Can 5G be dangerous in any way? What are the major challenges in the full 5G infrastructure rollout? What are the benefits and expected impacts of the 5G technologies on the economy and socio-technical reality tomorrow? Can broadcasters and other media benefit from 5G straightaway? These questions and more have been answered in our 5W…
Recent major investments prove that the Internet is not only about protocols and faster telecommunication infrastructures. Soon we are going to experience a totally new paradigm of the internet. Silicon Valley made a strong bet, that the next-generation Internet should be underpinned by Virtual Reality technologies and will be built by the gaming industry. Epic…
COMPACT recent report provides an in-depth insight into i) Progress in the implementation of EU standardization policies; ii) Strengths and weaknesses of national, regional and international (pre)standardization organizational setting; iii) European digital industry position in a global context; iv) Distance from ethical universalism principle of equal power share in samples of standardization bodies at all…
In our study, we analyzed a varied range of information governance initiatives covering different issues related to information disorder. The results show that most of the initiatives currently active are of a national type, indicating a serious lack of trans-border collaboration and impact. One important insight is that most of the activities are being performed…
READ FULL SOCIAL MEDIA AND GENDER REPORT HERE Our recently released report on Gender Aspects and Social Media could be analysed in its stadardisational aspect among others. It cites the Recommendation CM/Rec (2007)17 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on gender equality standards and mechanisms further states that gender equality is not a…
Our report examines judicial approaches to social media and convergence. It identifies the jurisprudence of supreme, constitutional and appellate courts in a selected set of European Union (EU) countries. Our findings show that the judicial treatment of social media cases heavily draws on the existing ‘generic’ legal framework. Many of the rules that currently apply…
Our report on current policies and regulatory frameworks for social media and content convergence: information disorder, human rights and regulatory implications, provides a comprehensive insight into regulatory and governance initiatives addressing the human rights concerns related to information disorder in social media and a better understanding of the regulatory and governance implications, including their potential…
EU-funded (completed) projects on Convergence and Social Media The European Commission funded 27 projects on media convergence and social media (the projects are now completed). Their main focus is the use of intuitive and innovative ways of interacting with networked multimedia devices and with other services and applications. Anytime, anywhere and on any device. The…
For the last couple of years, social media platforms have been facing serious issues related to the propagation of fake news, broadly understood disinformation and manipulation of audiences. Moreover, general advertising, online political campaigns and freedom of speech online policies have been a subject of strong debate. Despite significant efforts made by platforms and policymakers…
We present our compendium on R&D Programmes, Activities and Issues in the area of technological convergence related to AR, VR, MR, Social Media Influencers, Bots, Deep Fakes. Our report presents a comprehensive overview of the situation and feedback from National Authorities on the discussed topics. READ FULL REPORT HERE
In the last five years many academics, CEOs´ social media platforms and politicians in the EU have increasingly accepted both the urgency and the necessity of social media regulation. A large combination of the public-journalistic-academic opinions presented in the media started voicing suggestions on how to regulate social media in EU countries and a few…
The COMPACT project aims at enhancing awareness about the latest scientific discoveries – state of the art research on social media and convergence – among key stakeholders in the context of social media and convergence. For this purpose, we analysed over 1,200 mostly academic articles dealing with convergence and social media, published in more than…
American court dismisses lack of diversity allegations against Facebook On March 22, 2021, a California federal magistrate judge granted Facebook’s motion to dismiss a shareholder class action arising out of an alleged lack of diversity on Facebook Inc.’s Board and other alleged discriminatory practices. Since July 2020, activist investors have filed a number of lawsuits…
What’s new about the new app club? Clubhouse, the social networking app, has gained popularity for letting people gather in audio chat rooms to talk about various issues. Hearing a lot about Clubhouse lately partially falls on the tech leaders of the day. For the greatest satisfaction of the tech exalted audience Elon Musk and…
Social Media business goes VR According to a recent UploadVR article, almost 20% of Facebook employees (around 10 thousand people) work exclusively on VR/AR/XR technologies now. The authors point out that Facebook’s Oculus division responsible for VR significantly increased the company’s non-advertising revenue from $346 in 2019 up to $885 million in the last three…
