Hi everyone.
Some might remember the 2019 recast of the EU PSI Directive (which is now
also called Open Data Directive) which has a nice round number EU/2019/1024
(https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2019/1024/oj). As a directive, it has
been transposed in EU member states and is also transposed/about to be
transposed into the EFTA states.
I was involved in the 2019 recast as a member of the staff of MEP Felix
Reda who wrote the opinion in the IMCO committee of the European Parliament
(the leading committee was ITRE:
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-8-2018-0438_EN.html#_sectio…
)
The Directive has both a general principle on the reuse of content but also
paragraph about how to process requests for re-use.
Germany transposed the PSI-OD-Directive into the "Datennutzungsgesetz" in
2021 but left out the processing part for requests for re-use. I spoke to a
civil servant in the responsible ministry who was involved in the drafting
process and she stated that this was by design. Since the "general
principle" on re-use applies, there would be no use for requests any more.
This idea has been rejected by academic literature which still claims that
the possibility for requests remain embedded in the law
Long story short: After reading the literature, the directive and the law,
I believe that Germany has introduced a law that would allow liberating
content for re-use under license terms compatible with Wikimedia projects.
For a few weeks now, I have put this theory to the test and I have applied
for usage rights for various government documents, pictures etc. This has
been largely successful, but not without hickups. People in the
administration are usually confused by these requests and it takes them a
while to process them.
I would be interested to learn if anyone else in any other EU/EFTA state
has ever used the PSI-OD-Directive (and the transposed law) to force
government entities to release content under a free license.
This was the most concise way of describing this for me. I left out many
details in order to not turn this into a long paper. I am happy to
elaborate on details if requested.
Mathias
(there are some exceptions in the directive. GLAM institutions are not
fully within the scope of all parts of the directive and it is not as
simple to simply go to a museum or a library and tell them to give you a
license for stuff they own. Public broadcasting it also out of scope)
Hello everyone,
As Wikimedia Deutschland, we have been part of the *"Bündnis F5" - F5
Alliance for digital policy for the common good <https://buendnis-f5.de/>*
since 2021. We founded this digital policy alliance with AlgorithmWatch,
Society for civic rights, Open Knolwedge Foundation Deutschland and
Reporters Without Borders to jointly develop more political weight for our
shared objectives. The core of our work is a structured dialog with
policymakers on digital policy issues, such as framework conditions for
free access to information, privacy, open data, transparency and hate
speech online.
As alliance F5, we have compiled political positions on the EU elections.
They show what measures and laws we believe are needed to realize the
vision of an open, free, reliable, sustainable and secure internet. The
positions were sent to EU candidates and selected officials, such as
European and international digital policy officers, as well as advertised
on social media and form the basis for related discussions.
*You can find them on Wikimedia Commons here:*
Political positions on the EU elections (English)
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Positions_of_the_F5_alliance_on_the…>
Political positions on the EU elections (German)
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Positionen_des_B%C3%BCndnis_F5_zur_…>
...and as pdf attached.
*The central points of our demands paper are:*
- Platforms: Regulate and restructure
- Artificial intelligence: Fair and sustainable
- Open source software & open hardware: Foundation of the future
- Strengthen privacy, protect journalists
- Digital Knowledge Act: A new era of free knowledge
Wikimedia has focused on the 5th point of the Digital Knowledge Act, in
line with the demands of Wikimedia Europe. Please do not hesitate to
contact us if you have any questions on this.
A recommendation in this context: Last week, re:publica
<https://re-publica.com/de>, Europe's largest conference on digital rights,
took place in Berlin. We were lucky enough to have Rebecca MacKinnon there
to discuss the Global Digital Compact on a high-level panel:
- Renata Dwan (Special Adviser Office of the UN Secretary-General's
Envoy on Technology), Rebecca MacKinnon (Vice President, Global
Advocacy, Wikimedia Foundation), Jens Matthias Lorentz (Head of Digital
Politics and AI in Foreign Policy Group, Ministry of Foreign Affairs),
Jeanette Hofmann (Director at the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for
Internet and Society and Professor of Internet Policy):
*Who cares about international digital policy? What do we expect from
the UN Global Digital Compact 2024
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxMmt4XCYro> (English)*
best regards
Lilli & team politics and public sector at WMDE
--
Lilli Iliev *(sie)*
Leitung Politik und öffentlicher Sektor
head of public policy and public sector
@lilliiliev@eupolicy.social
-----------------------------
Bleiben Sie auf dem neuesten Stand! Aktuelle Nachrichten und spannende
Geschichten rund um Wikimedia, Wikipedia und Freies Wissen im Newsletter: Zur
Anmeldung <https://www.wikimedia.de/newsletter/>.
------------------------------
Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
http://wikimedia.de Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch an
der Menge allen Wissens frei teilhaben kann.
