Guideline For The Topic Of Media.docx

Guideline

for

Media

1. Why is it important to talk about Media?

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2. Media literacy

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3. Hate Speech

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4. Cyber bullying and mental health

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5. Data Privacy in the European Union

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6. Copyright

10

7. Fake news

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1. Why is it important to talk about Media? The massive technological development we have been witnessing during the last decade has led to an unprecedented growth of news consumption, as access to news has never been so easy and cheap. Whilst this improved accessibility has been positive in terms of more people becoming more engaged with societal issues, these new technological improvements are also accompanied by a series of negative aspects which have caught the attention of the EU policymakers. Issues like disinformation, fake news, social media manipulation and bullying are more and more tackled at the EU levels through reports, consultations, codes of conduct and policies. As social media becomes more embedded in our lives, particularly with young people, it is essential that firstly we are all equipped with the knowledge to stay safe online from a young age, but secondly that social media companies adhere to the responsibility of keeping us all protected from any harmful and misleading content. As technology evolves, we must evolve with it, so we remain the ones in control of tech, rather than the other way around. The main problems we are facing within the sector right now: ● ● ● ● ● ●

Media literacy Hate speech Cyber bullying and mental health Privacy Copyright Fake news

2. Media literacy Why is it needed? With the rapid rise of digital technology and its increasing use in business, education and culture, it is important to ensure everyone can understand and engage with digital media. Media literacy is vital for economic growth and job creation. Digital technologies are a key driver of competitiveness and innovation in the media, information, and communication technology sectors. What is the EC's role? The European Commission: -

supports initiatives and prizes manages projects, programmes, and funding schemes, such as Creative Europe commissions reports and surveys coordinates with member states on policies and best practices develops new policies based on expert group findings

Creative Europe is the European Commission's framework programme for support to the culture and audiovisual sectors. Following on from the previous Culture Programme and MEDIA programme, Creative Europe, with a budget of €1.46 billion (9% higher than its Europe's cultural and creative sectors. The MEDIA programme supported a variety of activities, projects, and initiatives in the European audio-visual industry, including: -

Training professionals Developing production projects Distributing films and audiovisual programmes Promoting films and audiovisual programmes Supporting film festivals Promoting the use of new technologies

What has been achieved so far? Steps taken to improve media literacy include: -

providing support via the MEDIA and MEDIA Mundus Programmes promoting media literacy awareness and skills improving legislation , e.g. on intellectual property launching the audiovisual media services directive publishing reports on media literacy

What are the next steps? The Commission will continue to promote the exchange of best practices and support policy development initiatives. It will also provide considerable support for media literacy via the Creative Europe programme.

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The Commission is also preparing a report on media literacy levels across Europe. Communication on the approach to media literacy in the digital environment Recommendation on media literacy in the digital environment Council Conclusions on media literacy in the digital environment

Useful links https://ec.europa.eu/culture/policy/audiovisual-policies/literacy_en https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/creative-europe/previous-programmes/media https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/creative-europe/media https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/creative-europe/index_en

3. Hate Speech 1. Short introduction of the topic >> Rising problem of hate spread through media channels Results of surveys on discrimination and hate crime made by council of Europe and EU Agency for Fundamental Rights:

2. Definition Hate speech is a verbal or written communication expressing a generalized negative opinion about a particular demographic, sometimes attacking an individual as a member of that group. It attacks, threatens, or insults them on the basis of national origin, ethnicity, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability. 3. Short description of EU legislation and its features 2008 Framework: Decision on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law Spring 2016: European survey: 75% of those following or participating in online debates had come across episodes of abuse, threat or hate speech aimed at journalists (50% said that this deterred them engaging in online discussions) May 2016: Code of Conduct: Commitment of European Commission's and EU Member States - Aim: countering illegal hate speech online > Guidelines, not a legal document, does not give governments the right to take down content, interpreting the law is and remains the responsibility of national courts > BUT: Put rules and community standards - Involved: > Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Google+, Snapchat, Dailymotion, Jeuxvideo > As well as European Commission, IT platforms, civil society organisations and national authorities - Method: > All IT companies who signed the Code now have terms of service, rules or community standards prohibiting users from posting content inciting violence or hatred against protected groups. They have also significantly increased the number of employees monitoring and reviewing the content. > European Commission, IT platforms, civil society organisations and national authorities meet regularly under the umbrella of the High Level Group on combatting racism and xenophobia, to discuss challenges and progress. > Workshops and trainings are also organised with companies and other relevant stakeholders. For instance, a training course held jointly with Google in Dublin in November 2017 focused on increasing quality of notices by trusted flaggers to ensure a more effective response by the companies' content reviewers. > help users notifying illegal hate speech and be more transparent -

