"The handbook is an advocacy tool that details laws and regulations that enable and impact freedom of expression, media freedom, work of human rights defenders and activists in Zambia." (Publisher description)
"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
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ts that have been played out in off- and online spaces. Since the 2006 coup, various laws to punish those sharing false information and bureaucratic agencies to surveil social media content, have been created. Built on existing legal-bureaucratic tools, the latest anti-fake news regulations will potentially streamline national responses to "fake news" by establishing anti-fake news agencies in every ministry and across 76 governor offices. Such legal-bureaucratic instruments are subject to political misuse through biased identification of false and true information, and discriminatory lawsuits. These are exemplified by the Anti-Fake News Centre whose fact-check system is skewed toward official interpretation of political events, therewith at times dismissing criticisms of the government as false news. In addition, the record of charges against purveyors of "fake news" reveals that opposition politicians and civil society critics are primary targets of the regulatory measures. In contrast, regime-backed cyber troopers who weaponise disinformation against government critics have rarely met the same legal consequences. Political misuse of regulatory measures not only reinforce censorship and autocratic propensities, but also sow public mistrust in official mechanisms to curb disinformation. This sentiment potentially undermines fact-check systems at large, making the public even more vulnerable to disinformation campaigns which genuinely do exist." (Executive summary)
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"Este documento hace un recorrido por los estándares fijados por los órganos del Sistema Interamericano de Derechos Humanos que establecen las obligaciones de los Estados para garantizar el pluralismo y la diversidad de los sistemas mediáticos como parte de la protección del derecho a la liberta
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d de expresión. Para ello se analizan los principios vinculados al alcance de la intervención estatal, sus obligaciones de inclusión y no discriminación, el reconocimiento del derecho a fundar medios y de tres sectores de la comunicación, el establecimiento de mecanismos anti-monopólicos así como las condiciones de la institucionalidad para la regulación de medios." (Página 1)
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"The gradual trend toward the decriminalization of defamation is slowing down, with 160 states still not having decriminalized defamation. The use of criminal defamation offences to restrict online expression has increased worldwide. Several States have harshened or reintroduced provisions on libel,
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defamation and insult by stating new laws intending to address cybersecurity, 'fake news' and hate speech. Expanded use of civil defamation often leads to disproportionate damages that have a chilling effect on freedom of expression and journalists' work. There has been a rise in abusive practices such as 'forum shopping' and SLAPPs by powerful actors that want to silence critical voices and undermine scrutiny. There have been emerging challenges linked to online communications, including increased vulnerability of journalists, artists, human rights defenders and bloggers. Jurisprudence of international courts has reaffirmed that the speech about public officials is specially protected and must receive a proportional treatment under civil law." (Key trends)
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"El documento se inicia con una descripción del marco jurídico vigente en materia de protección integral de los derechos de niños, niñas y adolescentes en Perú. A continuación, describiremos las herramientas que la regulación prevé para hacer efectiva la protección de niños y niñas frent
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e a contenidos audiovisuales que puedan resultar perjudiciales para su desarrollo. Revisaremos críticamente el sistema de “autorregulación” y cómo funciona la supervisión estatal. En la misma línea describiremos el sistema de denuncias y reclamos frente a incumplimientos que la normativa tiene establecido. Finalmente, se repasan los puntos críticos detectados en el análisis del marco normativo y su implementación y se formulan recomendaciones sobre reformas normativas y políticas públicas dirigidas a garantizar de manera efectiva los derechos de las audiencias de niños, niñas y adolescentes en Perú." (Página 4)
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"Este documento contiene las consideraciones de OBSERVACOM al texto aprobado por la Asamblea Nacional por el que se disponen modificaciones a la Ley Orgánica de Comunicación." (commbox)
"El objeto de esta publicación es analizar las principales implicaciones del alto nivel de concentración de medios de comunicación existente en el Perú para el ejercicio de la libertad de expresión y el derecho ciudadano a la información respecto de asuntos de interés público, especialmente