Helfen Sie uns dabei! http://spenden.wikimedia.de/
Wikimedia Deutschland — Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e. V.
Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Charlottenburg, VR 23855 B.
Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für Körperschaften I Berlin,
Steuernummer 27/029/42207. Geschäftsführende Vorstände: Franziska
Heine, Dr. Christian Humborg.
Hello!
The year is starting off with work on AI liability, child protection and
text and data mining, all while the Commission is scrambling to slash red
tape.
Dimi & Michele
=== AI Liability Rules ===
While the Commission is proposing to simplify rules
<https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_339> and
reduce reporting obligations, the industry is adamant
<https://cdn.digitaleurope.org/uploads/2025/01/CEO-letter_Final_.pdf> that
the EU has been overregulating for a while and there shouldn’t be any new
rules for the time being. This is echoed by quite a few lawmakers.
Contradictory enough, some of these same lawmakers simultaneously want
continue working on new rules, for instance the AI Liability Directive
<https://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2024_2029/plmrep/AUTRES_INSTITUTION…>
.
—
The act was proposed last term, and is a rather short piece of legislation
(5 pages, 9 articles). It wants to empower consumers seeking damages if
they experience harm by AI systems. It had been on pause until the AI Act
got hammered out. The idea is to close some gaps in the current legislative
framework and to have clarity on who is responsible with regards to AI
systems.
—
MEP Axel Voss (EPP DE) is the rapporteur
<https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/en/procedure-file?reference=202…>.
His plan is to publish his draft report on 4 July this year and have it
adopted by the parliament by February next. The Commission seems still
supportive (although it is contradicting itself with other initiatives). On
the other hand, in the Council the Member States are sceptical that this is
needed.
=== Geo-blocking ===
The Geo-blocking Regulation
<https://wikimedia.brussels/geo-blocking-audiovisual-content-why-we-need-to-…>
was adopted in 2018 and prohibits any forms of discrimination based on
customers’ nationality, place of residence or place of establishment within
the internal market. However, it excludes from its scope audiovisual
content and copyrighted material. In this regard, the review clause foresaw
an obligation for the Commission to specifically evaluate the enlargement
of the scope to include copyright-protected works and audiovisual content.
—
In 2025, the European Commission is going to review the regulation. With
regards to this, the European Court of Auditors just adopted a special
report
<https://www.eca.europa.eu/ECAPublications/SR-2025-03/SR-2025-03_EN.pdf>
suggesting to “carry out a study to assess whether to extend the scope of
the Geo-blocking Regulation or amend other relevant sector-specific
regulations”.
=== Child Protection ===
While work on parliament's own-initiative report is getting off the ground,
the European Commission gave parliamentarians some insights on its thinking
at a house event. Irene Roche Laguna, head of platforms policy and
enforcement at DG CNECT, shared some points:
*Age verification is a central issue, and we need to work towards a
European solution by mid-2025.
*Other ideas than age verification can be implemented, and it’s a work in
progress. We want to have a public consultation on the DSA guidelines soon.
* We are in close contact with the Australian authorities and with Ofcom in
the UK. Banning seems effective but it’s excluding minors from useful
areas. There are other means that are less intrusive. Different platforms
pose different issues. Age verification is essential for adult content, but
it isn’t the answer for social media.
==== TDM ====
The European Commission launched a tender for a study
<https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/oppor…>
on the feasibility of a central registry of text and data mining opt-out
reservation expressed by rightsholders.
Reminder: The 2019 EU copyright reform introduced an exception allowing
text and data mining that allows rights holders to opt out of their content
being minded using a machine readable mechanism. The issue is that there
seems to be no working global standard. Rightsholders are complaining that
AI models mine their content, despite the expressed reservation. The
Commission is currently looking into a technical solution.
==== Spain ====
The Spanish Government adopted a draft law modifying the right to
rectification law
<https://www.mjusticia.gob.es/es/institucional/gabinete-comunicacion/noticia…>.
One of the main innovations, according to the Government, is the extension
of the personal scope of the current law
<https://www.boe.es/buscar/pdf/1984/BOE-A-1984-7248-consolidado.pdf>. In
other words, the right to ask for a rectification will apply also to
digital platforms and influencers (users who have more than 100,000
followers on a single platform or 200,000 across several). We plan to
analyse in detail the changes to fully understand their impact, once the
draft will be published.
==== Anti-SLAPP ====
In April 2022 the Commission adopted a Recommendation
<https://commission.europa.eu/document/d615e181-eb4c-4b4f-869d-ccf1ca6df0e2_…>on
SLAPP
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_lawsuit_against_public_participation>s,
calling on Member States to introduce a number of measures to protect
journalists, human rights defenders and activists. Among the measures, the
Member States were asked to “(...) establish a focal point that gathers and
shares information on all organisations that provide guidance and support
for targets of manifestly unfounded or abusive court proceedings against
public participation”.
