13 Feb 19 | Campaigns -- Featured, Statements
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Maria Ressa is CEO and Executive Editor of Rappler.com
Index on Censorship condemns the arrest of journalist and Rappler chief executive Maria Ressa by Philippines authorities and calls on the UK to make good on its promises to defend media freedom globally by calling for her release.
“The UK Foreign Office has made media freedom its flagship campaign for 2019. Jeremy Hunt must make good on his promises to champion media freedom worldwide by showing that the actions of the Philippines authorities are unacceptable,” said Jodie Ginsberg, chief executive of Index on Censorship, a freedom of expression campaign group.
Ressa was arrested in connection with a story published by her news outlet in May 2012. Officers from the National Bureau of Investigation arrested Rappler CEO and executive editor Maria Ressa early Wednesday evening, February 13, in connection with a cyber libel case filed by the Philippines justice department, according to Rappler.
Maria Ressa is one of the judges for this year’s Index on Censorship’s Freedom of Expression Awards and featured in the 2018 autumn edition of Index on Censorship magazine.[/vc_column_text][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1550060728999-3fa7b40d-3dd0-2″ taxonomies=”6534″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
15 Jan 19 | Awards
[vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces” css_animation=”fadeIn” css=”.vc_custom_1547219633236{padding-top: 250px !important;padding-bottom: 250px !important;background-image: url(https://www.indexoncensorship.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/freedom-of-expression-awards-2019-1460×490-with-year-1.jpg?id=104692) !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}”][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” css=”.vc_custom_1500449679881{margin-top: -50px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”2019 FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AWARDS” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_row_inner disable_element=”yes”][vc_column_inner][vc_empty_space height=”15px”][vc_custom_heading text=”ABOUT THE AWARDS” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”middle”][vc_column_inner el_class=”awards-inside-desc” width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
Index on Censorship’s Freedom of Expression Awards exist to celebrate individuals or groups who have had a significant impact fighting censorship anywhere in the world.
Awards are offered in four categories: Arts, Campaigning, Digital Activism and Journalism. Anyone who has had a demonstrable impact in tackling censorship is eligible. Winners are honoured at a gala celebration in London. Winners join Index’s Awards Fellowship programme and receive dedicated training and support.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/JeDl0BWXXOc”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”2019 FELLOWSHIP” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text]
Selected from over 400 public nominations and a shortlist of 16, the 2019 Freedom of Expression Awards fellows exemplify courage in the face of censorship. Learn more about the fellowship.
[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_custom_heading text=”Arts” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_single_image image=”104529″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]Zehra Doğan | Turkey
Released from prison on 24 February 2019, Zehra Doğan is a Kurdish painter and journalist who, during her imprisonment, was denied access to materials for her work. She painted with dyes made from crushed fruit and herbs, even blood, and used newspapers and milk cartons as canvases. When she realised her reports from Turkey’s Kurdish region were being ignored by mainstream media, Doğan began painting the destruction in the town of Nusaybin and sharing it on social media. For this she was arrested and imprisoned. During her imprisonment she refused to be silenced and continued to produce journalism and art. She collected and wrote stories about female political prisoners, reported on human rights abuses in prison, and painted despite the prison administration’s refusal to supply her with art materials.
Full profile | Acceptance speech[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_custom_heading text=”Campaigning” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_single_image image=”104518″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]Cartoonists Rights Network International | United States / International
Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI) is a small organisation with a big impact: monitoring threats and abuses against editorial cartoonists worldwide. Marshalling an impressive worldwide network, CRNI helps to focus international attention on cases in which cartoonists are persecuted and put pressure on the persecutors. CRNI tracks censorship, fines, penalties and physical intimidation – including of family members, assault, imprisonment and even assassinations. Once a threat is detected, CRNI often partners with other human rights organisations to maximise the pressure and impact of a campaign to protect the cartoonist and confront those who seek to censor political cartoonists.
