Dear all,
Congratulations, to you, you made it to the end of the week!
Congratulations to me, the Wikipedia Test resources are finally available!
What is the Wikipedia Test? A tool for policymakers and advocates to assess
whether a bill would break Wikipedia. If the answer is yes, it’s probably a
bad policy for other public interest platforms. How does it work? Why do we
need it? Those are great questions. Instead of making you read a long email
here, I recommend you can go straight to the blog post
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2025/07/17/introducing-the-wikipedia-test-a-tool…>,
click on the webinar details in the post, and decide how *you *would
describe it, and if you like it (I hope you do).
📅 We’re offering two sessions to accommodate different time zones —
please join whichever suits you best. Feel free to share widely with your
networks. This tool, and the webinars, are for everyone who wants to do
their part to promote a diverse, vibrant internet that includes platforms
that serve the public interest. Platforms like OpenStreetMap, digital
archives of cultural heritage, Reddit, and of course, Wikipedia.
Option 1: July 23rd @ 14:00 UTC (check your local time
<https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1753279200>)
Zoom link to register:
https://wikimedia.zoom.us/meeting/register/vatkUp33RQCuuYOW-QEgdw
Option 2: July 29th @ 3:00 UTC (check your local time
<https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1753758000>)
Zoom link to register:
https://wikimedia.zoom.us/meeting/register/UX4Wp9gZR02cCyBMfgbb0w
We hope you can join us and help protect the internet as a vibrant public
space!
Warm regards,
Ziski & the WMF Global Advocacy Team
Franziska Putz (she/her)
Senior Movement Advocacy Manager
Global Advocacy, Wikimedia Foundation
Fputz(a)wikimedia.org
UTC Timezone
Dear Dimitar,
I hope you are doing well. Mohamed Gohary has now moved on from IFEX. Would you mind removing his email from the list, please? His email is: mgohary(a)ifex.org<mailto:mgohary@ifex.org>
Thanks,
Best,
Ban
[Close-up of a white card with black text Description automatically generated]
From: Dimitar Zagorski <dimi(a)wikimedia.be>
Date: Thursday, July 31, 2025 at 4:49 AM
To: Publicpolicy Group for Wikimedia <publicpolicy(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
Subject: [Publicpolicy] EU Policy Monitoring Report - July 2025
Hello!
Nerdy copyright questions are back in more than one way! Child protection is here to stay. We will start working on the EU budget over the summer break (unenthusiastic yey!).
Dimi and Michele
=== Child Protection ===
Guidelines on Child Protection: On 14 July the European Commission adopted its DSA child protection guidelines<https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/1…>. A non-exhaustive list of recommended, but nonobligatory, measures on how to protect children from online risks such as harmful content, addictive behaviours, or cyberbullying.
—
Some of the recommendations that struck yours truly were to set minor accounts to private by default, limiting visibility to contacts, to disable geolocation and microphone/camera access by default and to restrict unsolicited messages and group additions without consent.
—
There was a feedback gathering period and the Wikimedia Foundation responded<https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/1…>. The tenor of the response was that one size fits all approaches are inappropriate, considering how diverse platforms can be. One concrete example in the guidelines is the recommendation that minors shouldn’t be easily found or contacted by accounts they have not previously accepted as contacts/friends. This is obviously not easily applicable to Wikipedia.
—
EP Report on Child Protection: The draft report<https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/en/procedure-file?reference=202…> by Christel Schaldemose (S&D DK) and its proposed amendments<https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/IMCO-AM-774602_EN.html> are published. Refresher: This is a own-initiative, non-legislative report that will basically end up as a sort of declaration. It can still indicate what actions the parliament can get majorities for.
—
A first skim: Many MEPs seem to agree that addictive features of social media platforms need to be restricted, especially when it comes to minors. Centre-right (EPP) MEPs are also suggesting personal liability for higher management should platforms systemically breach child protection provisions.
—
SHAMELESS WIKIMANIA PLUG: We are organising a child safety training<https://wikimania.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:Wikimania/Day_Zero_Child_Safety_…> at Wikimania during the pre-conference day. We have found a trainer with heaps of law enforcement and trust & safety experience. Please feel welcome to join!
=== Copyright ===
EP Report on AI & Copyright: And just because own-initiative reports are such a blast, the parliament is working on another one (see draft<https://communia-association.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Draft-Report-IN…>), on AI and copyright, led by Axel Voss (EPP DE).
