How to regulate social media platforms effectively has become the quest of liberal and illiberal governments alike. The one to eradicate hate speech, and the other to control rebellious populations. The UN defines hate speech as “any kind of communication in speech, writing or behaviour, that...
June 18 is the International Day for Countering Hate Speech and June 20 is World Refugee Day. With migrants and refugees often targeted by hate, it can be natural – and even useful – to mark the days together. Certainly WACC Europe, after their 2017 media...
Substack is the latest digital communication platform to set off a freedom of expression debate after the co-founder Hamish McKenzie stated that the platform would not demonetize those posting extremist content on the newsletter platform — namely Nazi and white supremacists. The comments sparked both condemnation...
An introductory webinar to social media monitoring on 8 December took the first steps towards establishing a global, ecumenical observatory to gather evidence on gender-based violence content in the media and advocate for change.The hands-on event “Rooting Out Gender Cyberviolence” was organized by WACC in...
The webinar “Rooting out gender cyberviolence: An introduction to social media monitoring” on 8 December will give WACC members and partners the opportunity to take action against the harmful — and growing — phenomenon of online gender-based violence. During the 60-minute learning event, organized by WACC...
Mozilla, the organization/community that built the Firefox browser and now has a Foundation working to ensure the internet remains an open and accessible public resource, has released a 12-minute documentary, “Unknown Influence” The documentary interviews independent researchers and technology experts from the US, Kenya, France, United...
The world’s law enforcement services are in cahoots, sharing detailed data about individuals as well as corporations “in the interest of national security”. In 2021, the Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the United States of America on Access to Electronic Data...
In 1985, following the hijacking of a Trans World Airlines flight by a Shi’ite Muslim group, UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher accused the news media of providing the terrorists with the “oxygen of publicity”. Thatcher misconstrued the role of public interest media, but the underlying question...
There is widespread dismay at the spectre of former US President Donald Trump setting up his own social media app provocatively named TRUTH. A press release dated 20 October 2021 announced a merger between Trump Media & Technology Group and Digital World Acquisition Corp., stating that...