Full profile | Acceptance speech[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_custom_heading text=”Digital Activism” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_single_image image=”104520″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]Fundación Karisma | Colombia
Fundación Karisma is a civil society organisation that challenges online trolls by using witty online ‘stamps’ that flag up internet abuse. It is an initiative that uses humour to draw attention to a serious problem: the growing online harassment of women in Colombia and its chilling effect. The organisation offers a rare space to discuss many issues at the intersection of human rights and technology in the country and then tackles them through a mix of research, advocacy and digital tools. Karisma’s “Sharing is not a crime” campaign supports open access to knowledge against the backdrop of Colombia’s restrictive copyright legislation.
Full profile | Acceptance speech[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_custom_heading text=”Journalism” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_single_image image=”104523″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]Mimi Mefo | Cameroon
Mimi Mefo is one of less than a handful of journalists working without fear or favour in Cameroon’s climate of repression and self-censorship. An award-winning broadcast journalist at private media house Equinoxe TV and Radio, Mefo was arrested in November 2018 after she published reports that the military was behind the death of an American missionary in the country. Mefo reports on the escalating violence in the country’s western regions, a conflict that has become known as the “Anglophone Crisis” and is a leading voice in exposing the harassment of other Cameroonian journalists, calling publicly for the release of those jailed.
Full profile | Acceptance speech[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][awards_gallery_slider name=”2019 AWARDS GALA” images_url=”105882,105875,105876,105877,105878,105879,105880,105881,105883,105884,105885,106029,106030,106031,106032,106033,106034,106058,106057,106056,106055,106054,106053,106052,106051,106050,106059,106060,106063,106064,106065,106066,106067,106068,106069,106075,106070,106077,106078,106079,106080,106081,106091,106090,106089,106088,106087,106086,106085,106084,106083,106082,106092,106094″][vc_column_text]
The Awards were held at London’s May Fair Hotel on Thursday 4 April 2019.
High-resolution images are available for download via Flickr.
[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”THE 2019 FELLOWSHIP SHORTLIST” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_tta_tabs][vc_tta_section title=”Arts” tab_id=”1554809902471-b3c9fc73-9d6d”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
ARTS
for artists and arts producers whose work challenges repression and injustice and celebrates artistic free expression
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/gL5qzotQJzI”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”104515″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]ArtLords | Afghanistan[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”104529″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]Zehra Doğan | Turkey[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”104519″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]ElMadina for Performing and Digital Arts | Egypt[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”104526″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]Ms Saffaa | Saudi Arabia / Australia[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Campaigning” tab_id=”1554809902549-60799150-d1e3″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
CAMPAIGNING
for activists and campaigners who have had a marked impact in fighting censorship and promoting freedom of expression
Sponsored by Mainframe
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/2dyUzhOE7Cw”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”104518″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]Cartoonists Rights Network International | United States / International[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”104521″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]Institute for Media and Society | Nigeria[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”104525″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]Media Rights Agenda | Nigeria[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”104527″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]P24 | Turkey[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Digital Activism” tab_id=”1554810071532-b8b029f3-2bd1″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
DIGITAL ACTIVISM
for innovative uses of technology to circumvent censorship and enable free and independent exchange of information
Sponsored by Private Internet Access
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/1K7rOcfma2c”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”104520″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]Fundación Karisma | Colombia[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”104524″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]Mohammed Al-Maskati | Middle East[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”104528″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]SFLC.in | India[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Journalism” tab_id=”1554810135332-a68bcfef-814d”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
JOURNALISM
for courageous, high-impact and determined journalism that exposes censorship and threats to free expression
Sponsored by Daily Mail and General Trust, Daily Mirror, France Medias Monde, News UK, Telegraph Media Group, Society of Editors
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/w1ff5zMDnp8″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”104516″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]Bihus.info | Ukraine[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”104517″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]Center for Investigative Journalism of Serbia (CINS) | Serbia[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”104522″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]Mehman Huseynov | Azerbaijan [/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”104523″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]Mimi Mefo | Cameroon[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_tta_section][/vc_tta_tabs][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” css=”.vc_custom_1484569093244{background-color: #f2f2f2 !important;}”][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”JUDGING” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_row_inner el_class=”mw700″][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]
Each year Index recruits an independent panel of judges – leading voices with diverse expertise across campaigning, journalism, the arts and human rights. Judges look for courage, creativity and resilience. We shortlist on the basis of those who are deemed to be making the greatest impact in tackling censorship in their chosen area, with a particular focus on topics that are little covered or tackled by others. Where a judge comes from a nominee’s country, or where there is any other potential conflict of interest, the judge will abstain from voting in that category.
