Press Releases Brussels, February 18 2020 – International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) leaders convened on 16-17 February in an International conference in Doha, Qatar, to address social media challenges and their impact on freedom of expression and journalists’ work.

Brussels, February 18 2020 – International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) leaders convened on 16-17 February in an International conference in Doha, Qatar, to address social media challenges and their impact on freedom of expression and journalists’ work.

Brussels, February 18 2020 – International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) leaders convened on 16-17 February in an International conference in Doha, Qatar, to address social media challenges and their impact on freedom of expression and journalists’ work.

The Conference on Social media challenges and ways to promote freedoms and protect activists brought together over 300 participants across the globe including journalists and their unions’ leaders, think tanks, human rights activists, NGOs and international organisations.

The conference included speeches from prominent human rights, press freedom advocates, UN Special Rapporteurs, and experts on anti-terrorism and international law as well as IFJ unions’ leaders.

Participant organisations adopted a set of recommendations to states, social media companies, human rights defenders, journalist, civil society at large and international and regional organizations when debating online content regulations.

The Recommendations demanded that any restriction to content must be legal, this means, provided by precise, public and transparent laws and that specific notice must be given to those whose speech is being restricted. Recommendations also claimed that governments should always take the least restrictive measures available and that the procedures must be reviewed and adapted periodically in an open dialogue with all the involved stakeholders.

In this line, participants stressed during the debates the importance of adopting models of online content regulation where only independent judicial authorities rather than government agencies become the arbiters of lawful expressions.

The Recommendations also called on social media companies to improve their response to online attacks, intimidation and threats against critical voices.

Two days of fruitful debates

Discussions highlighted the need to hold online platforms responsible for tracking down hate speech. A high number of speakers and participants called for an end to the criminalisation of defamation and fake news as a tool to curb freedom of expression. 

Pointing at the number of activists in jail in the region, discussions warned against anti-terror laws that are used as a weapon to jail activists and journalists across the globe, the importance to define terrorism and the threats such laws represented for freedom of expression.

A specific highlight was put on the need to reinforce privacy laws and encourage journalists to secure their digital safety and use encryption and tools to protect their messaging and sources. 

Participants said that social media companies must explore all legal options before accepting requests that are excessively intrusive such as requests for shutdowns, and in the case of implementing then they should disclose all relevant and publishable information and provide regular updates about the services affected or restored, among other demands.

UNI Global General Secretary Christy Hoffman highlighted the role of social media in the wake of social protests and pointed at the Internet shutdowns as a tool to curb revolutions. She stressed the importance to break up tech giants.

Gender-based online violence and harassment of minority groups were particularly highlighted throughout the conference ending with a strong message to speak up against those who are the target of online abuse. In the final recommendation, the IFJ highlighted the importance of enhancing the implementation of global standards of journalism, including the IFJ Global Charter of Ethics for Journalists

IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, said in his concluding remarks: “During my meeting with Dr. Al Marri, we agreed to set up a committee in the coming weeks to follow up on these recommendations so that all these issues can be implemented as quickly as possible. I was also pleased to note the reference to the IFJ Global Charter of Ethics, which has become an essential document in newsrooms around the world. We have already scheduled a meeting to continue with our work“.

The two-day conference was organised by the IFJ together with the European Parliament, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the National Human Rights Committee of Qatar (NHRC), the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI)

Click here to download the Recommendations

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