—
Here’s what stood out to us:
* Voss claims that the training of generative AI systems is “currently not covered” by the existing TDM exceptions and requires clarification, e.g. by extending the exception to generative AI training (when opt-out is not invoked by publisher).
* Voss suggests a levy/licensing scheme for generative AI outputs that infringe intellectual property rights.
* Voss insists that AI-generated content should remain ineligible for copyright protection, and that the public domain status of such works be clearly determined
We like some parts of the above and are watching this :)
—
AI Code of Practice: The European Commission has published its AI Code of Practice<https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/contents-code-gpai>, a delegated act under the AI regulation. It has a transparency section, a copyright section and a safety & security section. On copyright input it asks developers to "identify and comply with other appropriate machine-readable protocols to express rights reservations". On copyright output it says nothing specific, rather sticking to a "proportionate technical safeguards to prevent infringements" language.
—
So far OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and Aleph Alpha have signed up, Meta has declined, Microsoft is still pondering. If you want a closer read, the Communia Association offers an excellent assessment<https://communia-association.org/2025/07/21/our-thoughts-on-the-final-versi…>.
—
Denmark is working on updating its copyright law to include:
1. A general protection against realistic, digitally generated imitations of personal characteristics. This intends to protect the general public against the sharing of imitations of people's personal characteristics (appearance, voice, etc.) without consent.
2. An imitation protection for performers, which aims to protect artists against the sharing of realistic, digitally generated imitations of their performances or artistic achievements without consent. Think of someone using an actor’s AI generated voice to dub an unlicensed film, for instance.
—
There is a public consultation process<https://hoeringsportalen.dk/Hearing/Details/70269>. WMDK and WMEU are still considering whether it makes sense for us to submit something. The main puzzling bit is that these protections sound like personality rights, not copyright. The draft does say that all copyright exceptions should be respected, which again raises some further questions. The stated goal of the Danish government is to give statutory protection, currently this protection exists in Denmark only based on caselaw.
—
Italian Cultural Heritage Laws: German toymaker Ravensburger used the Vitruvian Man, copyright long expired, on a jigsaw puzzle. Italy claimed that its Cultural Heritage Code extends protection, even beyond Italy, and sued. A German court now ruled against this. I will again refer you to Communia’s excellent write-up<https://communia-association.org/2025/07/10/higher-regional-court-of-stuttg…>.
=== EU Budget ===
The MFF<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiannual_Financial_Framework> (Multiannual Financial Framework) is the EU's long-term budget framework. It allocates resources over a 7-year period. The European Commission proposed<https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/eu-budget/long-term-eu-bud…> the new framework mid-July, outlining a draft EU budget for the 2028–2034 period.The negotiations will now begin after summer and will involve both the European Parliament (majority needed) and the Council (unanimity needed). It is expected that negotiations will last all of next year and even seep into 2027.
—-
Wikimedia Europe will for the first time try to be part of these discussions. Of particular interest to us are the successor to Horizon Europe, the EU’s R&D program (priority areas, licensing, less bureaucracy), the “education and democratic values” sections (details pending) and what the EU plans to fund in terms of digital public infrastructure, citizen engagement.
—
Perhaps noteworthy is that there will be a European Competitiveness Fund<https://commission.europa.eu/publications/european-competitiveness-fund_en> which explicitly backs pan-European public digital infrastructure and interoperable and sovereign systems, which is defined to include open‑source systems and platforms.
=== Democracy Shield ===
One of the political priorities of the Von der Leyen 2.0 Commission is the protection of EU democracy & values<https://commission.europa.eu/priorities-2024-2029/democracy-and-our-values_…> as stated in the Political Guidelines 2024-2029<https://commission.europa.eu/priorities-2024-2029_en>.
In light of this, the EU Commission planned to put forward the so-called European Democracy Shield<https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_BRI(2024)767153>, a non legislative initiative that should be adopted in autumn.
The initiative wants to address key issues such as foreign manipulation and interference, ensuring fairness of electoral processes, social resilience and citizen participation. The Commission opened a public consultation.
—
Given the importance of the topic we have submitted<https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/1…> feedback as Wikimedia Europe. We mainly highlighted that supporting and protecting Wikimedia communities and projects can help protect and advance democracy in the digital sphere<https://wikimedia.brussels/european-democracy-shield-we-shared-our-views-wi…>. We also called for the application of the Wikipedia Test<https://wikimediafoundation.org/news/2025/06/27/the-wikipedia-test/> and the protection of Wikimedia volunteer editors from strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs).
