"Die Publikation führt in die Thematiken einer feministischen Netzpolitik ein und zeigt deren Potentiale auf. Zudem unternimmt sie den Versuch, einen neuen Gesellschaftsvertrag des Digitalen zu entwerfen. Anhand von zwei zentralen Themen- und Diskussionsfeldern, „Digitale Gewalt“ und „Überwa
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chung versus Privatheit“ wird ein Ausblick auf eine geschlechtergerechte digitale Gesellschaft gegeben. Netzpolitik für und in der digitalen Gesellschaft ist einem steten Wandel unterworfen. Als klassisches Politikfeld noch im Entstehen, fehlen bislang tiefergehende feministische Analysen für diesen Prozess. Die Publikation zeichnet bisherige feministische Perspektiven, etwa Cyberfeminismus oder Netzfeminismus, nach." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Media Laws on the African continent have been amended, revised and rewritten since the first edition of the SADC Media Law Handbook was first published nearly a decade ago. The reasons for new media laws range from the advent of social media to the realisation of the powers-that-be that, with new t
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echnologies, they cannot control the narrative and discussion in the way they used to do. How does one balance the need to prevent hate speech with the necessity to question and control those in power publicly as well as those opposing them? Our legal expert, Justine Limpitlaw, has taken up the challenge of analysing and scrutinising the media laws of 13 southern African countries over the past four years. We present the results to you in this three-volume-edition. The work will, in the next few years, make its way into legal offices, newsrooms and courtrooms on the continent, just as the first edition did." (Foreword)
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"Experts say having a law for access to public information is important to enhance public transparency, but it’s only the starting point in the battle against state secrecy. How can journalists benefit from such laws and why should the news media care about it? This paper is divided into four part
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s: the first chapter gives a brief summary of what FOI is and some practical examples of stories that have been published with it. The second chapter explores the data from a national survey about how journalists are using the law. The survey was conducted with the help of Maria Esperidião at the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Abraji), an association where I am also a director. The third chapter is a series of interviews with experienced Brazilian journalists from different fields to see their views on FOI and what journalists can do to improve its use. The questions that I asked them were based on the Abraji survey results. The final chapter is a small guide on how to start a FOI section in your newsroom – a combination of guidance obtained during the interviews and my own previous experiences." (Introduction, page 5)
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"El Instituto Interamericano de Derechos Humanos, desde su Oficina Regional para América del Sur, en conjunto con OBSERVACOM, una organización no gubernamental regional con sede en Montevideo, presentan este trabajo con un objetivo muy sencillo: recapitular los trabajos que se hicieron en relació
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n con el ejercicio de la libertad de expresión a través de los medios comunitarios en los últimos casi 20 años. Se trata de una recopilación oportuna: desde que por primera vez en 2002 la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos a través de su Relatoría Especial para la Libertad de Expresión se ocupara de esta cuestión en un informe temático hace ya casi 20 años, nos encontramos en este 2021 con la oportunidad histórica que la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos emita una sentencia en un caso concreto, que es el primero enviado por la Comisión sobre esta temática a la Corte. En este trabajo se recopilan entonces no sólo distintas piezas del sistema interamericano de protección de derechos humanos que han venido destacando la importancia que adquieren los medios de comunicación comunitarios para el ejercicio de la libertad de expresión, sino que además se agregan unos trabajo realizados en el marco de la UNESCO y otros que provienen de la sociedad civil, que, a lo largo de estos años, ha venido manteniendo el tema en la agenda de las discusiones sobre las reformas aún hoy vigentes, sobre legislación de comunicación audiovisual." (Prólogo)
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"There are three imperatives for advancing whistleblower protection: (1) to draft and enact comprehensive antiretaliation laws that reflect global best practices by learning from and acting on mistakes or omissions in less sophisticated pioneer laws; (2) to turn paper rights into reality by ensuring
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laws are used and implemented as intended; and (3) to improve the development of and access to technologies that facilitate confidential reporting of misconduct to protect the privacy of whistleblowers and their families [...] I n this report, we examine the strength of national whistleblower laws on paper, comparing their provisions to global best practices. We then review their track records to assess whether they are in fact making a difference. To test the effectiveness of whistleblower laws, we explored whether whistleblowers utilised the laws and the win-loss rates. The results, as detailed in the findings section, suggest that in many of the 37 countries we examined, the effectiveness of national whistleblower laws appears questionable due to a lack of public access to case decisions and data on settlement agreements, a lack of utilisation of the laws for disputes, a poor success rate for whistleblowers and meagre compensation for the few whistleblowers who prevail." (Abstract)
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"This handbook enables media educators throughout Africa to raise awareness and impact the media ecology on a national and regional basis. National, regional and international media environments are crucial for the attainment of the sustainable development and the protection of human rights. This is
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because transparency and accountability are central to democracy and development. Educators in journalism, media studies, development studies, sociology, political science and similar disciplines will be able to create a new curriculum. Learners will gain a holistic understanding of the ecosystem in which democracy can thrive. The handbook will help participants understand and advocate for better media policy environments." (Short summary, page 9)
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"This volume brings together leading experts from a variety of fields to critically evaluate the extent to which global norms on freedom of expression and information have been established and which actors and institutions have contributed to their diffusion. The contributors also consider ongoing a
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nd new challenges to these norms, from conflicts over hate speech and the rise of populism to authoritarian governments, as well as the profound disruption introduced by the internet. Together, these essays lay the groundwork for an international legal doctrine on global freedom of expression that considers issues such as access to government-held information, media diversity, and political speech." (Publisher description)