—
Recently, the Commission published a follow-up document
<https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/documents-register/detail?ref=SWD(2024)29…>
highlighting the measures taken by the different Member States and in
particular the establishment of the different focal points, whose role is
crucial for the implementation of the Recommendation. In this sense, only a
limited number of Member States set-up the focal points. Here you may check
out if your Country is on the list
<https://commission.europa.eu/document/d357f321-540d-427a-9a5a-aae261486463_…>
.
=== DSA implementation ===
The Commission, DG CONNECT, launched a tender
<https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/oppor…>
to carry out a study to investigate and analyse the interplay between the
Digital Services Act (the horizontal content moderation rulebook) and
sectoral legislation, i.e. copyright, terrorist content regulation,
audiovisual rules, GDPR and so on. In the EU’s architecture, the DSA is the lex
generalis and is supposed to be supplemented by the specific legislation,
i.e. lex specialis. How they interplay, however, is not always easy to
answer.
—
The study will help clarify the consistency of the current legal framework
that presents some contradictions, i.e. conflicting goals.
—
At the same time, the Commission is working on the adoption of the
guidelines on the protection of minors (Art. 28 DSA) - see the WMF’s
feedback
<https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/1…>
- and the delegated act on data access (Art. 40 DSA) - here the WMF’s
submission
<https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/1…>
.
===END===
--
Wikimedia Europe ivzw
Hi there,
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67851771f0528401055d2329/ai_…
is an action plan by the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and
Technology that was released today.
Section 1.2 contains a series of recommendations that - in my opinion -
overlap with some of the goals of Wikimedia, not limited to recommendation
13:
"13.Establish a copyright-cleared British media asset training data set,
which can be licensed internationally at scale. This could be done through
partnering with bodies that hold valuable cultural data like the National
Archives, Natural History Museum, British Library and the BBC to develop a
commercial proposition for sharing their data to advance AI."
In my opinion, this dataset could and should be labeled CC-0 or released
under a permissive license such as CC-by which would make it compatible
with Wikimedia projects such as Wikimedia Commons. In return, Wikimedians
could offer the UK government to help annotate, curate or otherwise improve
metadata, making this dataset more valuable for training. I am certain that
these options are not on the top of the Secretary of State's mind. The
'commercial proposition' is most likely a sign that their line of thinking
is in a different direction, which would be a shame, in many ways.
Other recommendations could be compatible with Wikimedia goals and
requirements, but the lack of wording concerning free and open licenses in
section 1.2 remains a cause for concern.
In some respects, I feel reminded on the early "Europeana" times when free
and open licenses were not the consensus among EU member states concerning
content on this platform.
Anyone willing to make the necessary calls to the UK Government?
Mathias
Dear friends,
This email is very Wikimedia specific. I come to you with a request that I think many of you will have an interest in.
My colleague at WMF, Chuck Roslof, is leading an initiative to review policies and practices related to when project banners are run or temporary logo changes are made...particularly when these actions touch on public policy issues.
Since this group encompasses some of the most politically active Wikimedians, I know many of you have firsthand experience running campaigns where you either considered, or decided, to run banners on projects. Examples that come to mind are the 2017 Italian Wikipedia sitenotice for Response [1] to the 2017 ban in Turkey [2], as well as the European Parliament vote in 2018 that triggered shutdowns of Wikipedias and some sister projects in multiple languages [3]. In 2019 a series of banners and shutdowns took place for the same reasons [4]. You can read more about this effort on Meta-Wiki [5].
Do you have campaign examples to share where you ran a banner or changed a logo? On the Meta-Wiki you can see the examples we have already collected. Help us fill the gaps, either by adding examples directly or email it to croslof(a)wikimedia.org.
Thanks,
Ziski
__
[1] https://it.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MediaWiki:Sitenotice&oldid=87518…
[2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Response_to_2017_ban_in_Turkey
[3] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/European_Parliament_vote_in_2018
[4] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/EU_policy/Copyright_2019
[5] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation/Legal/Update_to_banner…
Hello Wikimedians!
Join us today as we celebrate open access to knowledge and creativity with
Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja, Senior Research Fellow at the National Institute
for Legislative and Democratic Studies, Abuja, and the former Chairman of
the Governing Board of the Nigerian Copyright Commission.
Dr. Jaja holds advanced degrees in Legislative Drafting and Law, including
a PhD from the University of London, and certifications in online teaching
and arbitration. With a wealth of experience in academia and research, he
has taught at institutions such as Kiit University, the University of Port
Harcourt, and Athabasca University, focusing on legislative drafting and
legal education.
Renowned for his work in legislative reform and capacity building, Dr. Jaja
has made significant contributions to enhancing legal frameworks and
policies both in Nigeria and internationally.