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de orden político. En el Perú, como en casi toda América Latina y el Caribe, existe un predominio del sector privado empresarial en el mercado de los medios de comunicación. La expresión máxima del amplio predominio del poder económico en la prensa escrita se produjo en el año 2013, cuando el Grupo El Comercio adquirió la mayor parte de las acciones de la Empresa Periodística Nacional SA (EPENSA) y pasó a controlar aproximadamente 80% de dicho mercado, lo que configura un esquema cuasi monopólico." (Introducción)
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"1. En términos generales los derechos de los niños, niñas y adolescentes se encuentran adecuadamente consagrados en los marcos regulatorios, sin embargo, faltan medidas concretas para hacerlos efectivos. En muchos países los derechos se reconocen en la legislación, pero luego se desvirtúan a
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través de reglamentaciones o disposiciones de rango menor que flexibilizan o eliminan las obligaciones. Es el caso, como hemos visto, de los marcos regulatorios de Perú y México, pero no exclusivamente. 2. La situación en los países investigados da cuenta de que los derechos de los NNyA no ocupan un lugar prioritario en la regulación de medios audiovisuales, a la vez que los medios de comunicación no están entre las preocupaciones centrales de las legislaciones de protección de la niñez y adolescencia y/o de las agendas de política pública de los Estados. Como consecuencia, la protección es débil e ineficiente. A su vez, es posible afirmar que las autoridades regulatorias concentran su actividad en la agenda de telecomunicaciones relegando a la comunicación audiovisual que recibe poco interés y recursos. 3. [...]" (Conclusiones, páginas 42-43)
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"Es necesario que el Congreso de la República expida una ley en donde se de estabilidad y seguridad jurídica a las comunidades organizadas que prestan el servicio de radio comunitaria. En la actualidad está reglamentado mediante una Resolución Ministerial, la cual es fácilmente modificable por
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el ministro de turno. Dentro de ese marco normativo se deberían establecer los lineamientos de una política pública que contenga como mínimo lo siguiente: A) Inclusión de las campañas estatales de todos los niveles territoriales en los planes de medios de cada entidad con el fin de que se destinen recursos económicos a las radios comunitarias. La inclusión del servicio público de radiodifusión sonora comunitaria como proyecto estratégico para la democracia local y la participación ciudadana en los planes de desarrollo territorial; así se garantizaría el sostenimiento económico, sin que esto afecte la autonomía del medio [...] B) La duración de las concesiones no pueden ser inferiores a las establecidas para los demás servicios de telecomunicaciones; C) Tarifas diferenciales basadas en potencia y población para el cobro de los derechos de autor, que de todas maneras no sobrepase medio salario mínimo por anualidad. Actualmente se aproximan las tarifas a dos salarios mínimos en la anualidad, resultando más costoso que los pagos por uso del espectro; D) El Fondo del MinTIC debe destinar parte de sus recursos para apoyar a las comunidades organizadas concesionarias de emisoras comunitarias para la renovación de equipos y adecuaciones tecnológicas como es el caso de la conectividad." (Conclusiones y recomendaciones, página 33-34)
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"This report provides a Europe-wide overview of lawsuits that are taken to stifle scrutiny and public debate on issues such as corruption, mismanagement of public resources, and human rights violations. Such lawsuits, known as strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) are taken by pow
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erful individuals in society not necessarily to win cases, but to drag their critics through legal processes that drain them financially and psychologically and ultimately prevent them from exercising their fundamental rights (including freedom of expression or freedom of assembly and association)." (Abstract)
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"Under-investment in public service journalism has led to growing interest in the possibility of philanthropic support for the sector. Though long associated with non-profit journalism in North America, there is little tradition of philanthropy in UK journalism. This paper explains how recognition o
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f public interest journalism as charitable can be achieved through more constructive interpretations of the existing law. Despite its initially conservative response, the Charity Commission has recently taken important steps towards recognising defined forms of journalism as charitable under the existing law. This paper reviews the democratic imperatives fulfilled by public interest journalism which justify such developments; and seeks to demonstrate how this framework for defining public interest journalism aligns with the public benefit requirement in charity law, opening up the possibility of new forms of charitably funded ‘public benefit journalism’." (Abstract)
