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Data makes a difference: World Press Freedom Day roundtable
However, harnessing data could also be key to countering these challenges.
This was the context of a roundtable last week, on 03May 2023, organised by UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) as part of activities around the global World Press Freedom Day conference held in New York, USA.
More than 25 experts from NGOs, academia, media and the tech sector brainstormed the issues in a vibrant meeting hosted and co-convened with UNESCO and the Danish Mission to the UN.
Other partner organisations were: Global Network Initiative, the Action Coalition for Meaningful Transparency, the Global Forum for Media Development, and the Dynamic Coalition on the Sustainability of Journalism and News Media.
A key outcome of these discussions will be to gain greater understanding of interests and possibilities in data-partnerships for journalists’ safety and the economic viability of independent media.
The event was organized in response to the IPDC Bureau’s decision to promote further work on the transparency of Internet platforms in terms of journalist safety and media viability, including allocating funding for this purpose.
In a video message, the IPDC’s Chair Ambassador Anna Brandt noted: “Next month, our 67th Bureau meeting will take place. We will be very interested in hearing about the outcomes of your exchange today, which are all the more relevant in today’s data-driven world.”
Ambassador Martin Bille Hermann, head of Permanent Mission of Denmark to the UN, opened the discussion, recognising how it would build on earlier discussions about protecting journalists online, particularly those held in in 2022.
The event followed extensive worldwide consultations for the 10th anniversary of the UN Plan of Action and the Issue of Impunity. It also continued on a record of IPDC convening discussions about media viability and access to platform data.
The New York roundtable culminated these processes by considering both journalists’ safety and media viability, exploring commonalities and differences between the two areas.
In their deliberations, participants explored:
- Obstacles and incentives for platform companies to share data
- How data partnerships could strengthen platforms’ broader work on human rights impact assessment and mitigation strategies
- The importance of delimiting data, safeguarding privacy, ensuring security, and assigning legal responsibility.
, a study of the online safety of women journalists coordinated by the International Center for Journalists with UNESCO’s support, was mentioned. This research demonstrates the benefit of combining qualitative findings from interviews and surveys with big data case studies, illustrating the potential for complementary contributions that could arise from platforms collaborating with safety researchers and sharing data.
One participant called for mechanisms to adjudicate cases in order to avoid platforms “cherry-picking” who receives data, and to ensure that requests are made by legitimate actors. Several others stressed the need of NGOs, media houses and journalists, as well as academia, to be considered for access.
Instead of fragmented instances, some participants suggested that coordination among stakeholders making requests, as well as companies developing cross-platform mechanisms, could help progress.
Given that many media outlets have limited capacity for data analysis, one participant advised that insights and aggregated data be shared rather than granular data in bulk.
Transparency was highlighted as part of UNESCO’s , and a key component of its project to develop guidelines for platform regulation. The relevance of the topic to the development of the UN’s and , which will be finalized in 2024, was also emphasised.
The discussions concluded with participants encouraging continuing dialogues on the links between technology, transparency, safety of journalists and media viability.