Task of companies: Assess the majority of users’ notifications of in 24h also respecting EU and national legislation on hate speech and committed to remove, if necessary, those messages assessed illegal. The four Companies also agreed to further

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work on improving the feedback to users and being more transparent towards the general society. Task of user’s: can report notifications E.g. trusted flaggers

Difficulty: The Code cannot be used to make IT Companies take down content that does not count as illegal hate speech, or any type of speech that is protected by the right to freedom of expression set out in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. See: Article 11 Freedom of expression and information 1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. 2. The freedom and pluralism of the media shall be respected.

December 2016: monitoring exercise to evaluate implementation of the code Evaluation: notifications of hate speech content 270 on facebook, 163 to twitter, 123 to youtube (none in Microsoft) Results: IT companies and civil society organisations leads to a higher quality of notifications, more effective handling times and better reactions to notifications Evaluation in 2019: IT companies are now assessing 89% of flagged content within 24 hours and 72% of the content deemed to be illegal hate speech is removed, compared to 40% and 28% respectively when the Code was first launched in 2016. However, companies need to improve their feedback to users. 4. existing proposals to reform the legislation e.g. Jan 30, 2018: Call for proposals to monitor, prevent and counter hate speech online

Expected results: Improving data recording and establishment of trends, including on the chilling effects of illegal hate speech online, including when addressed to key democracy players, such as journalist, see: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/rec-rrac-online-ag-2018

Recent projects on online hate speech: ● ● ● ● ●

Monitoring and Detecting OnLine Hate Speech (MANDOLA) Research Report Remove: Countering Cyber Hate Phenomena (INACH) Creating an Online Network, monitoring Team and phone App to Counter hate crime Tactics (C.O.N.T.A.C.T) Monitoring and reporting online hate speech in Europe (e-more) Bringing together NGOs and Security forces to tackle hate crime and on-line hate speech against LGBT persons (UNI-FORM).

5. Sources: articles and videos from EU platforms/channels paper published by AGCOM, Facebook, Ofcom: Overview of related opportunities and challenges Evaluation of Code of Conduct from February 2019 article of 15th January by European Commission: Countering illegal hate speech online #NoPlace4Hate press release of EC from February 2019: Countering illegal hate speech online – EU Code of Conduct ensures swift response How the Code of Conduct helped countering illegal hate speech online video: EU Code of Conduct ensures countering illegal hate speech online

4. Cyber bullying and mental health Introduction Cyber-bullying is a problem which affects youth, worldwide, due to the use of new electronic technologies which is an inseparable element of society in the age of globalization. More than one in ten teenagers in the EU say they have been bullied online. The majority of those affected by bullying (55%) said that it caused them to become depressed, and more than one in three said they even considered suicide as a result. Cyberbullying is an important new kind of violence, with some different characteristics from bullying. The evolution in recent years of technology, particularly when it comes to apps and social networks, means there is a real need to put an end to this growing phenomenon, because as electronic devices and the media they act as portals for encroach more and more on daily life, more people are likely to be a victim to cyberbullying. The aim of this paper is to analyse this outrageous phenomenon in the light of the EU policies and regulations, reflecting firstly on the definition of “Cyberbullying”, secondly on the legislation at the EU

