Dear digital rights friends, fans and VLOP watchers,
The WMF Global Advocacy team has released our "Don't Blink" monthly
retrospective for March. Every month we share developments from around the world that shape people’s ability to participate in the free knowledge movement. In case you blinked this month, here are the most important public policy advocacy topics that have kept the Wikimedia Foundation busy:
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/04/27/dont-blink-public-policy-snapshot-for…>
Highlights include:
* Constitutional Court of Colombia Ruling Protects Wikipedia Model
* Wikimedians @ UN Commission on the Status of Women, UNESCO, UN Global Digital Compact, and UNHRC.
* Articles on Copyright and ChatGPT, as well as Digital Public Infrastructure in the EU
If you want more information about any of these initiatives, or wish to share something of your own, get in touch. We hope you enjoy the read!
Ziski & The Global Advocacy Team
Hello everyone!
Many things are happening in Brussels and across Europe, but first things
first: We have a new colleague! Michele Failla has been working with the
Brussels team since last week. His last gig was at the Conseil Supérieur de
l’Audiovisuel (CSA), the French language media regulator in Belgium. During
his time there he worked on EU level media regulation and was participating
in the European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services. Before
that he was working for a MEP on a diverse set of files in the Legal
Affairs committee. Our paths had actually crossed in the past during the EU
copyright reform process. Please welcome him warmly, he is on this list but
can also be reached at michele.failla(a)wikimedia-europe.eu.
=== Digital Services Act ===
WE ARE VLOP. Officially. [1] For those less acquainted with EU terminology:
Wikipedia has been designated as a Very Large Online Platform by the
European Commission, which means that the WMF will have to comply with the
strictest obligations under the Digital Services Act, including regular
risk assessments for systemic risks (including things like public health,
kids’ safety and freedom of expression), publishing mitigation measures
based on them, and then undergoing an external audit. Wikipedia is the only
not-for-profit service that has been designated as a VLOP; the other 18 are
for-profit.
—
This is a chance for Wikimedia to demonstrate that compliance with such
rules can be done in a manner that respects user rights and keeps
communities - not the platform operator - in the driving seat. The
Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) is working on compliance and dedicating
significant resources to this. The challenges are serious too. If
regulators cannot be convinced that Wikipedia is properly addressing
“systemic risks”, like election manipulation, then WMF and the community
will be challenged to find additional responses to that. There’s also
substantial “bureaucracy”: VLOP designation means that the WMF needs to
appoint a legal representative in the EU. It needs to adjust internal
processes so they are in line with the new “notice & action” framework, it
has to set up a process on how to conduct risk assessments and mitigation
reports (annually, and before making significant changes to things), and to
find an appropriate auditor who will grill it on all of these things.
—
VLOPs are also expected to contribute to the European Commission’s
moderation decision database (though whether and how such a database can
comply with EU privacy laws, remains to be seen). Plus, there remains the
not inconsequential task of ensuring all of the other Wikimedia projects -
such as Commons - comply with the DSA’s more general rules. That’s a lot
of work - and so is convincing the regulators to not forget our model when
they’re writing the guidance and implementing rules - and it is handled by
very lean teams (as openly and collaboratively as they can manage - witness
the TOU update
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Legal_department/2023_…>).
Bon courage !
=== CSAM ===
The Regulation to Prevent and Combat Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM)
online is a proposal that targets providers of hosting services, providers
of interpersonal communications services, and internet service providers,
hence also Wikimedia projects. [2] Each EU Member State will designate a
national authority that may ask a court or independent authority to issue
orders to providers. These orders may be for detecting CSAM (based on a
hash database provided by a new EU Centre in The Hague), for removal of
identified CSAM or for reporting if the provider has become aware of CSAM.
ISP may also be asked to block CSAM based on URLs.
—
It is the encrypted communication services that are causing the most
controversy in this debate, as it would be impossible to maintain
end-to-end encryption and also comply with detection orders, since
messaging apps would need to scan through all conversations as per
proposal. In this regard the lead MEP, Javier Zarzalejos (EPP ES), has
published his draft report with several amendment proposals. On encrypted
messaging services he is suggesting that apps like WhatsApp and Signal
could only be faced with orders to “use and process metadata”, but not the
actual messages. [3] Meanwhile the Council negotiations seem to be skirting
this central issue. [4]
—
While the Wikimedia Foundation is not a provider of interpersonal
communications services, Wikimedia still has a position [5] and is
following the file. We are worried about some onerous compliance
timeframes, which would be a challenge. We want to make sure that
age-verification doesn’t require platforms to collect additional user data.