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"This guide aims to provide practical information and guidance to civil society organisations who consider intervening in cases before national or international courts as so-called ‘amicus curiae’ or ‘third party intervener’. It is focused on interventions in cases concerning freedom of expr
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ession and the safety of journalists, but the information it provides is broadly applicable to other human rights cases as well. The legal term often used for these interventions is ‘amicus curiae intervention’. ‘Amicus curiae’ is a Latin term that literally means ‘friend of the court’. It indicates a person or organisation who participates in the case to provide an external perspective, independent from the parties. There are different interpretations as to what the ‘proper’ role of an amicus curiae is. This guide uses the term to describe a civil society organisation that intervenes in a case which is closely connected with that organisation’s mission (for example, a media freedom NGO intervening in the case of a journalist standing trial for defamation) to provide their perspective on the case. In some countries and before some courts, the term ‘third party’ or ‘third party intervener’ is preferred." (Introduction)
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"From a legal point of view, chilling effect may be defined as the negative effect any state action has on natural and/or legal persons, and which results in pre-emptively dissuading them from exercising their rights or fulfilling their professional obligations, for fear of being subject to formal s
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tate proceedings which could lead to sanctions or informal consequences such as threats, attacks or smear campaigns. State action is understood in this context as any measure, practice or omission by public authorities which may deter natural and/or legal persons from exercising any of the rights provided to them under national, European and/or international law, or may discourage the potential fulfilment of one’s professional obligations (as in the case of judges, prosecutors and lawyers, for instance).
While there could be situations where state action might unintentionally produce a “chilling effect” on natural and/or legal persons, national authorities may also deliberately adopt measures, undertake specific actions and/or fail to react with the view of unlawfully dissuading lawful behaviours they do not approve of. Three main “techniques” to dissuade natural or legal persons from exercising their rights can be briefly outlined in this respect: (i) The adoption of deliberately ambiguous legal provisions; (ii) The arbitrary enforcement of these provisions against the most vocal critics of the autocratic-minded authorities of the day—be they opposition politicians, journalists, judges, prosecutors, lawyers, academics or civil society groups—if only to “send a message” to the public at large; (iii) The adoption of disproportionate sanctions, as this will in turn further discourage people from exercising their rights and/or obligations and therefore limit the need for future arbitrary enforcement of the relevant legal provisions whose lack of foreseeability is intentional.
In short, chilling effect is primarily about public authorities, directly or through proxies, aiming to create a climate of self-censorship regardless of whether the conduct being contemplated is protected under national and/or European law." (What is chilling effect, pages 4-5)
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"Free speech and freedom of the media are essential to the functioning of democratic systems. However, recent decades have brought phenomena that pose a threat to media freedom. The author analyzed threats to media freedom and journalist’s security regarding resolution 2317 (2020) of the Parliamen
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tary Assembly of the Council of Europe. All Council of Europe Member States must effectively guarantee the safety of journalists, create an environment conducive to freedom of the media and prevent the misuse of laws or normative provisions that may affect this freedom, without which there is no democracy. The right of journalists to protect their sources must be guaranteed; police violence against journalists must be condemned, and sanctions against any infringement of the freedom of the media must be dissuasive. Although it is only “softlaw”, the PACE resolution may inspire the Member States to take more effective measures in this regard." (Abstract)
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"War journalism, by the nature of its work, is arguably one of the most dangerous professions in the world. Journalists working in conflict-prone areas are constantly exposed to the inherent threats of the battlefield. Over the period of time, there has been a number of attacks, assaults, and arrest
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s upon journalistic profession who conduct reporting from conflict situations worldwide. What is more serious is that most of these attacks are deliberate in nature. The conflicting parties often fear the undeniable powers of word and image journalists spread. Under the current international regime, there is a number of normative frameworks which guarantees the protection of journalist operating in armed conflicts. However, there is a serious question regarding the adequacy and implementation of the available protection mechanisms. This paper is an attempt to study the current international framework which governs and protects the journalists operating in International and Non-International Armed Conflicts worldwide. Particular focus is given to the protection available under International Humanitarian Law. In addition, the paper clarifies the conditions in which journalists lose their protection and become legitimate targets. The paper also traces out the shortcomings within the current regime of International Humanitarian Law. Finally, the paper discusses some additional proposals that could enhance the safety of journalists in the field. The paper follows the qualitative method of research and uses both primary and secondary sources of information." (Abstract)
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"Le journalisme congolais se pratique dans un contexte délicat qui allie la liberté d’informer, les contraintes qu’appelle le respect des lois et règlements ainsi qu’une véritable prise de conscience de la responsabilité des acteurs et des instances médiatiques. C’est pourquoi la prati
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que journalistique en RDC se transforme en une exigence contraignante pour les acteurs et les instances médiatiques. Ces derniers sont obligés de conformer la conception qu’ils ont de leur métier, basée sur la liberté d’informer, aux exigences juridiques et à des prescrits appelant à leur responsabilité. Les médias doivent ainsi difficilement s’arranger pour pratiquer leur métier : en jouissant de toute leur liberté et en faisant en même temps l’effort de respecter les lois et les règlements, afin de ne pas tomber dans les abus et les dérapages, qui les pousseraient à enfreindre les valeurs éthiques et déontologiques de leur métier." (Dos de couverture)
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