=== EMFA ===
Last year, the EU adopted the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA)<https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1083/oj/eng>, a regulation that recognises the unique role of independent media services in the internal market and whose aim is to safeguard media freedom and pluralism.
—
In view of the full entry into application of the new rules, which is foreseen in August 2025, the European Commission launched a targeted consultation on Article 18, the so-called media exemption. Article 18, indeed, establishes that providers of very large platforms will have to wait 24 hours before taking down or restricting content by self-declared media providers that may breach their own housekeeping rules — giving them time to challenge the decisions.
—
The rule should only apply to Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) that are used by media providers to allow access to their content.
—
We took this opportunity to share our views with the Commission<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WMEU_Submission_Guidelines_Article_…>, mainly asking to clarify the specific nature of the platforms in scope (thus excluding Wikipedia) and to acknowledge and safeguard Wikipedia’s distributed and community-led model of content moderation.
===END===
Wikimedia Europe ivzw
Hello!
Nerdy copyright questions are back in more than one way! Child protection
is here to stay. We will start working on the EU budget over the summer
break (unenthusiastic yey!).
Dimi and Michele
=== Child Protection ===
Guidelines on Child Protection: On 14 July the European Commission adopted
its DSA child protection guidelines
<https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/1…>.
A non-exhaustive list of recommended, but nonobligatory, measures on how
to protect children from online risks such as harmful content, addictive
behaviours, or cyberbullying.
—
Some of the recommendations that struck yours truly were to set minor
accounts to private by default, limiting visibility to contacts, to disable
geolocation and microphone/camera access by default and to restrict
unsolicited messages and group additions without consent.
—
There was a feedback gathering period and the Wikimedia Foundation responded
<https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/1…>.
The tenor of the response was that one size fits all approaches are
inappropriate, considering how diverse platforms can be. One concrete
example in the guidelines is the recommendation that minors shouldn’t be
easily found or contacted by accounts they have not previously accepted as
contacts/friends. This is obviously not easily applicable to Wikipedia.
—
EP Report on Child Protection: The draft report
<https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/en/procedure-file?reference=202…>
by Christel Schaldemose (S&D DK) and its proposed amendments
<https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/IMCO-AM-774602_EN.html> are
published. Refresher: This is a own-initiative, non-legislative report that
will basically end up as a sort of declaration. It can still indicate what
actions the parliament can get majorities for.
—
A first skim: Many MEPs seem to agree that addictive features of social
media platforms need to be restricted, especially when it comes to minors.
Centre-right (EPP) MEPs are also suggesting personal liability for higher
management should platforms systemically breach child protection provisions.
—
SHAMELESS WIKIMANIA PLUG: We are organising a child safety training
<https://wikimania.wikimedia.org/wiki/Event:Wikimania/Day_Zero_Child_Safety_…>
at Wikimania during the pre-conference day. We have found a trainer with
heaps of law enforcement and trust & safety experience. Please feel welcome
to join!
=== Copyright ===
EP Report on AI & Copyright: And just because own-initiative reports are
such a blast, the parliament is working on another one (see draft
<https://communia-association.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Draft-Report-IN…>),
on AI and copyright, led by Axel Voss (EPP DE).
—
Here’s what stood out to us:
-
Voss claims that the training of generative AI systems is “currently not
covered” by the existing TDM exceptions and requires clarification, e.g.
by extending the exception to generative AI training (when opt-out is not
invoked by publisher).
-
Voss suggests a levy/licensing scheme for generative AI outputs that
infringe intellectual property rights.
-
Voss insists that AI-generated content should remain ineligible for
copyright protection, and that the public domain status of such works be
clearly determined
We like some parts of the above and are watching this :)
—
AI Code of Practice: The European Commission has published its AI Code of
Practice
<https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/contents-code-gpai>, a
delegated act under the AI regulation. It has a transparency section, a
copyright section and a safety & security section. On copyright input it
asks developers to "identify and comply with other appropriate
machine-readable protocols to express rights reservations". On copyright
output it says nothing specific, rather sticking to a "proportionate
technical safeguards to prevent infringements" language.
