World Press Freedom Day - 2022

                            Last Tuesday, 3rd of May, all over the world was celebrated the importance of a free, independent, and courageous news media. And like many other have done this week, this post is a tribute to all journalist, human rights defender, and anyone else that are helping us to know what is really happenning around the world. I have been doing summaries about this important day since 2013. This year the theme is about the importance of digital privacy for all journalists and human rights defenders, since nowadays almost all articles and reports are done and published or broadcasted online. We can not tolerate the violation of these two essential human rights, both are the pillars of democracy and justice. And justice in these cases mean above all, compensation for the victims, since it is hard to identify the responsible for the violations that generally involve many persons from internet supplier  companies to governments officials. This post is a summary of two articles. The first was published at   https://www.un.org/en/observances/press-freedom-day. The second was published at   https://www.state.gov/briefings-foreign-press-centers/world-press-freedom-day-2022-state-of-world-press-freedom

                             This year's World Press Freedom Day theme, "Journalism under digital siege," spotlights the multiple ways in which journalism is endangered by surveillance and digitally-mediated attacks on journalists, and the consequences of all this on public trust in digital communications. The latest UNESCO world trends report insight discussion paper, "Threats that Silence: Trends in the Safety of Journalists," highlights how surveillance and hacking are compromising journalism. Surveillance can expose information gathered by journalists including from whistleblowers, and violates the principle of source protection, which is universally considered a prerequisite for freedom of the media and is enshrined in U.N. resolution. Surveillance may also harm the safety of journalists by disclosing sensitive private information, which could be used for arbitrary judicial harassment or attack. There is a growing global push encouraging more transparency regarding how internet companies exploit citizens data; and enables amplification of disinformation. This was underlined in the Windhoek Declaration, call for tech companies to work to ensure transparency in relation to their automated systems. The annual World Press Freedom Global Conference in Uruguay, the safety of journalists, access to information and privacy are to be discussed.                                                                                                                                                                      It is vital promoting the right to freedom of expression, including a free press, at home and also around the world. The free flow of information, ideas, opinions, including dissenting ones, is essential to inclusive and tolerant societies. A vibrant independent press is a cornerstone for any healthy democracy. At its core is the idea that information is a public good, crucial to everything we do, to every decision that we make. And often we trust the press with providing that information. It is what helps citizens understand the events, the forces that are shaping their lives. It allows people to engage meaningfully in the political and civic spheres of their communities, their nations, and the world. A free press is one of the most effective tools that we have for advancing human rights. Whether it is documenting unjust working conditions, corrupt or failing public services, discrimination, abuse of security forces, accurate reporting shines s bright light on the parts of our societies that need fixing, that need to be iluminated. That brings pressure to change, to form, as we say, a more perfect union. Journalists face risks beyond areas of conflict. Around the world, governments, as well as non-state actors like criminals organizations, threaten, harass, imprison, and attack journalists every week. When journalists are threatened, when they are attacked, when they are imprisoned, the chilling effects reach far beyond their targets. Some in the media start to self-censor. Other flee. Some stop reporting altogether. And when repressive governments come after journalists, human rights defenders, labor leaders, others in civil society are usually not far behind. More governments are taking steps to control access to information, and news in particular, on the internet, whether through shutdowns or outright censorship. Technology is being used not only to block journalists, but to watch them. From 2020 to 2021, more than 30 reporters in El salvador were hacked with the spyware Pegasus, according to an independent investigation. Whether these attacks on journalists are made using old methods or new ones, the overwhelming majority of crimes against journalists worldwide are carried out with impunity. This sends a clear message to perpetrators that can keep targeting the press without consequences.