on human rights defenders." (Executive summary) more

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The Red Lines Stay Red: Morocco's Reforms of its Speech Laws

New York: Human Rights Watch (2017), 44 pp.

"Morocco’s 2015 Press Code eliminates prison as a punishment for speech offenses. This, on its face, represents progress for freedom of expression in a country where journalists and ordinary citizens have been locked up for “insulting” the king, questioning Morocco’s claim over Western Sahar ... more

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The Value of Freedom of Expression and Information on Countries' Human Rights Performance: A Cross-National Longitudinal Study
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Aimei Yang, Rong Wang

Mass Communication & Society, volume 19, issue 3 (2016), pp. 352-376

"The current study explores the influence of communication variables on human rights protection. The effects of international and domestic mass communication and digital media were assessed among global social, economic, and political factors. The statistical analyses on a sample of 101 nation state ... more

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Media Law Handbook for Eastern Africa, Vol. 1
Key Guidance

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Justine Limpitlaw

Johannesburg: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) (2016), xxviii, 293 pp.

"Volume 1 of the Media Law Handbook for Eastern Africa is a practical guide for journalists practicing in Burundi, Eritrea and Ethiopia. The handbook not only contains a comprehensive overview of applicable media laws for each country reviewed, it also contains suggestions on possible law reforms to ... more

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Hate Speech and Democratic Citizenship

Eric Heinze

Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press (2016), xiii, 248 pp.

"Contrary to dominant views within international law and institutions, it is never democratically legitimate to punish citizens solely for repulsive or dangerous viewpoints expressed within public discourse. With the controversial exception of the US, however, most states prohibit some forms of raci ... more

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Writing on the Wall: Disappeared Booksellers and Free Expression in Hong Kong

Hong Kong: PEN AMERICA (2016), 71 pp.

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Liria e shprehjes dhe fyerja

Tarlach McGonagle et al.

Strasbourg: Council of Europe (2016), 72 pp.

"Ky studim shqyrton hollësitë e jurisprudencës së Gjykatës Evropiane të të Drejtave të Njeriut për fyerjen. Ai eksploron një gamë çështjesh materiale dhe procedurore që ka marrë në shqyrtim gjykata dhe sqaron konceptin e fyerjes duke e parë në raport me lirinë e shprehjes dhe deba ... more

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A Shadow Over Democracy: 2016 IPI/AMI Zambia Press Freedom Mission Report

Steven M. Ellis

Vienna; Nairobi: International Press Institute (IPI);African Media Initiative (AMI) (2016), 23 pp.

"Voters need and deserve to hear a full range of voices as they decide their future and 'The Post' has played a vital role in providing an alternative to government-dominated mass media in Zambia. Unshackling that voice is critical if Zambians are to vote in an atmosphere that can be deemed free and ... more

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Desecrating Expression: An Account of Freedom of Expression and Religion in Asia

Gayatri Khandhadai

Bytes for All;Asian Forum for Human Rights & Development;Global Partners Digital (2016), 80 pp.

"This report outlines the international human rights standards and processes related the protection of freedom of expression and religious belief, and discusses regional trends and challenges. The nine country case studies include the stories of many people across the region struggling to defend fre ... more

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Blurring the Lines: Market-Driven and Democracy-Driven Freedom of Expression

Maria Edström, Andrew T. Kenyon, Eva-Maria Svensson (eds.)

Göteborg: Nordicom (2016), 206 pp.

"Blurring the Lines: Market-Driven and Democracy-Driven Freedom of Expression focuses on challenges from the market to free speech and how free speech can be protected, promoted and developed when lines between journalism and advertising are blurred. With contributions from 20 scholars in law, media ... more

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Privacy, Free Expression and Transparency: Redefining Their New Boundaries in the Digital Age

Joseph A. Cannataci, Bo Zhao, Gemma Torras Vives, Shara Monteleone, Jeanne Mifsud Bonnici, Evgeni Moyakine

Paris: UNESCO (2016), 139 pp.

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Freedom of Expression and Defamation

Tarlach McGonagle

Onur Andreotti (ed.)

