2023:Program/Legal, Advocacy, and Risks/MBZHSW-Evolving Legal and Human Rights Trends: a review of the risks and threats facing the movement
Title: Evolving Legal and Human Rights Trends: a review of the risks and threats facing the movement
Speakers:
Jacob Rogers
Jacob is currently associate general counsel at the Wikimedia Foundation. Jacob joined the Wikimedia Foundation as a lawyer in 2014 after working as a law clerk for the US Senate. He has a background in copyright, media, and technology law. He does legal work protecting Wikimedia project content, takedown demands, government demands and other litigation and leads the Foundation’s litigation and legal@ response team. Image credit: Rogers, Jacob Nov 2014.jpg by Myleen Hollero CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rogers,_Jacob_Nov_2014.jpg
Esra'a Al Shafei
Bahraini human rights advocate, founder of Majal.org and Wikimedia Board Member.
Ricky Gaines
Ricky Gaines is a human rights and international security professional seeking to alleviate human suffering by uplifting the voices of those confronting injustice in the face of hardship and persecution. He leverages more than ten years of experience in foreign policy and foreign assistance to bridge the gap between activism and government and to influence policies that promote human rights. Richard currently serves as the Senior Human Rights Advocacy Manager at the Wikimedia Foundation, where he advances the Foundation’s values and policy positions around freedom of expression, access to knowledge, privacy, and censorship while defending knowledge as a human right. Prior to joining the Wikimedia Foundation, Richard worked at the US Department of State leading a portfolio of foreign assistance programs and contributed to foreign policy initiatives advancing human rights and democratic governance throughout Latin America, focussing primarily on Cuba and Venezuela. More recently, Richard concluded a stint in the private sector where he managed international security programs for Delta Air Lines, including the company’s participation in the resettlement of Afghan evacuees in August 2021 as a part of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet program. Richard holds a BS in International Affairs and Modern Language from the Georgia Institute of Technology and an MBA from the George Washington University.
Kabir Darshan Singh
Kabir is a Senior Counsel (Litigation and Trust & Safety) at the Wikimedia Foundation. He also serves as an advisor to other NGOs working on Internet freedoms. In his role, he develops litigation strategies for cross-border disputes and government engagement on issues concerning content moderation, online censorship, and user rights. He holds a B.A.LL.B. (Honors) from India and an LL.M. from Stanford Law School. He is licensed to practice law in India and New York.
Room: Room 307
Start time: Thu, 17 Aug 2023 11:15:00 +0800
End time: Thu, 17 Aug 2023 12:00:00 +0800
Type: No (pretalx) session type id specified
Track: Legal, Advocacy, and Risks
Submission state: confirmed
Duration: 45 minutes
Do not record: false
Presentation language: en
Abstract & description[edit source]
Abstract[edit source]
This panel will review updates from Wikimedia Foundation lawyers and human rights experts of the threats, trends, and legal requirements we have been seeing impact the movement around the world.
Description[edit source]
Over the last few years, the online world has seen significant changes globally. Many people have started to realize the impact that large online platforms can have on the world. In many cases these are positive impacts. However, we have also seen a growing trend from governments, both positive and negative, to influence and regulate online spaces. This changing landscape is creating many new challenges for the Wikimedia movement. Some new laws, such as the Digital Services Act from the EU, require significant changes to hosting a website, while court cases and legislative consideration in the US may change the baseline requirements for hosting a site like Wikipedia that accepts free knowledge from users around the world. At the same time, some governments have increasingly focused on controlling or censoring information and have come up with new and creative ways to pressure users around the world who may contribute knowledge that conflicts with a government-viewpoint. In this panel, the Wikimedia Foundation will review the various trends we’re seeing and how they may impact the Wikimedia movement. We will review the changing view of US laws that regulate the internet including section 230, which may affect users. We will also look at new regulation coming from Europe, which we think is a positive global model. We will review new threats to users in various regions including Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, and will review the types of tactics that we have seen different governments using to try and limit the spread of some types of knowledge.
Further details[edit source]
Qn. How does your session relate to the event themes: Diversity, Collaboration Future?
The ability of users from many places around the world to access Wikipedia and safely contribute is one of the Foundational elements necessary to allow for global diversity and collaboration. We hope that this session will help the movement understand major external influences on the movement and give people information that will help them contribute safely, and collaborate together to address new issues.
Qn. What is the experience level needed for the audience for your session?
Everyone can participate in this session
Qn. What is the most appropriate format for this session?
Onsite in Singapore- Remote online participation, livestreamed
- Remote from a satellite event
Hybrid with some participants in Singapore and others dialing in remotely- Pre-recorded and available on demand