level and finally on the measures and programmes (if foreseen) been taken in Europe to combat this crime. What is cyberbullying? The European Commission defines cyberbullying as repeated verbal or psychological harassment carried out by an individual or a group against others through online services and mobile phones1. Cyberbullying is generally understood as bullying taking place on the internet. There is no single definition of cyberbullying agreed upon internationally or at European level. However, attempts to define this phenomenon have been made by international organizations, EU institutions and academia. Despite differences among definitions the following elements have been identified as common features of cyberbullying: - the use of electronic or digital means; - the intention to cause harm; - a sense of anonymity and lack of accountability of abusers as well as the publicity of actions. At national level, only fourteen EU Member States provide an official definition of bullying online. As a result of the absence of a commonly agreed definition, data in this area must be considered with extreme caution. While most Member States lack specific data on cyberbullying, some trends have however been identified. Some studies show that the North East European countries tend to have the highest rate of online risks experienced by children and young people, including bullying online, whereas Western and Southern European countries have the lowest risks encountered online. According to the available data, victims of cyberbullying are more likely to be perpetrators of bullying online than non-victims. Cyberbullying perpetrators are also often involved as victims or perpetrators in traditional bullying. Despite the lack of specific data on bullying online, research at national level indicates that there is a general perception of cyberbullying as a growing phenomenon raising serious concerns. The legal Framework at EU Level and National Level Currently, there are no EU specific legal instruments targeting cyberbullying. The EU has only a ‘supplementary’ role in this field consisting of supporting, coordinating or supplementing the initiatives adopted by Member States at national level. Although the EU has only a limited role, EU action on cyberbullying cannot be completely excluded. The EU has adopted a range of legal provisions relevant to cyberbullying such as the Directive on victims’ rights and the Directive on combating child sexual abuse. At national level, only Spain among 28 Member states has adopted criminal legal provisions targeting cyberbullying specifically. 1

European Commission, ‘Safer Internet Day 2009: Commission starts campaign against cyber-bullying’ Press Release, (10 February 2009)

Measures and programmes implemented in Europe a) EU Commission’s 2012 Strategy for a Better Internet for Kids (BIK) This strategy aims at protecting children and young people from exposure to harmful content and empower them to become familiar with online risks such as cyberbullying. It also includes support to develop self-regulatory initiatives. In this context a wide range of EU financial programmes have been launched such as the Better Internet for Kids programme and BIK Youth portal for young people. b) The Study of the Policy Department Citizen's Rights and Constitutional Affairs and the EU Parliament The EU Parliament should ensure that cyberbullying among young people is at the top of the EU agenda in the field of child protection. The European Parliament should scrutinize the Commission's’ proposals, opinions and activities in this area and work with the Commission to ensure that cyberbullying is not sidelined in the legislative process. In 2016 the EU Parliament asked the Policy Department Citizen's Rights and Constitutional Affairs to publish a study research on cyberbullying among young people. c) The workshop on ‘Social Networks and cyber-bullying in the teenager population’ The Institute for the Protection and the Security of the Citizen (IPSC) of the Joint Research Centre has organised a workshop on ‘Social Networks and cyber-bullying in the teenager population’. The aim of the workshop was to explore the ethical challenges arising from social networks for specific sectors of the population, namely individuals with limited legal capacity in order to support European Commission policies in this field. With the experts that were invited to this workshop, several recommendations were proposed. d) The Safer Internet Day (SID) The Safer Internet Day (SID) is an international event taking place in February every year, which promotes a safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones by children and young people across the world. From cyberbullying to social networking each year SID aims to address the current issues that influence especially young users online. This year’s Safer Internet Day celebrations took place on 5 February 2019 and the theme focused on “Together for a better internet”. It is an invitation for everyone to join in and engage with others in a respectful way in order to ensure a better digital experience. Useful links Better Internet For kids portal The BIC Youth Portal Cyberbullying among young people, study research of the EU Parliament #Delete cyberbullying Project The European Anti-bullying Network EU Portal on audiovisual and media policies

5. Data Privacy in the European Union Internet privacy is the privacy and security level of personal data published via the Internet. It is a broad term that refers to a variety of factors, techniques, and technologies used to protect sensitive and private data, communications, and preferences. Internet privacy and anonymity are paramount to users, especially as e-commerce continues to gain traction. Privacy violations and threat risks are standard considerations for any website under development. EU data protection rules guarantee the protection of your personal data whenever they are collected – for example, when you buy something online, apply for a job, or request a bank loan. These rules apply to both companies and organizations (public and private) in the EU and those based outside the EU who offer goods or services in the EU, whenever these companies request or re-use the personal data of individuals in the EU. (EU General Data Protection Regulation - May 2018) ePrivacy The European Commission's proposal for a Regulation on Privacy and Electronic Communications aims at reinforcing trust and security in the Digital Single Market by updating the legal framework on ePrivacy. E-evidence The European Commission proposed on 5 February 2019 to start international negotiations on crossborder access to electronic evidence, necessary to track down dangerous criminals and terrorists.