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"International assistance actors have played an important role in supporting media reforms in Ukraine. Their long-term, continuous efforts planted the seeds for groundbreaking media environment changes during Ukraine’s democratic transition. International donors’ sustained engagement in Ukraine
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laid the groundwork for the major transitions, primarily by facilitating the emergence and development of the vibrant and powerful local civil society. Notwithstanding the prolonged periods of “lost hope” and stagnation, which might have discouraged some other activists from policy development and advocacy, Ukrainian CSMOs have managed to pursue their strategic priorities even under challenging circumstances and quickly consolidated their efforts at a crucial moment in Ukraine’s modern history — right in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity, in the spring of 2014. Ukrainian CSOs were ready and courageous enough to step in when the state and its institutions were extremely weakened and to assume their roles in certain fields. Both the CSMOs and donors jumped at the opportunity presented by the revolution: several innovative media reforms, which had been drafted and redrafted over many years, were adopted in a matter of few weeks in the spring of 2014. That success would have been impossible without the preparatory work done during the preceding years." (Conclusion, page 20)
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"Using the coup as a vantage point, interviewees for this report were asked to reflect on three main questions: What have we learned about past media reform efforts? With hindsight, what are the legacies, best practices, and lessons learned? With a view to the future, what does the media’s respons
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e to the coup teach us about reform and resilience? One of the important lessons their collective reflections and analysis show is that over the past decade the media assistance approach in Burma should have been more strategic, nuanced, grassroots driven, flexible, and inclusive, with a greater focus on opportunities to support local initiatives, coalitions, and actors. Other important lessons learned concern risks and security, including the importance of digital security literacy and mechanisms, as well as building widespread capacity in volatile contexts with greater risk of repression." (Conclusion)
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"En Argentina la libertad de expresión está garantizada oficialmente desde la sanción de la primera constitución en 1853. Los medios de comunicación operan en un marco formal de libertad, no exenta de presiones por parte del Estado y de los intereses comerciales. La prensa escrita no cuenta con
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una regulación específica, mientras que la radio y la televisión deben observar un régimen jurídico particular. Existen regulaciones generales para la protección del honor y la intimidad y la seguridad nacional. Las nuevas tecnologías han suscitado un importante debate social y político, pero no se han sancionado leyes específicas y la justicia ha resuelto casos específicos y polémicos. Por ahora, la capacidad de intervención estatal sobre las plataformas y las redes sociales es muy limitada." (Resumen)
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"This analysis of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Media” (Media Law) by the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) seeks to enrich and deepen the criticisms and analyses already made of the Law, based on international human rights standards, in particular the right to freedom of expression
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. Azerbaijan has long had a poor track record in terms of respect for freedom of expression and, overall, despite some positive features, the Media Law will likely contribute more to the challenges than to addressing them." (Executive summary)
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"The halting progress of the Tunisian media reform reflects the uncertainty and vulnerability of the political reform. As Professor of Communication and Democracy Katrin Voltmer contends, emerging media systems are unique types that are a blend of inherited structures, the constraints of the transit
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ions, and the reform movement’s choices. The new Tunisian media system retains features of the old regime while embedding the contradictions and struggles that paint the emerging political system. Eleven years after the Jasmine Revolution, the media reform is still governed by ambiguity, having turned into a field of political struggle between progressive and conservative forces and their allies. The president’s recent move to suspend the parliament and his highly controversial referendum on a new constitution granting him extraordinary powers, which passed following an unprecedented level of low turnout, have plunged the democratic consolidation process into turmoil. Sharp divisions have emerged between Saeid’s supporters and opponents, exacerbating uncertainty and ambiguity." (Conclusion)
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