The 2019 judging panel:
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” css=”.vc_custom_1510244917017{margin-top: 30px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][staff name=”Khalid Abdalla” title=”Actor and Filmmaker” profile_image=”104118″]Khalid Abdalla is an actor, producer and filmmaker. He has starred in award-winning films, including Paul Greengrass’s United 93 and Marc Forster’s The Kite Runner. He has producing credits on Hanan Abdalla’s In the Shadow of a Man and the upcoming film The Vote and has appeared in Jehane Noujaim’s Oscar-nominated The Square. Khalid is a founding member of three collaborative initiatives in Cairo – Cimatheque, Zero Production and Mosireen. Brought up in the UK to Egyptian parents, Cairo and London are his two cities.[/staff][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][staff name=”Nimco Ali” title=”Writer and Social Activist” profile_image=”104121″]Nimco Ali is a British Somali feminist, writer and social activist. She is co-founder and director of Daughters of Eve, a survivor-led organisation which has helped to transform the approach to ending female genital mutilation, and is the lead advisor to the UK’s APPG to End FGM. She is working to ban FGM in Somaliland, is a former ambassador for #MAKERSUK and was awarded Red Magazine’s Woman of the Year award 2014 and placed No. 6 in Woman’s Hour Power List. Her book ‘RUDE’ comes out in early 2019.[/staff][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][staff name=”Kate Devlin” title=”Writer and Academic” profile_image=”104081″]Kate Devlin is a writer and an academic in the department of Digital Humanities in King’s College London where she works on artificial intelligence and human-computer interaction. Her book, Turned On: Science, Sex and Robots, explores intimacy and ethics in the digital age.[/staff][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][staff name=”Maria Ressa” title=”CEO and Executive Editor” profile_image=”104085″]Maria Ressa is CEO and executive editor of social news network Rappler in the Philippines. She was CNN’s bureau chief in Manila then Jakarta, and became CNN’s lead investigative reporter focusing on terrorism in Southeast Asia. She is an author of two books on terrorism, co-founder of production company Probe and managed ABS-CBN News and Current affairs. Maria has won numerous awards for her work, including the prestigious Golden Pen of Freedom Awards in 2018.[/staff][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces” css=”.vc_custom_1500453384143{margin-top: 20px !important;padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”SPONSORS” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1484567001197{margin-bottom: 30px !important;}”][vc_column_text]
The Freedom of Expression Awards and Fellowship have massive impact. You can help by sponsoring or supporting a fellowship.
Index is grateful to those who are supporting the 2019 Awards:
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If you are interested in sponsorship you can contact [email protected]
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05 Dec 18 | Awards, Fellowship 2019, News and features, Press Releases
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”104120″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]Index on Censorship is proud to announce that award-winning investigative journalist Maria Ressa and actor Khalid Abdalla will join a panel of judges to decide the 2019 Freedom of Expression Awards Fellows.
The Freedom of Expression Awards, now in their 19th year, honour champions of free expression and those battling censorship around the world in the field of arts, campaigning, digital activism and journalism. Many have faced prosecution and punishment for their work.
Ressa has been a journalist in Asia for more than 30 years. She was CNN’s bureau chief in Manila then Jakarta, and became CNN’s lead investigative reporter focusing on terrorism in Southeast Asia. Now CEO and executive editor of Rappler.com, Ressa – winner of this year’s Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award presented by the Committee to Protect Journalists – is frequently targeted by Philippines’ increasingly autocratic president Rodrigo Duterte. Ressa and her company were formally indicted on multiple counts of tax evasion in late November. She is currently on bail pending her next appearance in court on 7 December.
Abdalla is a British-Egyptian actor, producer and filmmaker. He has starred in award-winning films, including United 93, The Kite Runner and In the Last Days of the City, which he also produced. Abdalla is a founding member of three collaborative initiatives in Cairo – Cimatheque, Zero Production and Mosireen.
Abdalla said: “The abyss we are facing all over the world requires acts of courage and intellect capable of changing the terms of how we think and respond to the challenges ahead. We have to celebrate those who inspire us and lead by example, not just because they have managed to break barriers in their own contexts, but because some part of what they do holds a key for us all.”