—
So far OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and Aleph Alpha have signed up, Meta has
declined, Microsoft is still pondering. If you want a closer read, the
Communia Association offers an excellent assessment
<https://communia-association.org/2025/07/21/our-thoughts-on-the-final-versi…>
.
—
Denmark is working on updating its copyright law to include:
1. A general protection against realistic, digitally generated imitations
of personal characteristics. This intends to protect the general public
against the sharing of imitations of people's personal characteristics
(appearance, voice, etc.) without consent.
2. An imitation protection for performers, which aims to protect artists
against the sharing of realistic, digitally generated imitations of their
performances or artistic achievements without consent. Think of someone
using an actor’s AI generated voice to dub an unlicensed film, for instance.
—
There is a public consultation process
<https://hoeringsportalen.dk/Hearing/Details/70269>. WMDK and WMEU are
still considering whether it makes sense for us to submit something. The
main puzzling bit is that these protections sound like personality rights,
not copyright. The draft does say that all copyright exceptions should be
respected, which again raises some further questions. The stated goal of
the Danish government is to give statutory protection, currently this
protection exists in Denmark only based on caselaw.
—
Italian Cultural Heritage Laws: German toymaker Ravensburger used the
Vitruvian Man, copyright long expired, on a jigsaw puzzle. Italy claimed
that its Cultural Heritage Code extends protection, even beyond Italy, and
sued. A German court now ruled against this. I will again refer you to
Communia’s excellent write-up
<https://communia-association.org/2025/07/10/higher-regional-court-of-stuttg…>
.
=== EU Budget ===
The MFF <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiannual_Financial_Framework>
(Multiannual Financial Framework) is the EU's long-term budget framework.
It allocates resources over a 7-year period. The European Commission
proposed
<https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/eu-budget/long-term-eu-bud…>
the new framework mid-July, outlining a draft EU budget for the 2028–2034
period.The negotiations will now begin after summer and will involve both
the European Parliament (majority needed) and the Council (unanimity
needed). It is expected that negotiations will last all of next year and
even seep into 2027.
—-
Wikimedia Europe will for the first time try to be part of these
discussions. Of particular interest to us are the successor to Horizon
Europe, the EU’s R&D program (priority areas, licensing, less bureaucracy),
the “education and democratic values” sections (details pending) and what
the EU plans to fund in terms of digital public infrastructure, citizen
engagement.
—
Perhaps noteworthy is that there will be a European Competitiveness Fund
<https://commission.europa.eu/publications/european-competitiveness-fund_en>
which explicitly backs pan-European public digital infrastructure and
interoperable and sovereign systems, which is defined to include
open‑source systems and platforms.
=== Democracy Shield ===
One of the political priorities of the Von der Leyen 2.0 Commission is
the protection
of EU democracy & values
<https://commission.europa.eu/priorities-2024-2029/democracy-and-our-values_…>
as stated in the Political Guidelines 2024-2029
<https://commission.europa.eu/priorities-2024-2029_en>.
In light of this, the EU Commission planned to put forward the
so-called European
Democracy Shield
<https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_BRI(2024)767153>,
a non legislative initiative that should be adopted in autumn.
The initiative wants to address key issues such as foreign manipulation and
interference, ensuring fairness of electoral processes, social resilience
and citizen participation. The Commission opened a public consultation.
—
Given the importance of the topic we have submitted
<https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/1…>
feedback as Wikimedia Europe. We mainly highlighted that supporting and
protecting Wikimedia communities and projects can help protect and advance
democracy in the digital sphere
<https://wikimedia.brussels/european-democracy-shield-we-shared-our-views-wi…>.
We also called for the application of the Wikipedia Test
<https://wikimediafoundation.org/news/2025/06/27/the-wikipedia-test/> and
the protection of Wikimedia volunteer editors from strategic lawsuits
against public participation (SLAPPs).
=== EMFA ===
Last year, the EU adopted the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA)
<https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1083/oj/eng>, a regulation that
recognises the unique role of independent media services in the internal
market and whose aim is to safeguard media freedom and pluralism.
—
In view of the full entry into application of the new rules, which is
foreseen in August 2025, the European Commission launched a targeted
consultation on Article 18, the *so-called media exemption*. Article 18,
indeed, establishes that providers of very large platforms will have to *wait
24 hours before taking down or restricting content by self-declared media
providers* that may breach their own housekeeping rules — giving them time
to challenge the decisions.