We are strongly concerned by the proposed scanning and algorithmic
evaluation of interpersonal communication.
=== Liability on Free Software ===
The Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) sets out cybersecurity requirements for a
range of hardware and software products placed on the EU market, including
operating systems and software products. Part of its obligations are aimed
at ensuring maintenance and security updates. The instrument of choice is
to impose liability on developers and deployers of software. [6]
—
Our main worry is what sorts of obligations would hit developers of free
software. The CRA has a recital seemingly excluding free software “outside
the course of a commercial activity”, but the language chosen would fail
to address a large part of software that will not be covered but is
deployed.
—
Together with the Free Software Foundation Europe and EDRi we have come to
an agreement to ask lawmakers to improve the carve-out by replacing the
concept of “commercial activity” with an approach that focuses on
deployment and significant financial benefit. To achieve this, the
regulation should be targeted at those deploying software on the market,
instead of covering developers. We also need an exclusion of non-profit
entities and microenterprises that publish or deploy free and open source
software should be introduced as an article (instead of a recital).[7]
=== Net Neutrality ===
There is an internal struggle within the European Commission on whether to
propose a principle where the largest generators of online traffic would
have to pay an additional fee to telecoms. ETNO, the telecommunications
lobby group, is the central stakeholder asking for this and French
Commissioner Thierry Breton is pushing it. Wikimedia has a public position
[8].
—
The European Commission is running an “exploratory” public consultation on
the topic with a potential legislative proposal expected by year’s end. The
opposition is also strong, from parts of the Commission, to French rural
municipalities to conservative lawmakers (who claim that if Netflix pays
more money to Orange they would spend less money on producing European
films and series).
—
We plan on only answering some of the questions of this very biassed
consultation. If you want to have a look at our draft and edit it a little,
have fun here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yvStvjxRvWx_xosGpJqmPQMBDPRI7_3OYJFGpVv…
=== Data Act ===
The trilogue negotiations on the Data Act have picked up quickly, with the
ambition to get it wrapped up in weeks rather than months.
—
The Data Act is a proposed regulation that wants to boost data sharing
in-between businesses and between businesses and governments. Plus it wants
to ensure switching users and business can seamlessly switch between cloud
services. As such it touches a couple of thorny issues, such as data
sharing rules and the sui generis database right (SGDR).[9]
—
Wikimeida shared its position with negotiators ahead of the trilogues. We
support the Parliament's position on Article 35, which will de facto
abolish the SGDR on machine generated data for the purpose of re-use by
users. The Council supports this, but has stricter conditionalities.
Another aspect we addressed is Chapter V, which gives governments the right
to request data from businesses in emergency situations, but is too vaguely
framed.
===
[1]https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_2413
[2]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_to_Prevent_and_Combat_Child_Sexual…
[3]
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xzKAl58sOhVBe9pTlXNmCdG2KnRvW8nG/view?usp=…
[4]
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j-7rQDPpNqmQ20vMfgUikSdzw_3GSgi7/view?usp=…
[5]
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j-7rQDPpNqmQ20vMfgUikSdzw_3GSgi7/view?usp=…
[6]https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/cyber-resilience-act
[7]https://wikimedia.brussels/who-should-be-liable-for-free-software/
[8]https://wikimedia.brussels/net-neutrality-the-fair-share-debate/
[9]https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52022PC0068
--
Wikimedia Europe ivzw
Hi all,
here's a little announcement for y'all: I'll be changing jobs in May,
leaving the general counsel job at WMDE in order to work as a lawyer in the
German federal ministry of the interior, in a department called digital
society and information technology (abbreviated DG). My future team lead
asked me whether people would see this as 'moving to the dak side', but I
reassured her that policy Wikimedians are way too professional to
misunderstand it that way ;) In DG I'll have opportunity to work on some
of the very same government projects that we at WMDE tried to influence,
and I'm pretty sure that they hire me at least in part because of that
civil society background. So, if it is in fact dark over there in certain
ways, they seem to strive for some additional light through recruitment
(several people from NGOs were hired recently).
