November/December 2019 Issue: GNI Hosts the “State of Digital Rights Due Diligence" | Documenting Digital Laws and Regulations: the CLFR and CYRILLA | GNI-Internews Fellowship Update | WOUGNET Joins GNI | GNI Member Spotlight 

GNI Hosts the "State of Digital Rights Due Diligence"

As the practice of human rights due diligence (HRDD) takes root in the technology sector, how can companies keep pace with user expectations and new risks to freedom of expression and privacy?

On October 24, GNI members and other stakeholders gathered in Washington, D.C., to reflect on the first decade of HRDD in the technology sector during the 2019 GNI Annual Public Learning Forum. Panelists and audience experts shared lessons learned for each step of effective HRDD — identifying human rights risks, integrating findings, tracking effectiveness, and communicating results publicly — in the face of potential misuses of emerging technologies and regulatory approaches posing risks for digital rights around the world. Read more in the event report. 

Documenting Digital Laws and Regulations: CLFR and the CYRILLA Collaborative

Understanding the legal frameworks that impact freedom of expression and privacy in the ICT sector is essential for protecting digital rights.  

In a post for the GNI Medium blog, Nerissa Naidoo of the Lebanon-based GNI member Social Media Exchange (SMEX) explores some of the challenges regulators around the world have faced enacting rights-respecting legislation to match rapid technological evolution. In response, Naidoo highlights that it is essential for researchers and advocates to collaborate to document and analyze the application and development of laws that impact digital rights.  She points out how analysis from the GNI Country Legal Frameworks Resource has been integrated with laws, cases, and legislation from the CYRILLA Collaborative. Together, these resources offer an in-depth overview of governments’ authorities to request access to user data or restrict users’ communications in a wide range of countries. We look forward to continued collaboration with the CYRILLA Collaborative on the CLFR and encourage other interested collaborators to reach out. 

WOUGNET Joins GNI            

GNI is pleased to welcome the Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) as a GNI member in the civil society constituency. WOUGNET is a member-based organization that works throughout Uganda to promote and support the use of ICTs by women to tackle sustainable development issues. “GNI welcomes WOUGNET’s policy advocacy and gender perspective on the use of technology, which will enrich our endeavors to protect the rights of freedom of expression and privacy around the world,” said GNI Executive Director Judith Lichtenberg. Read more. 

GNI-Internews Fellowship Update

Six organizations that work to advance digital rights participated in the GNI-Internews fellowship program over the past year: AfroLeadership from Cameroon, the Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) from Uganda, Derechos Digitales from Chile, El Instituto Panameño de Derecho y Nuevas Tecnologías (IPANDETEC) from Panama, and the Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) and the Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC.In) from India. Each organization received specialized support to participate in GNI meetings, learning initiatives, and policy activities, including attending GNI Board meetings in London and Washington, meeting with GNI company members alongside RightsCon in Tunis, presenting their work at the Oxford Internet Institute, and sharing their policy perspectives with representatives of American and British governments. In 2020, GNI will welcome six new organizations from the same three regions to participate in the program. 

GNI Member Spotlight

Paradigm Initiative: #DRIF20 and Concerns on Emerging Legislation on Fake News and Hate Speech in Africa 

In December, Paradigm Initiative led a coalition of over 50 civil society organizations to adopt an open statement opposing emerging legislation on “fake news” and hate speech across Africa. The statement targets the most affected countries (Cameroon, Ethiopia, Gambia, and Nigeria), where the coalition notes ongoing attempts to regulate the use of social media through overbroad draft legislation pose risks for freedom of expression online. Learn more about Paradigm Initiative’s campaign to oppose three of these bills at the Nigerian Senate.

Paradigm Initiative will host the eighth Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum (#DRIF20) from 21-23 April 2020 in Abuja, Nigeria. #DRIF20, which will feature conversations in English and French, will highlight important trends across Africa and beyond at the intersection of human rights, development, and digital technologies. The conference will build on the success of #DRIF19, which was attended by over 300 delegates from 38 countries. Apply to attend or host a side session by 31st December 2019.

Working for Sustainable Journalism in the Digital Age

GFMD launches Dynamic Coalition on Sustainability of Journalism and News Media

Losing the News: The Decimation of Local Journalism and the Search for Solutions.

PEN America, a GNI member, launched a report calling for a “radical rethinking of local journalism as a public good.” Losing the News: The Decimation of Local Journalism and the Search for Solutions points to a “full-blown local news crisis” in the U.S., with over 1,800 newspapers closing down in recent years and corresponding risks for communities and democracy. The report includes a series of recommendations to help revitalize local journalism, with insights for funders, regulators, technology platforms, readers, civil society, and the outlets themselves.