ARTICLE 19

Our 2024 International Impact Report is out! The freedom of expression movement has never been more needed – or more at risk. Learn how ARTICLE 19 worked with partners and communities to demand better and achieve real change, both locally and globally. And find out how you can help reclaim free speech and create a freer, fairer future for all. https://lnkd.in/gus4EjQc

ARTICLE 19's Executive Director Quinn McKew joined Al Jazeera’s Inside Story panel discussing the UK’s ongoing attack on protest rights - and the continuing erosion of spaces for free speech and dissent. https://lnkd.in/dcreBh98

Tomorrow, 22 July, the House of Lords will vote on whether to allow up to 15 percent foreign ownership of domestic media, part of a long-standing debate that poses potential consequences for information integrity in the UK. ARTICLE 19 urges the House of Lords to reject plans to change ownership rules until safeguards for media freedom and transparency – including defending it from Chinese influence – are in place. At the heart of the issue is US investment firm RedBird Capital’s plans to purchase the parent company overseeing the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph and its global distribution. RedBird Capital’s close ties to China, including through its chairman, John L Thornton, raise risks of Chinese information influence in UK media and globally.   In June, a group of MPs and peers wrote to UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Lisa Nandy, raising concerns about lack of transparency ‘regarding the source of the funds behind this acquisition’.  Thornton’s connections to China are manifold, as outlined in a recent article for Index on Censorship by Luke Pulford, Executive Director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC). Media pluralism is a basic condition of the right to freedom of expression and information, enshrined in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.  We call on Lisa Nandy to suspend the Telegraph acquisition pending a full and independent investigation into these concerns over transparency, guided by an understanding of how China engages in foreign state influence operations.  Read more: https://lnkd.in/eXaxwBU2

The Power of Our Voices – Our Impact in 2024

Across Europe, people are protesting less thanks to crackdowns and restrictive laws. This includes the UK’s Public Order Act, passed in 2023, responding to the growing number of climate change demonstrations. In some cases, dangerous rhetoric from authorities has led to a reduction in people taking to the streets to make their voices heard. ARTICLE 19’s Antanina Maslyka talks to the The European Correspondent about the decline, but also about the incredible resilience activists have shown, even in the face of threats, as seen in the recent Pride rally in Budapest. "This strength brings hope – but to prevail, it must be matched with concrete support and action from the EU,” she says. Read more ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/es2sWRdZ

In Serbia, journalists face increasing attacks and threats – often from the authorities. Over the past weeks, at least 11 media workers covering student-led protests have been physically assaulted despite clearly identifying themselves as members of the press. While the EU has called for the protection of fundamental rights, including the right to free assembly and the right to free expression, it must specifically address the alarming rise in violence against journalists, as well as President Aleksandar Vučić’s dangerous rhetoric against the independent press. We worry that the dismissal of journalists from Euronews Serbia, ELLE Serbia, Večernje Novosti, and Politikawere politically motivated. Press freedom advocates have requested further details from the Council of Europe platform for the Safety of Journalists. We call on the EU to take immediate action as the media freedom crisis in Serbia continues. And we, together with our partners, stand in solidarity with journalists and media workers across Serbia who, despite an increasingly challenging work environment, continue to inform the public. With European Federation of Journalists, European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa, Free Press Unlimited, International Press Institute (IPI), Association of European Journalists, International Federation of Journalists, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Index on Censorship, PEN International https://lnkd.in/es5MPM-x

As the European Commission moves forward with the Digital Networks Act, ARTICLE 19 and partners warn: connectivity policy must not come at the expense of rights, equity, and institutional independence. In its current form “the Digital Networks Act could entrench monopolistic practices, marginalise civil society and SMEs, and weaken the EU’s position as a global leader in rights-based digital governance” says Raquel Renno Nunes https://lnkd.in/dYSKGXse

I was honored to speak at the annual Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture Series on the risks that surveillance and spyware are posing to journalists. In addition to the excellent contributions of my co-panellists, a lively audience of West African journalists highlight the threats to investigative journalism from chronic underfunding and concentration of media ownership by politicians. ARTICLE 19 stands in solidarity with all those who brave these conditions to fight for truth and the power of expression. As Wole Soyinka himself said "The greatest threat to freedom is the absence of criticism."

Just had the pleasure of joining the latest episode of PolicyTracker's podcast to discuss what’s at stake in global spectrum policy. I shared some insights from my work at ARTICLE 19 on the political, commercial, and governance dynamics playing out behind the scenes—and why transparency, service diversity, and independent regulation matter more than ever. Huge thanks to the PolicyTracker team, especially Laura Sear, for the invitation and the thoughtful conversation!

The recent crackdown on protest in Kenya is harrowing and shocking. The government must immediately reverse the escalating pattern of repression and reaffirm its commitment to upholding fundamental rights enshrined in the constitution.