—
The rule should only apply to Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) that are
used by media providers to allow access to their content.
—
We took this opportunity to share our views with the Commission
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WMEU_Submission_Guidelines_Article_…>,
mainly asking to clarify the specific nature of the platforms in scope
(thus excluding Wikipedia) and to acknowledge and safeguard Wikipedia’s
distributed and community-led model of content moderation.
===END===
--
Wikimedia Europe ivzw
Hey all,
Just a quick note that I have published the draft programme for the Big Fat
Brussels Meeting X
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Europe/Advocacy/Big_Fat_Brussels_…>
.
It will take place on Friday (afternoon) and Saturday all day - 3&4
October. The programme is built in such a way that participation on
Saturday only is possible.
Please indicate your intended presence by adding your name to the Meta-Wiki
page.
NB: On Thursday afternoon there will be a public policy event followed by a
reception in a venue across the European Parliament. More details to
follow, but everyone reading this is invited :)
Cheers,
Dimi
--
Dimitar Zagorski
Policy Director
Wikimedia Europe
mobile: +32497720374
Rue Belliard 12 Belliardstraat, Brussels
https://wikimedia.brussels
--
Wikimedia Europe ivzw
Hi everyone,
This time of year is busy when it comes to policy discussions. As a
movement, we’ve been advocating for free and open knowledge at important
conferences
<https://medium.com/wikimedia-policy/join-the-wikimedia-foundation-to-discus…>
from Brazil to Nigeria and some spots in between.
This email contains a recap of your experiences. Thank you to everyone who
shared their reflections.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
🤓 Background context
This year it is extra important for Wikimedia to participate in policy
discussions about internet governance. That’s because in December 2025 a
decision will be made
<https://www.gp-digital.org/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-wsis20-rev…>
whether or not internet governance will continue to be a multistakeholder
matter. In other words, if civil society groups like Wikimedia as well as
the private sector and technical groups can continue to have a say, or if
governments will be the only actors who will decide how the internet works.
That’s why engaging in policy forums from UN events to regional conferences
was a top priority.
Shared themes from these reflections
-
National discussions highlighted the need to strengthen regional
technical capacity
-
Multistakeholder governance needs to be championed
-
Coordinating civil society voices and working through coalitions is
essential for impact
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and regional IGFs
🌐 What: IGF <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Governance_Forum> is the
annual UN conference where internet policy is discussed and decided. It
brings together all relevant members of the conversation: governments,
private sector, civil society, as well as the technical and academic
community.
🇧🇷 IGF Brazil (Fórum da Internet no Brasil / FIB)
Reflections courtesy of Marília Rocha, Wikimedia Brasil
We use this opportunity to raise awareness about important initiatives.
-
We launched a public statement
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/pt/2025/05/28/wikimedia-defende-o-modelo-de-gove…>,
signed by João Alexandre Peschanski (Executive Director of Wikimedia
Brasil) and Amalia Toledo (Lead Public Policy Specialist for Latin America
and the Caribbean at WMF) defending the multistakeholder internet
governance model currently practiced in Brazil.
-
The “Legal Internet” campaign
<https://direitosnarede.org.br/2025/03/18/organizacoes-lancam-campanha-por-r…>
was announced by a group of organizations working in the digital rights
field and social movements, which includes the Coalizão Direitos na Rede,
of which WM Brasil is a member. The campaign advocates for democratic
regulation of digital platforms, digital sovereignty, and the promotion of
alternative technologies —ones not centered on profit or on the massive
extraction of user data.
Participation in IGF Brazil was a learning opportunity.
-
It allowed two members of our team to better understand the structure of
internet governance in Brazil as well as the importance of strengthening
the technical training of Brazilian professionals for the installation,
maintenance, and use of digital infrastructures. This is crucial to address
the major challenge of not becoming dependent on large platforms or reliant
on the expertise of external professionals.
-
We will share these learnings with the Wikimedia community at WikiCon
Brasil 2025 <https://br.wikimedia.org/wiki/WikiCon_Brasil_2025>, which
will take place in the same city as IGF Brazil—Salvador (Bahia)—on July
19th and 20th. We will debate Digital Public Goods and connect the
discussion with the insights gathered at the IGF Brazil.
