Governing the Internet for Democracy: Lessons from Research Embracing a Multicentred World

IAMCR will host a preconference to UNESCO’s Global Conference “Internet for Trust – Towards Guidelines for Regulating Digital Platforms for Information as a Public Good“. The IAMCR pre-conference will combine both in-person and remote presentations.

The preconference titled “Governing the Internet for Democracy: Lessons from Research Embracing a Multicentred World” will focus on lessons arising from media and communications research in the post-WSIS period and measures to embed democratic principles and respect for fundamental human rights in the structures and procedures of Internet governance, without completely flattening the diversity brought about by a multicentred world. The rise of powerful commercial digital platforms raises multiple challenges for the sustainability of media and communication services that treat data and information as a public good and, additionally, do so in a way that is consistent with public values and democracy.

If you want to attend the main UNESCO conference on 22 ans 23 February, either in-person or online, you must register for it on the Internet for Trust website by 17 February.

Date and time: 21 February, 2023, 09:00 – 17:00

Venue: UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France. Rooms V and VII

Contact: Jeremy Shtern, chair of the organisation committee (jshtern@ryerson.ca)

Speakers

Room VII

09h00 – 09h15   Welcome & Opening Remarks 

09h15 – 10h45   Panel 1: Journalism, Disinformation, and Platform Literacy 

Ana Jacoby
Information Disorders in Latin America: Four Regulatory Models for One Problem
(ENG – In-person)

Preetham Gopalakrishna Adiga & Padmakumar K 
An Analysis of Internet Memes and how it propagates Conspiracy theories and Disinformation
(ENG – Virtual)

Emmanuel Ngwainmbi
Press insecurity in coverage of the Anglophone war in Cameroon. Towards protecting journalistic integrity and marginalized journalists
(ENG – In-person)

Yetunde Ayobolu
Impact of Information and Media Literacy (MIL) in News Production and Practice in Nigeria
(ENG – Virtual)

Simone Toussi
Opportunities and challenges linked to the mechanisms to combat disinformation compatible with democracy in sub -Saharan Africa: lessons learned from cross-research experiences on different countries
(ENG – In-person)

Adebayo Fayoyin & Leah Jerop Komen
”You can’t shut my mouth”: Digital Citizenship and Internet Regulatory Practices in Africa
(ENG – Virtual)

10h45 – 11h00   Coffee break 

11h00 – 12h30   Panel 2: Democracy, Civil Society, and Public Service Communication

Eduardo Alonso Bentos
Big Data as Public Good, Evolution and adoption of regulations: The case of Uruguay (El Big Data como bien público, evolución y naturaleza de las regulaciones: El caso uruguayo) (Spanish)
(ESP – Virtual)

Lady Aileen Orsal
From Pink Revolution to Angat Buhay Foundation: Analysis of Leni Robredo’s Social Media Campaign Videos and the Return of Democratic Movement in the Philippines
(ENG – Virtual)

Eduardo Villanueva Mansilla
Globalization ideation and platform regulation: the need for re-centering the state’s role in emerging economies
(ENG- In-person)

Sergio Ricardo Quiroga
Reimagining the Internet, reimagining the world towards global citizenship
(ENG – Virtual)

Martin Becerra
Platform regulation on the public agenda in Latin America (La regulación de las plataformas en la agenda pública en América Latina) (Spanish)
(ESP – Virtual)

12h30 – 13h00   Lunch break 

Room V 

13h00 – 13h30   Lunch break 

13h30 – 15h00   Panel 3: Rights in Platform Governance  

Sheila B. Lalwani
The ‘“Brain Amputee,” “Paedo-Filth,” and “Sick Woman”’: Assessing the Limitations of Platform Governance and Gender-based Online Abuse
(ENG – Virtual)

Aimée Vega Montiel
‘What went wrong?’ A new gender deal for the Internet in the era of regulation of digital platforms to secure information as a public good
(ENG – In-person)

Dariusz Kloza & George Terzis
The right to be excluded from the information society
(ENG – Kloza – In-person; Terzis – Virtual)

Sophia Kaitatzi-Whitlock
Internet: Regulate or Perish! 
(ENG – In-person)

Justine John Dyikuk
Internet Governance in Conflict-Ridden Democracies: Lessons from Nigeria
(ENG – In-person)

15h00 – 15h15    Coffee break 

15h15 – 16h45    Panel 4: Roles, Responsibilities, and Infrastructures of Platform Governance 

Francesca Musiani & Ksenia Ermoshina
Safe spaces by design? Federated architectures and alternative socio-technical models for content moderation
(ENG – In-person)

Steph Hill
Normative Enforcement: Barriers and Opportunities for Platform Content Moderation
(ENG – In-person) 

Mauro Santaniello
The Constitutionalization of Cybersecurity: Freedom, Rights and Democracy in National Strategies. A comparative study
(ENG – In-person)

Jan Aart Scholte
Governing Global Digital Data: Polycentric Perspectives
(ENG – In-person)

Rodrigo Cetina Presuel
Trusted Flaggers and the European Digital Services Act: How Public Authorities embrace Private Standards for Content Moderation
(ENG – In-person)

16h45 – 17h00   Summary, wrap-up, and final words