On 3 March 2021, the Media4Europe Summit gathered media convergence stakeholders around discussion on the future of news, journalism and classic media in Europe. Some of the major issues discussed included rapidly falling advertising revenue and subscriptions to mainstream media which are facing strong competition from online media. That problem has been particularly elevated in…
Immersive VR & Gender Immersive Social VR technologies, such as AltspaceVR, VRChat or the upcoming Facebook Horizon introduce new means of synchronous online communication. The next-gen, emergent VR technologies allow significant immersion, sense of presence and expressivity while ensuring strong privacy – you choose ‘what to reveal and what to conceal’. That particular property of…
WSIS Forum 2021 | ICTs for Inclusive, Resilient and Sustainable Societies and Economies (WSIS Action Lines for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals) Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are tools through which gender equality and women’s empowerment can be advanced, and are integral to the creation of societies in which both women and men can substantively…
Gender & Social Media – COMPACT Report Technological development and convergence require comprehensive exploration of how various dimensions of our life are affected by the new technologies, and by social media, in particular. Among its awareness-raising goals, COMPACT also analyzes how social networks respond to the gender challenges in the digital environment in a special…
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ): Take part in the revision of UNESCO’s Gender-Sensitive Indicators for Media In 2012, UNESCO published its first Gender-Sensitive Indicators for Media (GSIM) to “contribute to gender equality and women’s empowerment in and through media of all forms, irrespective of the technology used”. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is in charge…
Microsoft and Convergent Media Approach – Ignite Day I – all-in-Immersive-VR event Today COMPACT joined the event organised by another tech giant who made an important step toward convergent media. Microsoft followed the example of the Facebook Connect VR conference and organised an event entirely all-in-Immersive-VR on March 2nd, using their AltspaceVR platform. Microsoft CEO…
Microsoft CEO Speaks at an event organised entirely in VR Microsoft’s largest gathering of technology leaders and practitioners is kicking off in AltspaceVR. Join us for a one-of-a-kind event featuring Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Mixed Reality Technical Fellow Alex Kipman and get a front row seat to Microsoft’s vision for the future of Mixed…
Clubhouse and Misinformation over voice? The new arrival in the social media scene – Clubhouse, iOS-exclusive all-voice app, has been gaining popularity recently. The increased interest is elevated by celebrities and big-tech representatives making apparitions on the platform. The limited availability (only iOS) and invited-only access policy give extra exclusivity to that novel platform. The…
COMPACT Immersive Technologies Symposium: Virtual Reality technology and its impact The objective of the COMPACT project (EC, Horizon 2020) is to increase awareness (including scientific, political, cultural, legal, economic and technical areas) of the latest technological discoveries among key stakeholders in the context of social media and convergence. A fruitful trend in COMPACT three-year research…
COMPACT Horizon 2020 project experience: Virtual Reality communication and its implications Virtual Reality (VR) is more than just a new communication channel. It is an entirely new paradigm of participation. Major VR affordance is Immersion and Presence. By those terms we understand the specific experience of the individual engaged in conversation or interactive activity where…
COMPACT experience: the convergence of Virtual Reality and Mainstream Media As the extended reality technology progresses fast, there is a less and less need for physical presence of the actors and performance in the locations presented to the viewer Also the costs of post-processing such as the efforts required to edit the “Green & Blue”…
Symposium on 5G: “5W on 5G” We have released our report on 5G symposium. We believe that this material provides interesting insights into the challenges in 5G infrastructure rollout such as late COVID-19 & the alleged 5G link conspiracy theories. We highlight the benefits and the possibilities brought by the 5G technologies in the are…
Idols and virtual influencers – the future faces of advertising New technologies allow versatile advertising and promotional techniques to be used for capturing the attention of bigger audiences. More and more music industry relies on virtual idols which in some cases can be based on real people. In addition to this, the character of virtual…
In December 2020, more attention in media has been given to voices speaking against Tech Giants practices that are perceived to create closed, monopolised systems for advertising channels. Specifically, in the ad pipeline questioned, a large tech party is a representative for users as well as for businesses which try to sell their products. In…
