Strengthening freedom of information and source protection worldwide

Hosted by: Reporters without Borders

Digital technologies have enabled journalists around the world to deliver the news more directly and have established new ways to investigate stories. They are, however, also used to spy on supposedly private communications and suppress journalists, activists and bloggers. Many Western companies are complicit in human rights abuses by “Enemies of the Internet” such as Bahrain, Ethiopia and Syria, as they supply the tools necessary to implement intrusive spying. To date, Western governments have largely failed to restrict this cynical market.

This panel will discuss different vectors to strengthen human rights, such as freedom of information and freedom of expression, in the light of international law and the most recent decisions made by members of the Wassenaar Arrangement.

Panelists:

Gierow, Hauke
Head of the Internet Freedom Desk at Reporters Without Borders, Germany

Jaume-Palasí, Lorena
Lecturer, Department for Political Philosophy, Ludwig Maximilians University, Germany

Kovacs, Anja
Internet Democracy Project, India

Page, Kenneth
Research Officer at Privacy International, United Kingdom

Moderation:

Spielkamp, Matthias
Founding Partner of the iRights.Lab think tank, Germany