DG8 leaders ask for more funding of censorship circumvention
The leaders of eight international public service media broadcasters from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, the UK and the US met on November 12 and 13 under the presidency of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Topics discussed were amongst others, the increasingly dangerous global media environment, the need for increased engagement and transparency from platform owners (Big Tech, Social Media companies) and the issue of online and information censorship worldwide and how to tackle it collaboratively.
During the meeting, DG8 members highlighted the growing trend of censorship and the obstruction of independent media outlets, including international public broadcasters, in various countries. They also pointed out the frequent exile of dedicated journalists from these regions. Additionally, DG8 members stressed the importance of increasing funding and research for tools that can circumvent censorship.
Falling Walls Summit in Berlin
These issues were also highlighted at the Falling Walls Summit in Berlin on November 8. There, DW hosted the panel "Digital Walls and How to Overcome Them," with panelists DW Director General Peter Limbourg, Patryk Pawlak of the European University Institute, Sabine Frank of Google, and Arturo Filasto of OONI (Open Observatory of Network Interference). DW and OONI cooperate on the News Media Scan app that helps users detect restrictions on websites worldwide.
DW Director General Limbourg: "Free information is a highly endangered species because many autocrats are blocking the internet. We find ourselves in a situation where, in the end, many regions of the world are almost completely cut off from the access to free and independent information that they deserve. We cannot accept this. We need to take care of the internet and make it free again."
Find a recap of the Falling Walls conference and our panel's focus on online circumvention here.
DW's Efforts Against Censorship Worldwide
DW does everything it can to ensure its content reaches as much of its global target audience as possible. Nevertheless, DW and its content are often censored and/or blocked to varying degrees by authoritarian regimes who seek to limit the access their people have to unbiased information.
The censorship of the DW website is currently strongest in China, Iran, Belarus, Russia, and Turkey. Against the backdrop of rising global authoritarianism, DW and its content are also often censored to varying degrees in other countries worldwide. This increasingly dynamic situation calls for constant vigilance on the part of DW and other independent media.
In case of comprehensive censorship, DW promotes a number of tools and methods for bypassing it, like the News Media Scan app, for example. The development and promotion of tools to circumvent censorship is a declared central task of DW.
About the DG8
The DG8 comprises eight international public service media organizations from Australia (ABC International), Canada (CBC/Radio-Canada), France (France Médias Monde), Germany (Deutsche Welle), Japan (NHK WORLD-JAPAN), Switzerland (SRG SSR), the United Kingdom (BBC World Service), and the United States (U.S. Agency for Global Media). Collectively, DG8 members generate more than 1.5 billion user contacts every week in more than 75 languages, giving them a significant journalistic impact worldwide.