The European Commission has released the awaited proposals of DSA & DMA. Digital Service Act, proposed by EC, aims at addressing major issues related to large social media platforms – hate speech, public discourse and democracy while DMA addresses the dominance of gatekeeper platforms in certain markets. The COMPACT International Symposium follows a set of…
Supporting Public Health Experts’ Vaccine Efforts – Facebook Facebook has announced that it will implement several protocols to support vaccination behaviour around the world. In particular, FB will launch a campaign encouraging Flu vaccination while we are awaiting for COVID-19 vaccine to be available. That move is to support the general health of the population…
Facebook’s Algorithm: A Major Threat to Public Health – AVAAZ Avaaz uncovers health misinformation spreading networks with an estimated 3.8 billion views in the last year – and shows how to quarantine this infodemic – AVAAZ AVAAZ calls for more transparency for Facebook reporting on COVID-19 disseminated materials. In particular, the report suggests that the…
Can democracies stand up to Facebook? Ireland may have the answer – The Guardian Last month, the Irish data protection commissioner (DPC) sent Facebook a preliminary order ordering it to stop sending the data of its European users to the US. This was a big deal, because in order to comply with the ruling, Facebook…
Twitter Will Turn Off Some Features to Fight Election Misinformation – NYT The platform is trying to address growing concern that falsehoods could lead to instability. Most of the changes will start on Oct. 20 – The New York Times The article elaborates upon the introduced limitations and features ensuring more informed sharing and fake-news…
The House Antitrust Report on Big Tech – NYT “In a report led by Democrats, lawmakers said Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook needed to be checked and recommended reforming antitrust laws” – The New York Times The report by SUBCOMMITTEE ON ANTITRUST, COMMERCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW, published by NYT elaborates in detail on the tech…
Assessment of the Code of Practice on Disinformation. Achievements and areas for further improvement, Brussels, 11 September 2020 The Code of Practice on Disinformation provides a framework for a structured dialogue between relevant industry actors, the Commission, and ERGA authorities. The Code sets general policy objectives, identifies relevant requirements for appropriate measures, and enables public…
Recovery plan powers EU’s strategic autonomy The topic on rebooting the EU economy after coronavirus brought together at the online annual Brussels Economic Forum (BEF), high-level policymakers, opinion leaders, academics, civil society and business leaders from EU and beyond. They held a vibrant debate on the unprecedented economic and social situation in Europe emphasing the…
Digital Education: Public consultation: Digital education during the COVID-19 recovery period and beyond The European Commission has launched an EU-wide public consultation to collect the views of citizens and stakeholders on the future of digital education during the COVID-19 recovery period and beyond. According to Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth…
Open data and COVID crisis Following the spread of COVID-19 in early 2020, countries across the world have adapted to a new sense of normal. To continue combating the proliferation of the pandemic, societies have been utilising data to inform policy makers and create applications and services. In conformity with these efforts, the European Data…
Mozilla challenges the status quo and embraces openness: the position of the company on the Digital Services Act (DSA) On September 7 th 2020 Mozilla CEO Mitchell Baker published an open letter to the European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen, urging her “to seize a ‘once-in-a-generation’ opportunity to build a better Internet”. The…
Internet Society: DSA Open Consultation Response The Internet Society welcomes the Commission’s efforts to develop new and revised rules to harmonise and deepen the Single Market for digital services . As a global non-profit organisation founded by the Internet’s pioneers and with a mission for an open, globally-connected, secure, and trustworthy Internet, the Internet Society…
ARTICLE 19’s Recommendations for the EU Digital Services Act Twenty years after the adoption of the E-Commerce Directive, a cornerstone of Internet freedom in Europe, the EU institutions are set to review whether it is still fit for purpose and adopt a new set of rules governing online platforms as part of a new Digital…
Response to the European Commission’s “Inception Impact Assessment for Deepening the Internal Market and Clarifying Responsibilities for Digital Services” The options proposed would take important and needed steps towards addressing illegal online content. The Digital Services Act should clarify the types of platforms and content that fall in scope; set proportionate responsibilities and obligations for…
A Telecoms Industry View on the Digital Services Act For this reason, we believe that the European Commission’s efforts in shaping a “Digital Services Act” (DSA) has the potential to be one of the most relevant tech policy exercises of our generation. Not only it will be relevant to millions of European citizens and businesses,…