Strasbourg: Council of Europe (2016), 77 pp.

"This study examines the voluminous case law of the European Court of Human Rights (“The Court”) relating to freedom of expression and defamation. It starts by clarifying the concept of defamation and positioning it in relation to freedom of expression and public debate. It explains how defamati ... more

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Media Law Handbook for Eastern Africa, Vol. 2
Key Guidance

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Justine Limpitlaw

Johannesburg: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) (2016), xxiv, pp. 295-627

"Volume 2 of the Media Law Handbook for Eastern Africa is a practical guide for journalists practising in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. The handbook not only contains a comprehensive overview of applicable media laws for each country reviewed, it also contains suggestions on possible law reforms to impr ... more

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Free Speech and Censorship Around the Globe
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Péter Molnár (ed.)

Budapest; New York: Central European University Press (2015), x, 552 pp.

"This is a book about free speech narratives. Stories about how imagination and rational thinking in wildly different cultures capture, imagine, and conceptualize what freedom of speech means. 1989 and 2011 are only two recent (in historic perspective) turning points when freedom of speech and freed ... more

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Global Support for Principle of Free Expression, But Opposition to Some Forms of Speech

Richard Wike, Katie Simmons

Pew Research Center (2015), 58 pp.

"Although many observers have documented a global decline in democratic rights in recent years, people around the world nonetheless embrace fundamental democratic values, including free expression. A new Pew Research Center survey finds that majorities in nearly all 38 nations polled say it is at le ... more

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Free Expression, Globalism, and the New Strategic Communication

Monroe E. Price

New York: Cambridge University Press (2015), ix, 275 pp.

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African Publics Back Rights, Responsibilities of Media Watchdogs

Thomas Bentley, Kangwook Han, Mina Okuru

Afrobarometer (2015), 11 pp.

"Six in 10 respondents (62%) access news media daily. Radio remains the leading source of news but is declining in importance as television and the Internet build their audiences. A solid majority (57%) of Africans demand press freedom, endorsing the media’s right to publish what it wants without ... more

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The United Nations and Freedom of Expression and Information: Critical Perspectives
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Tarlach McGonagle, Yvonne Donders (eds.)

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (2015), xxiv, 508 pp.

"There are a multitude of UN legal instruments which pertain to the rights of freedom of expression and information, and this book is the first to comprehensively map them and their function. It details the chequered history of both rights within the UN system and evaluates the suitability of the sy ... more

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Keystones to Foster Inclusive Knowledge Societies: Access to Information and Knowledge, Freedom of Expression, Privacy, and Ethics on a Global Internet

Paris: UNESCO (2015), 107 pp.

"UNESCO’s vision of universal Knowledge Societies builds on a free, open and trusted Internet that enables people to not only have the ability to access information resources from around the world, but to also contribute information and knowledge to local and global communities. What can UNESCO do ... more

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2015 Corporate Accountability Index

Ranking Digital Rights (2015), 77 pp.

"Ranking Digital Rights’ inaugural Corporate Accountability Index evaluates 16 of the world’s most powerful Internet and telecommunications companies on their commitments, policies, and practices that affect users’ freedom of expression and privacy. By opening the door for greater corporate tr ... more

The Value of Freedom of Expression and Information on Countries' Human Rights Performance: A Cross-National Longitudinal Study Top Insights

Media Law Handbook for Eastern Africa, Vol. 1 Key Guidance Top Insights

Media Law Handbook for Eastern Africa, Vol. 2 Key Guidance Top Insights

Free Speech and Censorship Around the Globe Top Insights

The United Nations and Freedom of Expression and Information: Critical Perspectives Top Insights

The Value of Freedom of Expression and Information on Countries' Human Rights Performance: A Cross-National Longitudinal Study
Top Insights

Media Law Handbook for Eastern Africa, Vol. 1
Key Guidance

Top Insights

Media Law Handbook for Eastern Africa, Vol. 2
Key Guidance

Top Insights

Free Speech and Censorship Around the Globe
Top Insights

The United Nations and Freedom of Expression and Information: Critical Perspectives
Top Insights