(Photo: Kusadasi-Guy via Creative Commons)
“Whenever we’ll have to choose between excessive regulation and protection of online freedom, we’ll definitely opt for freedom” Vladimir Putin, 1999
Since Putin said this, 3 days before becoming President, history has marched on…
“We will make arrangements without limiting and restricting freedom, but also without bowing to threats and without ignoring the dangers. We will hand over Turkey to generations who are not slaves to technology, but who rule and direct technology” Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 2014
Terrorised twitter users, blackmailed bloggers and intimidated independent media, digital freedom has been facing a crack-down in Russia, Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Index on Censorship are bringing some of these countries foremost journalists and digital freedom advocates to Brussels to discuss events in their countries, to debate what the EU could do to help and to consider what we ourselves could learn from these experiences?
As we approach several major summits on internet governance, how can the EU tackle the growing risk of fragmentation, avoid calls for forced local hosting and stand up to the top-down approach favoured by the Russians?
“Is it because I was free that I was warned that I was going to lose my column if I would not stop criticizing the government? Is it because I was free that I was fired when I turned a deaf ear to warnings?” Amberin Zaman
The discussion, moderated by new Index CEO Jodie Ginsberg, will include:
- Andrei Soldatov – Investigative Journalist, Founder Agentura.ru. @AndreiSoldatov
- Anton Nossik – Blogger and Founding Editor-In-Chief of leading news websites inc. Gazeta.Ru, Lenta.Ru, Vesti.Ru, NTV.Ru (now NewsRu.com). @dolboed
- Dr Yaman Akdeniz – renowned advocate and Professor of Law, Istanbul Bilgi University, Founder and Director of Cyber-Rights.Org. @cyberrights
- Amberin Zaman – Censored former columnist at Haberturk, current journalist at Taraf and Turkey correspondent for The Economist. @amberinzaman
- Arzu Geybulla – Azerbaijani Blogger, based in Istanbul. @arzugeybulla
WHEN: 5pm CET, Thursday 19 June 2014
WHERE: Google, Chaussée d’Etterbeek 180, Bruxelles, Belgium
TICKETS: Free but space limited – RSVP to [email protected]
Follow the discussion live @IndexEvents – #beatingretreat