The judging panel will also include British-Somali feminist, writer and social activist Nimco Ali, who is co-founder and director of Daughters of Eve, a survivor-led organisation which has helped to transform the approach to ending female genital mutilation (FGM). Nimco’s book RUDE: There Is No Such Thing as Over-Sharing is due out in early 2019; and British computer scientist Dr. Kate Devlin, who is a writer and senior lecturer in Social and Cultural Artificial Intelligence at King’s College London. Her book, “Turned On: Science, Sex and Robots”, explores intimacy and ethics in the digital age.
Announcing the judging panel, Index on Censorship chief executive Jodie Ginsberg said: “Our award winners and nominees often face huge personal and professional risks work defending the right for everyone to speak freely. The awards draw attention to the repression that they face every day and give us a chance to celebrate and support these inspiring journalists, activists, and artists.
“We’re excited to announce this year’s remarkable panel of judges, who are leaders and experts in their fields. The Freedom of Expression Awards Fellowship recognise global free speech heroes and provide assistance so that their important work can continue.”
Previous winners of the Freedom of Expression Awards include Nobel Peace Prize winner Pakistani education campaigner Malala Yousafzai, Honduran investigative journalist Wendy Funes and Yemeni artist Murad Subay. Hundreds of public nominations are made for the awards each year. Many of those nominated are regularly targeted by authorities or by criminal and extremist groups for their work. Some face regular death threats, others criminal prosecution.
Previous judges include Serpentine Galleries CEO Yana Peel, digital campaigner and entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox, Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, Harry Potter actor Noma Dumezweni, novelist Elif Shafak, award-winning journalist and former editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker Tina Brown and human rights lawyer and shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer.
The Freedom of Expression Awards Fellowship ceremony 2019 will be held on 4 April in London.
More information about the judges follows:
For Index on Censorship
Sean Gallagher, [email protected]
About the Freedom of Expression Awards Fellowship
Winners of the 2019 Freedom of Expression Awards Fellowship receive 12 months of capacity building, coaching and strategic support. Through the fellowships, Index seeks to maximise the impact and sustainability of voices at the forefront of pushing back censorship worldwide. More information
About Index on Censorship
Index on Censorship is a London-based non-profit organisation that publishes work by censored writers and artists and campaigns against censorship worldwide. Since its founding in 1972, Index on Censorship has published some of the greatest names in literature in its award-winning quarterly magazine, including Samuel Beckett, Nadine Gordimer, Mario Vargas Llosa, Arthur Miller and Kurt Vonnegut. It also has published some of the world’s best campaigning writers from Vaclav Havel to Elif Shafak.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][staff name=”Khalid Abdalla, Actor and Filmmaker” profile_image=”104118″]Khalid Abdalla is an actor, producer and filmmaker who also works in cultural production and alternative media. He has starred in award winning films, including Paul Greengrass’s United 93 and Green Zone, Marc Forster’s The Kite Runner, Tala Hadid’s The Narrow Frame of Midnight, and Tamer El Said’s In the Last Days of the City – which Khalid also produced. In documentary film he has producing credits on Hanan Abdalla’s In the Shadow of a Man and the upcoming film by Hanan Abdalla & Cressida Trew, The Vote and has appeared in Jehane Noujaim’s Oscar nominated The Square. Khalid is a founding member of three collaborative initiatives in Cairo – Cimatheque, Zero Production and Mosireen. Brought up in the UK to Egyptian parents, Cairo and London are his two cities. [/staff][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][staff name=”Nimco Ali, Writer and Social Activist” profile_image=”104121″]Nimco Ali is a British Somali feminist, writer and social activist. She is co-founder and director of Daughters of Eve, a survivor-led organisation which has helped to transform the approach to ending female genital mutilation (FGM), and is the lead advisor to the UK’s APPG to End FGM. She is working to ban FGM in Somaliland, is a former ambassador for #MAKERSUK and was awarded Red Magazine’s Woman of the Year award 2014 and placed No. 6 in Woman’s Hour Power List. Her book ‘RUDE’ There Is No Such Thing as Over-Sharing comes out in early 2019.[/staff][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][staff name=”Kate Devlin, Writer and Academic” profile_image=”104081″]Kate Devlin is a writer and an academic in the department of Digital Humanities in King’s College London where she works on artificial intelligence and human-computer interaction. Her book, Turned On: Science, Sex and Robots, explores intimacy and ethics in the digital age. [/staff][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][staff name=”Maria Ressa, CEO and Executive Editor” profile_image=”104085″]Maria Ressa is CEO and executive editor of social news network Rappler in the Philippines. She has been a journalist in Asia for more than 30 years and was CNN’s bureau chief in Manila then Jakarta, and became CNN’s lead investigative reporter focusing on terrorism in Southeast Asia. She is an author of two books on terrorism, co-founder of production company Probe and later managed ABS-CBN News and Current affairs. Maria has won numerous awards for her work, including the prestigious Golden Pen of Freedom Awards in 2018.