As of now, I don't really know much about how close the DG department is to
what the German government does in the Council and to European affairs in
general. Much of that is done by / through the foreign ministry. But if you
have specific suggestions or wishes around data policy in Germany and such,
let me know. I cannot of course guarantee anything, but as mentioned above,
there seems to be openness for the civil society mindset and good ideas are
hard to stop. And, simultaneously to me moving to the ministry, the policy
team at WMDE is now complete, with the last vacancy filled, There's now
more people power available at WMDE for wikimedian policy work than ever
before. That, plus all of you (plus WMEU as a platform) will help shape
digital policy that benefits Free Knowledge. At some point I might re-join
as a volunteer, still to be figured out, and there will probably be a
replacement GC at WMDE soon to help with legistic stuff.
In the mantime, find me on LinkedIn or get in touch via private email at
jhweitzmann(a)web.de, yours
John
Hi all,
This opportunity might interest those of you working on campaigns right
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*Liberties **Summer Campaign Accelerator *on 19th - 21st June with the
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*What is Liberties offering?*
During the three-day Summer School, our Narrative & Framing experts will
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preparation. At the end of the 3 days you should have a tight campaign plan
with clear and workable goals, a persuasive message and concepts for your
campaign communications materials.
Liberties will cover the cost of accommodation, travel and catering during
the training sessions.
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Liberties.EU | Israel Butler <newsletter(a)liberties.eu>
Date: Wed, Apr 12, 2023 at 6:01 AM
Subject: Call for Applications: Liberties’ Summer Campaign Accelerator 2023
| Summer School for NGOs
To: <fputz(a)wikimedia.org>
Do you have a campaign in the pipeline that could do with a boost?
Liberties is offering NGOs the chance to attend three days of coaching in
the Netherlands to supercharge an up-coming campaign. Applications are open
until 2nd May.
*Dear Friend,*
Liberties is delighted to announce that we are running our first-ever
Summer Campaign Accelerator on 19th - 21st June with the support of the EU
CERV-funded STRIVE project and the OAK Foundation. We’re offering three
organisations the chance to send 2-3 team members to the Netherlands for an
all-expenses paid three days of coaching and support to supercharge an
up-coming campaign.
*What is Liberties offering?*
During the three-day Summer School, our Narrative & Framing experts will
offer you training on campaign planning and messaging, and give you
feedback and support to incorporate this new knowledge into your campaign
preparation. At the end of the 3 days you should have a tight campaign plan
with clear and workable goals, a persuasive message and concepts for your
campaign communications materials.
Liberties will cover the cost of accommodation, travel and catering during
the training sessions.
*Eligibility criteria*
- Each applicant NGO should nominate at least two, but preferably three,
members of staff. At least one person should be responsible for
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expert responsible for the advocacy or research behind the campaign.
- The purpose of the campaign accelerator is to strengthen your
campaign. Therefore, your campaign preparation should be relatively mature,
but at a stage where you can still apply what you learn from the training
sessions.
- The campaign you are working on should be due to be implemented in an
EU country and relate to a human rights or environmental protection issue
inside an EU country. You should intend to execute the campaign within six
months of the workshop.
- The primary target audience of your campaign should be a segment of
the public. The campaign accelerator is not meant to support advocacy
campaigns where the primary target audience is decision-makers.
- The campaign accelerator will focus on support for online campaigning
and will not cover in-person campaigning, such as community building or
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*How do I apply?*
Complete this application form by midday on 2nd May. If you have questions
concerning the application process, please write to Israel Butler
i.butler(a)liberties.eu. If you have questions concerning arrangements for
travel and accommodation please write to Michaela Brzezinka
m.brzezinka(a)liberties.eu.
All relevant information, including eligibility requirements and an FAQ,
are available on *our website*
<http://0wo8i.mjt.lu/lnk/AVYAABKooIcAAAAd3zIAABWaTqIAAAAAtZIAAJV2ABjiCgBkNjs…>
.
Warm regards,
The Liberties Team
<http://0wo8i.mjt.lu/lnk/AVYAABKooIcAAAAd3zIAABWaTqIAAAAAtZIAAJV2ABjiCgBkNjs…>
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Dear friends,
The WMF Global Advocacy team has released our "Don't Blink" monthly
retrospective for February:
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/04/03/dont-blink-public-policy-snapshot-for…>
The blog post covers the actions we’ve taken this past month to advance fundamental rights
online. Highlights include:
* Removing the Pakistan government's block of Wikipedia
* Launch of Copyright advocacy crowdsourcing
* Section 230 Engagement in the USA
* Jimmy Wales' keynote and comments on UK public policy at the UK State of Open Conference
If you want more information about any of these initiatives, or wish to share something of
your own, get in touch.
We hope you enjoy the read!
Ziski & The Global Advocacy Team