🇳🇬 IGF Nigeria (West Africa Internet Governance Forum)
Reflections courtesy of Olushola Olaniyan, Wikimedia User Group Nigeria
Core themes that stood out during this conference were:
1.
The Nigerian government’s commitment to supporting regional digital
infrastructure, including expanding broadband, supporting subsea cable
resilience, and rolling out AI and digital literacy strategies. These
initiatives are meant to help democratise internet access by also
protecting user rights and promoting innovation that uplifts communities
across West Africa. There was a call to drive regional capacity and
coordination on these topics, including future sessions that Rapporteurs
planned on digital rights, emerging technologies, cybersecurity, and
internet shutdowns.
2.
Protecting Journalists & Digital Rights: Extensive dialogue
highlighted cybersecurity
risks for journalists, tracking over 1,200 attacks in Nigeria between
1986 and 2024, and emphasised the misuse of cybercrime laws. These panels
underlined the need for policies that safeguard freedom of expression and
limit state surveillance.
3.
Data protection was a consistent focus. A parliamentary communique
called for harmonised data protection, standardised digital legislation
across the region, and greater capacity for lawmakers. The Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS) led recommendations that included
enhancing data governance and forming a regional AI ethics task force.
4.
AI in the context of education. Discussions about AI in education
centred on equity, bias, data privacy, and fostering AI literacy among
students and educators. 💡These are areas where Wikimedians have relevant
expertise.
5.
Support for multistakeholder collaboration was reflected in the
diversity of participants from governments, civil society, the tech sector,
academia, and members of the Youth IGF. Participants were encouraged to
elevate regional voices in global policy spaces, such as UN-led discussions
on AI and data governance talks.
🇬🇭 IGF Ghana
Reflections courtesy of Justice Okai-Allotey, Wikimedia Ghana User Group
The Ghana IGF was hosted in Accra, Ghana, on the theme “Building an
Inclusive Digital Future Together.”
There were three panel discussions on the following topics;
-
Driving Digital Inclusion and Transformation in Ghana.
-
Addressing disinformation and misinformation while upholding human
rights in Ghana.
-
Cybersecurity and Data Protection in Ghana.
The Ghana Youth IGF and Ghana Children IGF were happening concurrently
alongside the main IGF. A critical takeaway from this event was a
communiqué that was to be drafted after the forum and shared with all
participants for input before being made public.
🇺🇳 UN IGF 2025
Reflections courtesy of WMF Global Advocacy team
The WMF team's presence and activities at IGF <https://www.igf2025.no/> are
part of our overall engagement strategy to create awareness for Wikipedia
and the Foundation, create a deeper understanding of Wikipedia’s model and
value among stakeholders, and turn influential voices into champions for
our mission who will advocate for us when Wikipedia and Wikipedians come
under pressure. We used this opportunity to:
-
Build strong support for Wikimedia among stakeholders focused on child
safety, a major topic that is shaping platform regulation.
-
Build alliances and foster a collective vision for a public-interest
internet across Latin America that supports Wikipedia. As part of this, we
deepened ties with civil society partners in Brazil and Colombia around
child online safety advocacy and discussed organizing learning sessions
with policymakers to explore the development of privacy-respecting public
policies for child protection online.
-
Drive awareness of Wikipedia’s value, including by highlighting
Wikipedia is a critical multilingual source of data for AI and that it
needs to be protected as a digital public good.
-
Nurture relationships with UN stakeholders and expand our network in the
UN system and other international organizations. We engaged member
countries of the Freedom Online Coalition on priority topics such
information integrity, privacy, digital public goods, and the larger
question of how digital governance processes can remain open to civil
society participation. These relationships allow us to position Wikipedia
as a critical source of knowledge for marginalized communities, especially
in conflict areas.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
UNESCO Conference on Capacity Building on AI and Digital Transformation in
the Public Sector
Reflections courtesy of Adélaïde Calais, Wikimedia France
🌐 What: This UNESCO conference
<https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/unesco-conference-capacity-building-ai-a…>
took place in Paris in early June. The focus was on addressing
capacity-building needs for public sector officials related to AI, digital
technologies, and data governance. This event was on our radar because
there was a session that was dedicated to the WSIS+20 meeting
<https://www.gp-digital.org/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-wsis20-rev…>
taking place this July, which is an essential step in the process that will
decide the future of multistakeholderism in the context of internet
governance. The UNESCO event in Paris was another opportunity to shape that
conversation. Wikimedia France attended and represented our movement.