Useful links: Data protection and online privacy Data protection in the EU Privacy policy of the EU EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) E-evidence proposal ePrivacy proposal ePrivacy factsheet EU data protection - video

6. Copyright Introduction

The two Youth Exchanges in Spain and Italy will be focused on EU policies related to Media. In this context, copyright is an important issue to tackle, as media is one of the greatest „consumers” of contents which might fall under the copyright law. To this scope, it is of utmost importance to raise awareness among young people on how copyright works and how it can be used, without infringing any intellectual property right. Copyright is a legal right that protects one’s work once it has been physically expressed. There are several types of works which can be copyrighted: music, movies, novels, softwares, paintings, photographs etc. In order one’s work to be protected through copyright law it must be original and tangible. - Original: it must be the product of your own skill and work, without replacing imitating someone else’s work. - Tangible: it needs to be expressed in a physical form; an idea one had cannot be protected through this law. EU regulations The EU copyright legislation is a set of 10 directives, which harmonise essential rights of authors and of performers, producers and broadcasters. By setting harmonised standards, the EU law reduces national discrepancies, ensures the level of protection required to foster creativity and investment in creativity, promotes cultural diversity and ensures better access for consumers and business to digital content and services across Europe. To read the 10 directives on copyright access: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/eu-copyright-legislation Objectives of EU copyright proposals: 1. More cross-border access to content online; 2. Wider opportunities to use copyrighted materials in education, research and cultural heritage; 3. A better functioning copyright marketplace. For more information access: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/modernisation-eu-copyright-rules Useful links: Copyright: Forever Less One Day

The EU copyright legislation: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/copyright

https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/eu-copyright-legislation https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/modernisation-eu-copyright-rules Press release Questions & Answers Factsheet on Copyright

7. Fake news The massive technological development we have been witnessing during the last decade has led to an unprecedented growth of news consumption, as access to news has never been so easy and cheap. Whilst this improved accessibility has been positive in terms of more people becoming more engaged with societal issues, these new technological improvements are also accompanied by a series of negative aspects. One such aspect is related to the spread of fake-news which is becoming an increasingly pressing issue in the field of media. Disinformation - or fake news - consists of verifiably false or misleading information that is created, presented and disseminated for economic gain or to intentionally deceive the public, and may cause public harm. Social media and online platforms play an important role in speeding up the spread of such news at global level. EU regulations At European level there have been several documents which emphasize the need to combat disinformation in this sector. The most important are: EU Code of Practice on Disinformation – October 2018 – sets a wide range of commitments, from transparency in political advertising to the closure of fake accounts and demonetization of those parties who are encouraging disinformation. Service integrity policies. Platforms endeavour to tackle disinformation by applying policies which limit the abuse of the platform by inauthentic users. Others: The Final Report of the High Level Group on Fake News and Online Disinformation The Public Consultation on fake news and online disinformation of the Commission Communication on Tackling online disinformation.

Existing proposals:

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A multi-stakeholder forum on disinformation,

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A study to examine the applicability of EU rules and possible gaps in relation to the identification of online sponsored content,

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The creation of an independent European network of fact-checkers

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The launch of a secure European online platform on disinformation

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The promotion of research on ways to apply new technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain to the issue of disinformation

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The launch of new initiatives to raise awareness and promote media literacy and education.

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New initiatives involving the European External Action Service to counter cyber attacks involving disinformation operations.

Useful links: Fake news and online disinformation Progress Report - assessing the progress made in the implementation of the actions set out in the April Communication on online disinformation Action plan against disinformation Study on fake news and disinformation from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. Questions and Answers – The EU steps up action against disinformation (5 December 2018)

A guide to spotting fake news: 1. Investigate the source. If you find a piece of information on an unknown source, make sure that is reliable. Check the whole website of that source and see if the information is reliable. News coming from renown regional or national broadcasters are usually checked and verified. + social media 2. Dig deeper. Closely analyse the article you are interested in and focus on the pieces of information which are coming from third-parties (for example statistical data, reports, official statements etc.). Check also the documents on which that specific article is based and see if the information is accurate and whether or not some details have been taken out of context. be aware that even the most trustworthy news outlets can be carried away sometimes, so never take an information for granted without double-checking it. 3. Do not stick with one source. Try to find at least two or three other sources on the same topic and see if the information is biased or not. 4. Be curious!