European Commission consultation on Digital Services Act (DSA): EBF response KEY MESSAGES: The EBF supports an ex ante regulatory approach to large online platforms, securing fair competition in a digitally transformed market The EBF agrees that the regulatory approach should include clear obligations and prohibited practices for large online platforms The EBF advocates the formulation…
EBU RESPONSE TO THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON THE DIGITAL SERVICES ACT Platforms mainly have tried to create transparency but have not taken enough action to avoid these problems since their main interest is to commercialise content and user data. Some platforms responded, with moderate and unequal success, to the Commission’s call to take…
FACEBOOK RESPONSE TO EC PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON THE DIGITAL SERVICES ACT (DSA) While Facebook supports regulation requiring digital platforms to have systems in place to address content that is unlawful, a homogenous one-size-fits-all approach is not a viable solution. Obligations should be proportionate in relation to the nature and characteristics of the service, and include…
GOOGLE: Digital Services Act package: open public Consultation Google’s response to the European Commission’s consultation on the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the New Competition Tool (NCT) : We recognise that the evolution of the Internet has prompted the European Commission and EU national governments to consider updating the regulatory framework governing online services. At…
How to make Europe’s digital transformation responsible and accountable In its position IBM underlines that governments, and citizens, in particular, are demanding that technology companies take more responsibility for the societal effects their services can have on children, on civic dialogue, on elections, or in facilitating criminal or terrorist activity. With greater digitalisation comes an…
CDTEU Response to the European Commission Consultation on the Digital Services Act The Centre for Democracy and Technology’s EU Office (CDTEU) stresses that the EC consultation involves also a review of the E-Commerce Directive. The importance of maintaining a clear and strong intermediary liability framework at the heart of the DSA is crucial. CDTEU recommends…
European Union Update: The Digital Services Act ICANN points to the fact that within the domain name ecosystem, registrars could be affected by the new act. ICANN’s Registrar Accreditation Agreement already provides that registrars shall be able to receive and act upon notification of providers of illegal content “by law enforcement, consumer protection, quasi-governmental or…
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL SUBMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION’S CONSULTATION ON THE DIGITAL SERVICES ACT PACKAGE According to Amnesty International the new package will be a major opportunity to significantly curtail the surveillance-based business model of the dominant online platforms that undermines privacy and other rights of users all around Europe and worldwide on a daily basis.…
Digital Services Act: what we learned about tackling the power of digital platforms he European Digital Rights (EDRI) requests the European Commission to provide measures that break open the centralised platform economy, introduce strong transparency requirements, and guarantee effective regulatory oversight. The Digital Services Act provides the chance to entrench a digital economy that respects…
The Digital Services Act: SMEs need a more open and competitive internet ecosystem The DIGITAL SME position paper calls for targeted measures to empower SMEs. The purpose is to deal effectively with the real concerns related to large platforms, while at the same time to allow smaller businesses to thrive without additional burdens. European policymakers…
European Immersive Technologies Symposium Registration is Open! 19-20th of October – FREE ADMISSION We are organising the European Immersive Technologies Symposium 2020 – 2 days 2 modes – Monday in VR, Tuesday on ZOOM – speakers from EU and the US. COMPACT is an H2020 European Commission – funded project. We start 19th of October…
Immersive Technologies Symposium – VR & ZOOM The symposium will be hosted on the 19th and 20th of October from 16:30 IST – 18:30 IST. Additional session from 18:30 -19:30 will be conducted for those who wish to stay longer. Since there is no better way to talk about Immersive Technologies than simply using them…
The first COMPACT symposium on 5G that was hosted online on the 14th of May, showed to be a big success! We wish to extend our big thank you to all the speakers, moderators and participants who joined us in the online discussion. Till the final report is available you can find the materials available…
Messages from COMPACT Symposium “Technology and regulation in a convergent environment. The role of social media and its implications” in Sofia, Bulgaria Users face the complexity of the digital environment and the challenge for policy-makers and regulators is to balance the conduct of different actors. We need a new digital skillset and culture in order…