Conference observations:
-
Participants seem unclear as to what a common digital good is. There was
only one person who talked about the open space, and they referred to a
MOOC created by UNESCO as a common digital good.
-
Next steps until WSIS+20: The 2nd round of consultations is in June,
then the zero draft in December. After it is presented there will still be
possibilities for stakeholders, if they see the need to make room.
Stakeholders should be as coordinated as possible, channel a single voice
from a category of stakeholders.
-
UNESCO shared their toolkit for data governance in the digital age,
<https://www.unesco.org/en/data-governance-digital-age> and are
currently open to feedback.
Recommendations
-
💡This lack of representation of the open movement and awareness of what
counts as a digital public good highlights the importance of information
campaigns aimed at government officials and UN / UNESCO heads of
departments on the topic of common digital goods and shared governance.
Examples include our edit-a-thon with WM NYC at UN Open Source Week
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2025/06/18/inside-the-first-big-un-wikipedia-edi…>and
our campaign on the Global Digital Compact
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Global_Digital_Compact_Wikimedia_Advocacy_C…>
.
-
💡Core argument to make: The best part of the internet is made by those
who create digital common goods and that it is priceless to foster them
alongside the regulation of big for profit platforms.
-
💡Platforms in service of the common good need to keep working as a
coalition. That means collaborating closely with actors like Open Street
Map, Common Voice, fact checkers and journalists, but also GLAMs. All of
these actors have similar interests in open content, freedom to share
knowledge and protecting the rights of contributors and their datasets. The
goal is to bring a common voice, as coordinated as possible, channel a
single voice from a category of stakeholders. This will have much more
impact on WSIS since they are already listening to 120 different countries.
WMF alone stands no chance.
-
💡Rely on chapters and their own already formed coalitions of open
internet, common good actors and on their GLAM network. Wikimedia France
has been working with its ecosystem for example and could leverage their
voices in this conversation with WSIS. Other chapters in Europe could do
the same.
Franziska Putz (she/her)
Senior Movement Advocacy Manager
Global Advocacy, Wikimedia Foundation
Fputz(a)wikimedia.org
UTC Timezone
Dear all,
On behalf of the organizing committee, we would like to share some
information related to the European Public Domain Day 2026. The next
conference will take place on the *15th of January 2025 in Brussels*
, Belgium.
*1. Save the Date*
The next conference will take place on the *15th of January 2026 in
Brussels*.
The registration will open in the fall. Stay tuned!
*2. Call for Contributions for European Practitioners*
Would you like to be part of it and share what happens in your country?
Would you like to share your experience, case-study or skills?
Respond to the Call for Contributions here
<https://www.pdday.org/events/european-public-domain-day-2026/> - *Deadline
on the 30th of September 2025*.
*3. Map of the Public Domain Celebrations in Europe and in the World*
Do you plan an event? a celebration or a workshop on the Public Domain?
Tell us! Be on the map
<https://www.pdday.org/international-public-domain-map/>!
*4. We've launched our new website *
You can find all information on pdday.org
We invite you to share this email to colleagues and friends in your
network!
And be in touch! :)
Warm wishes,
--
Camille Françoise
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Member / COMMUNIA <https://communia-association.org> |
Ambassador / Software Heritage <https://www.softwareheritage.org> |
Council Member / Europeana <https://www.europeana.eu/fr> Network
Association |
Board Member / Wikimedia France <https://www.wikimedia.fr> |
Observer EDRI <https://edri.org> |
Lecturer / Université d'Artois
<https://www.lettres.univ-artois.fr/les-formations/master-museologie-museo-e…>
|
Dear all,
Happy July! I hope you have some nice plans for the month.
In case you are traveling, be sure to see our new guide on *Digital Safety
While Traveling and Attending Events
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation/Legal/Community_Resili…:>.
*The email below contains a further breakdown of resources related to
digital safety for Wikimedians, all of which are centralized in the Human
Rights team's Digital Security Resource Center
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation/Legal/Community_Resili…>
on Meta-Wiki.
All the best,
Ziski
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: WMF Human Rights <talktohumanrights(a)wikimedia.org>
Date: Mon, Jun 16, 2025 at 2:08 AM
Subject: [Wikimedia-l] Digital safety and privacy tips and suggestions
To: <wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
Translations of this email will also be available on this page:
https://w.wiki/EVFh
Dear all,
We hope this email finds you well.
