Q2/2021 - Organisation für Sicherheit und Zusammenarbeit in Europa (OSZE)

Bericht an den Ständigen OSZE-Rat, 13. Mai 2021

Die neue Direktorin des Wiener OSZE-Büros für freie Medien, Teresa Ribeiro, präsentierte am 13. Mai 2021 in Wien ihren regulären Halbjahresbericht vor dem Ständigen OSZE-Rat. In dem Bericht ging sie u.a. ausführlich auf Probleme im Online-Journalismus ein und machte auf eine Einschränkung für Informations- und Meinungsäußerungsfreiheit im Internet aufmerksam: [1] 

  • Teresa Ribeiro konstatierte eine Zunahme von Desinformationskampagnen im Internet. Solche Kampgenen verstießen gegen allgemein anerkannte journalistische Berufsstandards, verletzten das „Right to Know“ von Bürgern, unterminierten demokratische Prozesse und würden zu Hass und Gewalt anstacheln.
  • Problematisch ist nach Ansicht von Teresa Ribeiro auch die Anwendung von Tools der künstlichen Intelligenz zur Kuratierung und Moderation von Informationsinhalten im Internet. Sie verwies auf das „#SAIFE-Project“ ihres Büros, das die Auswirkung von KI-basierten Instrumenten bei der Löschung von Inhalten in sozialen Netzwerken auf die Informations- und Meinungsfreiheit untersucht. „AI and other forms of automation increasingly shape and arbitrate information online, profoundly affecting how people access and share information. AI‐enabled tools curate and disseminate online content, often deployed by dominant private actors as part of highly complex and opaque systems, with little or no oversight. Thereby, AI significantly shapes the realization and future of freedom of expression and media pluralism“. Ribeiro kündigte die Veranstaltung einer Serie von Workshops und die Präsentation eines interaktiven Tools an, mit dem sich die Regierungen der OSZE-Staaten und andere Stakeholder über die Auswirkungen von künstlicher Intelligenz auf Informations- und Meinungsäußerungsfreiheit informieren können. [2]
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Q2/2021
  1. [1] A bleak picture when looking at media freedom in region, said OSCE Media Freedom Representative Ribeiro at Permanent Council meeting in Vienna, Wien, 13. Mai 2021, in: https://www.osce.org/representative-on-freedom-of-media/486286
  2. [2] Teresa Ribeiro, Regular Report to the Permanent OSCE Council for the period from 4 December 2020 to 13 May 2021, Wien 13. Mai 2021: „Two subthemes regarding increasing online challenges my Office is currently exploring: 1. The spread of disinformation: Disinformation, understood as verifiably false or misleading information that is created, presented and disseminated for economic and/or political gain or to intentionally deceive the public, may cause public harm. The European Parliament defines that such public harm includes threats to democratic processes as well as to public goods such as citizens’ health, environment or security. Disinformation and propaganda also cause public harm to media freedom: a. By undermining public trust in the media through claims that there is no truth in the media; b. By breaking with the professional standards of journalism through false information and media‐like entities designed to spread it; c. Through interference with the public’s right to know and the right of individuals to seek, receive, and to impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, protected under international legal guarantees of the rights to freedom of expression and to hold opinions. Some forms of disinformation and propaganda may incite to violence, discrimination or hostility against identifiable groups in society, often with the aim of undermining cohesion of societies. During the remainder of this year, I will place an increased focus on the threats of harmful disinformation. Tomorrow, I will start our work with the first in a series of expert meetings that will discuss those issues relevant to my Mandate. These meetings will take stock of existing challenges and good practice, and allow me to issue specific recommendations to relevant stakeholders. 2. Social media and the impact of artificial Intelligence: In one of my first tweets as Representative, I underlined the importance I attach to the debate on the role that social media platforms play in the freedom of expression. I also wrote that my Office has been engaged in this discussion, a discussion that takes place at different levels within different subthemes. This includes my Office’s #SAIFE project, which continued to put a spotlight on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the realm of freedom of expression – as AI and other forms of automation increasingly shape and arbitrate information online, profoundly affecting how people access and share information. AI‐enabled tools curate and disseminate online content, often deployed by dominant private actors as part of highly complex and opaque systems, with little or no oversight. Thereby, AI significantly shapes the realization and future of freedom of expression and media pluralism. In autumn 2020, my Office published a call for proposals of innovative ideas and initiatives to tackle the challenges brought on by AI. The nine local and international initiatives selected are presented on the #SAIFE website, and through informational events, in order to facilitate dialogue with the OSCE participating States and the broader public. Following collaboration with a digital storytelling expert, my Office will soon present an interactive tool to increase understanding of the challenges of AI to freedom of expression, privacy and democratic debate. Bringing together independent expertise and perspectives from across the OSCE region, my Office set up four expert working groups on the impact of AI on freedom of expression, each dedicated to a specific thematic area. The first two took place at the beginning of April and focused on AI in content moderation, particularly security threats and hate speech, and the first outcomes will soon be published. The second two workshops are planned for June/July and will focus on AI in content curation, in particular media pluralism and the associated surveillance. A guidance will be developed in the course of 2021, and OSCE participating States will be informed and consulted throughout the process.“ In: https://www.osce.org/representative-on-freedom-of-media/486286