📅 Date: January 24, 2025
🕛 Time: 11:00 AM (WAT) | 10:00 AM (UTC)
🌐 Venue: Zoom
👉 Join Here:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAlceirqz8jGtHelqTV5OnT6WDYdSDJQE…
Regards
Rhoda James
On Behalf of Nigerian Public Policy Advocacy Team
Dear friends,
This email is very Wikimedia specific. I come to you with a request that I think many of you will have an interest in.
My colleague at WMF, Chuck Roslof, is leading an initiative to review policies and practices related to when project banners are run or temporary logo changes are made...particularly when these actions touch on public policy issues.
Since this group encompasses some of the most politically active Wikimedians, I know many of you have firsthand experience running campaigns where you either considered, or decided, to run banners on projects. Examples that come to mind are the 2017 Italian Wikipedia sitenotice for Response [1] to the 2017 ban in Turkey [2], as well as the European Parliament vote in 2018 that triggered shutdowns of Wikipedias and some sister projects in multiple languages [3]. In 2019 a series of banners and shutdowns took place for the same reasons [4]. You can read more about this effort on Meta-Wiki [5].
Do you have campaign examples to share where you ran a banner or changed a logo? On the Meta-Wiki you can see the examples we have already collected. Help us fill the gaps, either by adding examples directly or email it to croslof(a)wikimedia.org.
Thanks,
Ziski
__
[1] https://it.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MediaWiki:Sitenotice&oldid=87518…
[2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Response_to_2017_ban_in_Turkey
[3] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/European_Parliament_vote_in_2018
[4] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/EU_policy/Copyright_2019
[5] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation/Legal/Update_to_banner…
Dear all,
With Wikimania 2025 fast approaching, I'm delighted to share an excellent
resource that came out of Wikimania 2024.
The report
<https://openfuture.eu/publication/open-movements-commons-causes/> from the
Common(s) Causes day zero event has been published.
The report maps current threats and opportunities facing the open movement.
It is based on the ongoing work of the organizations behind the Common(s)
Cause event: Creative Commons, Open Knowledge Foundation, Open Future, and
Wikimedia Europe (in collaboration with the Wikimedia Foundation).
All of the findings are highly relevant to your work as Wikimedians
interested in policy advocacy. One that stood out in particular: the call
for a shared advocacy agenda, which could help ensure that Knowledge
Commons are treated and sustained as critical digital infrastructures. The
report identifies opportunities such as:
1. (Re)defining openness in a new technological era.
2. Creation of a shared advocacy strategy and enhanced regional and
thematic cooperation across the organizations.
3. Developing and testing governance approaches for our digital commons.
4. Advancing openness and sustainability for the technology, data,
content, and governance of Digital Public Infrastructure.
Thank you to our friends in the open movement for hosting such an important
event at Wikimania and for bringing us together!
Enjoy the read and resources.
Best,
Ziski
Franziska Putz (she/her)
Senior Movement Advocacy Manager
Global Advocacy, Wikimedia Foundation
Fputz(a)wikimedia.org
UTC Timezone
Hello Wikimedians,
The Nigerian Public Policy Advocacy Team is excited to invite you to join
us in celebrating Public Domain Day as we explore the transformative value
of works entering the public domain. This event will bring together a
dynamic mix of creatives, policymakers, academics, and open-knowledge
advocates to discuss the importance of open knowledge and the cultural
commons.
The Public Domain refers to creative works, ideas, and knowledge not
protected by intellectual property laws such as copyright, trademark, or
patent. As a result, these works are freely available for the public to
use, modify, share, and build upon without needing permission from or
payment to the original creator.
This event offers a unique opportunity to:
1. Engage in Inspiring Discussions
Hear from experts on how the public domain drives innovation, enriches
culture, and contributes to preserving our shared heritage.
2. Gain Valuable Insights
Discover practical ways to leverage public domain works for education,
Creativity, and entrepreneurship.
3. Celebrate Creativity
Explore new works entering the public domain and their potential impact
on innovation, education, and creative industries.
We are delighted to host an outstanding panel of speakers who will share
their expertise and insights:
- *Brigitte Vézina*
Creative Commons, Director of Policy and Open Culture.
- *Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja *
A legislative lawyer for Nigeria's National Assembly and consultant with
the Lesotho Law Reforms Commission.
- *Dr. Kunle Ola *
Associate Professor and Interim Dean at Thomas More Law School, Australia
*Event Details*
Date: Friday, 24th January 2025
Time: 1:00 PM (West Africa Time - WAT)
Platform: Zoom
Registration Link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAlceirqz8jGtHelqTV5OnT6WDYdSDJQE…
We look forward to your participation!
Best,
Rhoda James,
Public Policy Advocacy Team (Nigeria)