[/staff][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content” equal_height=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1515150485442{background-color: #cb3000 !important;}” el_class=”text_white”][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_custom_heading text=”Support the Index Fellowship” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indexoncensorship.org%2Fsupport-the-freedom-of-expression-awards%2F|||”][vc_column_text]
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[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1543427572500{background-image: url(https://www.indexoncensorship.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/2018-fellows-1000.jpg?id=100251) !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Don’t lose your voice. Stay informed.” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Index on Censorship is a nonprofit that campaigns for and defends free expression worldwide. We publish work by censored writers and artists, promote debate, and monitor threats to free speech. We believe that everyone should be free to express themselves without fear of harm or persecution – no matter what their views.
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13 Nov 18 | Campaigns -- Featured, Statements
Dear Mark Zuckerberg:
What do the Philadelphia Museum of Art, a Danish member of parliament, and a news anchor from the Philippines have in common? They have all been subject to a misapplication of Facebook’s Community Standards. But unlike the average user, each of these individuals and entities received media attention, were able to reach Facebook staff and, in some cases, receive an apology and have their content restored. For most users, content that Facebook removes is rarely restored and some users may be banned from the platform even in the event of an error.
When Facebook first came onto our screens, users who violated its rules and had their content removed or their account deactivated were sent a message telling them that the decision was final and could not be appealed. It was only in 2011, after years of advocacy from human rights organizations, that your company added a mechanism to appeal account deactivations, and only in 2018 that Facebook initiated a process for remedying wrongful takedowns of certain types of content. Those appeals are available for posts removed for nudity, sexual activity, hate speech or graphic violence.
This is a positive development, but it doesn’t go far enough.
Today, we the undersigned civil society organizations, call on Facebook to provide a mechanism for all of its users to appeal content restrictions, and, in every case, to have the appealed decision re-reviewed by a human moderator.
Facebook’s stated mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. With more than two billion users and a wide variety of features, Facebook is the world’s premier communications platform. We know that you recognize the responsibility you have to prevent abuse and keep users safe. As you know, social media companies, including Facebook, have a responsibility to respect human rights, and international and regional human rights bodies have a number of specific recommendations for improvement, notably concerning the right to remedy.
Facebook remains far behind its competitors when it comes to affording its users due process. 1 We know from years of research and documentation that human content moderators, as well as machine learning algorithms, are prone to error, and that even low error rates can result in millions of silenced users when operating at massive scale. Yet Facebook users are only able to appeal content decisions in a limited set of circumstances, and it is impossible for users to know how pervasive erroneous content takedowns are without increased transparency on Facebook’s part. 2
While we acknowledge that Facebook can and does shape its Community Standards according to its values, the company nevertheless has a responsibility to respect its users’ expression to the best of its ability. Furthermore, civil society groups around the globe have criticized the way that Facebook’s Community Standards exhibit bias and are unevenly applied across different languages and cultural contexts. Offering a remedy mechanism, as well as more transparency, will go a long way toward supporting user expression.
Earlier this year, a group of advocates and academics put forward the Santa Clara Principles on Transparency and Accountability in Content Moderation, which recommend a set of minimum standards for transparency and meaningful appeal. This set of recommendations is consistent with the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of the right to freedom of expression and opinion David Kaye, who recently called for a “framework for the moderation of user- generated online content that puts human rights at the very center.” It is also consistent with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which articulate the human rights responsibilities of companies.