We are reaching out to share some digital safety and privacy tips and
suggestions. As a movement that thrives on transparency and openness, it
can be challenging to prioritise personal privacy and take appropriate
security steps. However, maintaining privacy is crucial for safeguarding
yourself and those close to you. We hope you will find this useful.
-
Review your public footprint: Take a moment to assess what information
about you is publicly accessible on Wikimedia projects (eg: user pages),
other platforms, search engines, and people search sites. Also think about
old accounts and profiles that you may not use anymore. Ask yourself if you
are comfortable with what someone could learn about you from this
information? What felt safe to share years ago may feel different now,
especially as contexts change. It’s okay to update or remove details to
better align with your current comfort level and risk environment.
-
Be cautious of suspicious communications: Stay alert to phishing and
other suspicious communication attempts. Bad-faith actors may try to
impersonate trusted contacts, journalists, researchers, potential new
employees or organisations to extract personal information. Avoid clicking
on suspicious links, and consider verifying the sender’s identity with
trusted third parties or with the organisation they claim to be from before
engaging.
-
Tighten privacy settings: Ensure your social media accounts and other
online profiles have strict privacy settings. Limit who can view your
posts, contact you, or see your personal information. Regularly review and
update these settings.
-
Review and be cautious of your online activity: If you frequently post
stories or updates on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or X, pay
attention to who is viewing or engaging with them. Do you recognise all of
the people? Are there unfamiliar accounts regularly watching your content?
Be cautious if you see accounts with little personal information, strange
usernames, or no mutual connections. These could be fake or anonymous
profiles used by bad actors to monitor your activity.
-
Take care of each other: If you notice someone else being targeted,
reach out to them. Solidarity, even quietly expressed, can make a big
difference. Report threats or abuse through appropriate channels, such as
the Wikimedia Foundation's Trust & Safety
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation/Legal/Community_Resili…>
(ca(a)wikimedia.org) team or local project administrators. For threats of
imminent physical harm <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Threats_of_harm>,
please contact emergency(a)wikimedia.org
For further resources, please see the Meta: Digital Safety Resources Page
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation/Legal/Community_Resili…>
and the links below:
-
Learn.Wiki Module Assess your digital security risks
<https://learn.wiki/courses/course-v1:Wikimedia-Foundation+WMF_HUM001+2022/a…>
-
Meta: Digital Safety Considerations for Wikimedians
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Digital_Safety_Considerations_for_Wikimedia…>
-
Diff: Privacy and Transparency: Staying safe in an open movement
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2025/02/26/privacy-and-transparency-staying-safe…>
-
Diff: How can a username keep you safe
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2022/12/01/how-can-a-username-keep-you-safe/>
?
-
Diff: Doxing: Why should you care
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/04/27/doxing-why-should-you-care/>?
-
Diff: Doxing: Have you tried doxing yourself
<https://diff.wikimedia.org/2023/05/01/doxing-have-you-tried-doxing-yourself/>
?
-
Meta: Digital Safety While Traveling and Attending Events
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation/Legal/Community_Resili…>
For chat or group admins, please consider the following:
If you administrate or monitor chats on other platforms or other lists, you
play an important role in safeguarding the privacy and safety of members.
Please consider the following actions you can take to enhance the group's
security and protect its members:
-
Activate anonymous admin mode
-
Hide members list of the group
-
Limit message forwarding
-
Set messages to auto-delete after a certain time
Here is some information around this for WhatsApp
<https://faq.whatsapp.com/1003616827680090>, Telegram
<https://lifehacker.com/8-telegram-privacy-settings-you-should-enable-immedi…>,
Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/help/412300192139228> and Discord
<https://itssc.rpi.edu/hc/en-us/articles/32018134944013-Discord-Best-Practic…>
.
For any questions or further support around this, please reach out to
talktohumanrights(a)wikimedia.org. Additionally, please see the Digital First
Aid Kit <https://digitalfirstaid.org/> which provides some preliminary
self-diagnostic support for people facing the most common types of digital
threats.
With best wishes,
Human Rights Team <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Human_Rights_Team>
_______________________________________________
Wikimedia-l mailing list -- wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org, guidelines at:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l
Public archives at
https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org…
To unsubscribe send an email to wikimedia-l-leave(a)lists.wikimedia.org