At the Doha conference ... Demands for a global declaration to protect social media activists

Mohammed Al-Shayazami-Doha

The work of a human rights conference and the challenges of supporting freedoms, organized by the National Human Rights Committee in Qatar, with the participation of more than 300 international organizations, universities and officials in the major social networks, started today in Doha.

Under the title "Social Media… Challenges and Ways to Support Liberties and Protect Activists," the National Committee organized an international conference in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the European Parliament, the International Federation of Journalists, the International Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, and the participation of more than 300 international organizations, universities, and a think-tank. A press union and an official of major social media networks.

The conference examines for two days the opportunities created by social media to promote human rights, and the frequent forms of interference in the use of these methods, in light of the serious violations that freedom activists have on their freedom of expression, and the actions of many governments to enact legal legislation that restricts Dissemination and circulation of content on various grounds, most notably the protection of security and stability, especially in the countries of the Arab region.

The conference sessions witness the wide participation of prominent European representatives, such as the representative of the European Union to combat terrorism, and his representative for human rights, as well as the participation of deputies and committees from the European Parliament, and a number of United Nations special rapporteurs on issues of privacy, minorities and democracy.

The sessions also discuss multiple issues related to legislative frameworks that regulate freedom of expression, social media, the implications of preventing communications, blocking social media on human rights, transparency and accountability in overseeing content in major technology companies, and defining future activities to expand the scope of civil space in the media, Besides discussing the problem of continuing media platforms in light of the presence of these means.

The conference provides an opportunity for dialogue between social media management companies, human rights organizations, media unions, and international organizations to reach the optimal use of the social media network, and to provide guarantees and qualitative protection for activists.

A global declaration to protect activists
In his speech, the head of the National Human Rights Commission in Qatar, Ali bin Samikh al-Marri, called for the adoption of a global declaration to protect social media activists, taking into account the requirements imposed by the continuous expansion in the civil space and the development of activists' work, considering that restrictions on freedom of opinion and expression cannot It goes beyond the limits permitted by international and regional human rights conventions, and interpretations of the United Nations Human Rights Committee.

While social media played an important role in opening new horizons for groups deprived of their opinion, the issues of false news, misinformation, incitement, bullying, fueling violence and discrimination, and violations of the right to privacy and freedom of expression surfaced, which led many governments to pursue new policies that are still being raised. Constant criticism.

In this context, the President of the International Federation of Journalists, Younis Mujahid, refused, in a statement to Al-Jazeera Net, that some governments resort to the methods of restrictions and repression with the aim of limiting the power and spread of news and ideas that contradict their policy, as well as the use of pressure groups and interests to use methods that affect freedom of expression via digital media, and mislead the opinion Public and flood the digital space with propaganda and rumors, and attack opponents using fake identities, electronic armies and other means of artificial influence.

Civil space
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michel Bachelet, considered that persistent human rights violations and protection of the civil space require lifting restrictions and barriers in the face of the media, the press and human rights organizations themselves, with an active civil society and critical voices, and stressed that the laws protecting human rights can manage all of these risks And address it.

If the new media heralded the empowerment of individuals to help them gain citizenship status, then imposing restrictions on social media would destroy confidence between peoples and governments.

Social media companies are at the center of a heated debate, as they define what users can say, see and hear, and ask them many questions such as: Who has the authority to remove content? What actions do social media platforms use when sharing or blocking content? How is artificial intelligence used to manage content? What remedies are available to human rights activists on social media and also for journalists?

The director of the Middle East and North Africa division of the "Afdi" international organization, Abdul Majeed Marari, told Al-Jazeera Net that protecting the privacy of users and their data is at stake today, especially if we know that companies bear the greatest responsibility for protecting them, not for selling them.

Marari added that Facebook had previously announced that it was formally arriving with government requests to provide it with statements of activists and opponents, just as Egypt had asked the Facebook administration for the statements of 32 human rights activists. The same applies to Twitter, which leaked data about Saudi dissidents and activists, some of whom were arrested and died under torture.

According to Freedom House in its report on freedoms around the world in 2019, including freedom on the Internet, the percentage of freedoms in the 21 countries of the Middle East and North Africa is suspended in the lower grades, and the factors of deterioration are firmly established in them.

The Foundation pointed out that after the Arab Spring that brought down some regimes, some countries witnessed grave violations of all political rights and basic civil liberties of citizens in the Arab region.