Specifically, we ask Facebook to incorporate the Santa Clara Principles into their content moderation policies and practices and to provide:
Notice: Clearly explain to users why their content has been restricted.
- Notifications should include the specific clause from the Community Standards that the content was found to violate.
- Notice should be sufficiently detailed to allow the user to identify the specific content that was restricted and should include information about how the content was detected, evaluated, and removed.
- Individuals must have clear information about how to appeal the decision.
Appeals: Provide users with a chance to appeal content moderation decisions.
- Appeals mechanisms should be easily accessible and easy to use.
- Appeals should be subject to review by a person or panel of persons that was not involved in the initial decision.
- Users must have the right to propose new evidence or material to be considered in the review.
- Appeals should result in a prompt determination and reply to the user.
- Any exceptions to the principle of universal appeals should be clearly disclosed and compatible with international human rights principles.
- Facebook should collaborate with other stakeholders to develop new independent self-regulatory mechanisms for social media that will provide greater accountability3
Numbers: Issue regular transparency reports on Community Standards enforcement.
- Present complete data describing the categories of user content that are restricted (text, photo or video; violence, nudity, copyright violations, etc), as well as the number of pieces of content that were restricted or removed in each category.
- Incorporate data on how many content moderation actions were initiated by a user flag, a trusted flagger program, or by proactive Community Standards enforcement (such as through the use of a machine learning algorithm).
- Include data on the number of decisions that were effectively appealed or otherwise found to have been made in error.
- Include data reflecting whether the company performs any proactive audits of its unappealed moderation decisions, as well as the error rates the company found.
Article 19, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Center for Democracy and Technology, and Ranking Digital Rights
Fundación Ciudadano Inteligente
7amleh – Arab Center for Social Media Advancement
Access Now
ACLU Foundation of Northern California
Adil Soz – International Foundation for Protection of Freedom of Speech
Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC)
Albanian Media Institute
American Civil Liberties Union
Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB)
Arab Digital Expression Foundation
Artículo 12
Asociación Mundial de Radios Comunitarias América Latina y el Caribe (AMARC ALC)
Association for Progressive Communications
Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
Bytes for All (B4A)
CAIR San Francisco Bay Area
CALAM
Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI)
Cedar Rapids, Iowa Collaborators
Center for Independent Journalism – Romania
Center for Media Studies & Peace Building (CEMESP)
Child Rights International Network (CRIN)
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
Digital Rights Foundation
EFF Austin
El Instituto Panameño de Derecho y Nuevas Tecnologías (IPANDETEC)
Electronic Frontier Finland
Elektronisk Forpost Norge
Foro de Periodismo Argentino
Foundation for Press Freedom – FLIP
Freedom Forum
Fundación Acceso
Fundación Ciudadano Inteligente
Fundación Datos Protegidos
Fundación Internet Bolivia.org
Fundación Vía Libre
Fundamedios – Andean Foundation for Media Observation and Study
Garoa Hacker Club
Gulf Center for Human Rights
HERMES Center for Transparency and Digital Human Rights
Hiperderecho
Homo Digitalis
Human Rights Watch
Idec – Brazilian Institute of Consumer Defense
Independent Journalism Center (IJC)
Index on Censorship
Initiative for Freedom of Expression – Turkey
Instituto Nupef
International Press Centre (IPC)
Internet without borders
La Asociación para una Ciudadanía Participativa ACI Participa
MARCH
May First/People Link
Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)
Media Rights Agenda (MRA)
Mediacentar Sarajevo
New America’s Open Technology Institute
NYC Privacy
Open MIC (Open Media and Information Companies Initiative)
OpenMedia
Pacific Islands News Association (PINA)
Panoptykon Foundation
PEN America
PEN Canada
Peninsula Peace and Justice Center
Portland TA3M
Privacy Watch
Raging Grannies
ReThink LinkNYC
Rhode Island Rights
SFLC.in
SHARE Foundation
SMEX
South East Europe Media Organisation
Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)
SumOfUs
Syrian Archive
Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM)
t4tech
Techactivist.org
The Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression
Viet Tan
Vigilance for Democracy and the Civic State
Visualizing Impact
Witness
