Agenda 2022

The open Internet provides a baseline approach from which fragmentation departs and against which it can be assessed. Particularly important are the notions of global reach with integrity; a unified, global and properly governed root and naming/numbering system; interoperability; universal accessibility; the reusability of capabilities; and permissionless innovation.

Working definitions are proposed for three forms of fragmentation:
Technical Fragmentation – conditions in the underlying infrastructure that impede the ability of systems to fully interoperate and exchange data packets and of the Internet to function consistently at all end points.
Governmental Fragmentation – government policies and actions that constrain or prevent certain uses of the Internet to create, distribute, or access information resources.
Commercial Fragmentation – business practices that constrain or prevent certain uses of the Internet to create, distribute, or access information resources.

During the FishBowl discussion we will reflect on the current situation with the Internet fragmentation from the perspective of citizens, youth and current regulations and implications.

Speakers:

• Mikhail Doroshevich, Baltic Internet Policy Initiative, Cofounder at Digital Skills Coalition Belarus
• Marharyta Vorykhava, Chairperson, Belarusian National Youth Council RADA
• Yan Auseyushkin, iSANS Analyst
  Free chair for speaker from the audience

Moderator:
Mikalai Kvantaliani, Association “New Group”, Cofounder at Digital Skills Coalition Belarus

This session will examine recent developments and trends impacting Internet freedom in the light of contemporary security challenges, with a particular focus on case studies in Moldova and the region. Speakers will discuss trends and approaches to the development of the legal framework of the information space, current issues of freedom of expression online and offline, issues of freedom and security in the regulation of the virtual environment, and will present recommendations for improving recent legislative initiatives aimed at regulating the information space in Moldova, ensuring its security and combating misinformation, as well as increasing the transparency of the regulatory process.

Speakers:

• Tatiana Puiu, Freedom House’s Local Representative in Moldova, member of the European Committee of Social Rights
• Alexandru Donos, Cryptography and Information Security Expert, First General Director of State Enterprise “Center of Special Telecommunications”
• Andrei Rusnac, Information Security Expert & Co-founder of Association “Comunitatea Internet”
• Galina Climov, Executive Director, Alliance of Organizations for Persons with Disabilities from Republic of Moldova (Online)

Moderator:
Alexei Marciuc, Chairman at Association “Comunitatea Internet”, National Coordinator of Moldova Internet Governance Forum (MIGF)

COFFEE BREAK

The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly stated that freedom of expression “constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society and one of the basic conditions for its progress and for each individual’s self-fulfillment”. The overall environment for exercising freedom of expression without hindrance in Serbia needs to be improved. Human rights activists, journalists and other media actors are regularly facing threats such as censorship, political and economic pressure, intimidation, job insecurity, abusive use of defamation laws, physical attacks as well as legal prosecution. These offenses are often committed in an intolerable context of impunity or in excessive legal protection in cases when public officials are threatened, which fuels recidivism and has a chilling effect on freedom of e xpression.

During this session speakers will reflect on YUCOM’s research showing inconsistency in criminal law practices regarding freedom of expression. They will also discuss the case of the Working Group for Security and Protection of Journalists established by the Serbian government and aimed to propose changes to the Criminal Code that should have enabled more comprehensive and efficient criminal-legal protection of journalists. The amendments were supposed to respond to various forms of online abuse and threats faced by journalists and to address the prosecutorial obstacles to initiating investigations ex officio.

Speakers:

• Milena Vasić, Attorney at Law, YUCOM
• Tara Petrović, Lead Researcher, Civic Initiatives
• Bojan Perkov, Policy Researcher, SHARE Foundation

Moderator:
Jovana Spremo, Advisor on EU Integration Related Policies, YUCOM

LUNCH

The aim of this session is to provide a platform for deliberate discussion about freedom of expression and potential threats in that area, as well as identifying steps we could undertake in order to improve the freedom of expression in our societies.

• Bogdan Manolea, Executive Director, Association for Technology and Internet (ApTI)
• Marina Bzovii, Executive Director, ATIC
• Uroš Mišljenović, Program Officer, Partners Serbia
• Biljana Nasteska – Kalanoska, Communication Officer, Association of Journalists of Macedonia
• Filip Noubel, Managing Editor, Global Voices (Online)

When human rights are violated offline, digital rights are rarely spared. Authoritative governments are increasingly interested in developing oppressive techniques in the digital domain by increasing censorship, overregulating cyberspace, and weaponizing tech to spread propaganda and surveillance. Belarus is no exception. Notorious for being “Europe’s last dictatorship” – with its vast history of enforced disappearances of dissidents, torture, political persecution, and appalling human rights record, – the role of Belarus as a digital and not merely “analog” dictator receives less attention. While it is true that the control over Belarusian citizens online may not have reached the scale and professionalism of “textbook” digital dictatorships – such as China with its “Great Firewall” or Russia with its “troll factories” – the tendency towards tightening the grip on Internet freedoms is alarming.

While Belarusian authorities exhibit a clear interest in using cyberspace as another battleground for state repression, Belarusian activists are using it to advance human rights. Digital authoritarianism tendencies in Belarus are met with digital resistance, producing a phenomenon of “digital dissidents.” The ways to protect digital rights from the state’s arbitrary interference vary and include, inter alia, civic tech tools, cybersecurity and self-help measures, and hacktivism.

The session’s goal is to explore the dynamics of digital authoritarianism and digital resistance tendencies in Belarus in the context of the ongoing political and human rights crisis, as well as to identify working solutions to reclaim human rights online and offline and expand the shrinking civic space.

Speakers:

• Tatsiana Ziniakova, Legal Analyst & Human Rights Defender, Human Constanta (Online)
• TBC

Moderator: TBC

COFFEE BREAK

CLOSING SESSION:
CONSLUSIONS & NEXT STEPS
Olga Kyryliuk, Technical Program Manager, ABA ROLI