The Internet goes VR: The $1B Metaverse is coming

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…

Immersive VR & Gender

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…

COMPACT Immersive Technologies Symposium: Virtual Reality technology and its impact

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

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

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”…

Online Workshop: “European Courts and Digital Media”

Online workshop on “European courts and digital media” The Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP), in collaboration with the University of Castilla-La Mancha, organized an online workshop on “European courts and digital media” under the framework of the COMPACT project. This invitation-only online workshop brought together researchers from across Europe to discuss new…

Fundamental Rights in National Social Media Jurisprudence: A Study of Higher and Appellate Courts

E. Psychogiopoulou and F. Casarosa, ‘Fundamental Rights in National Social Media Jurisprudence: A Study of Higher and Appellate Courts’, [2020] European Human Rights Law Review, issue 2, p. 164-175 Abstract This article examines national court decisions on social media in a selected set of EU Member States, aiming to identify and analyze their fundamental rights…

EURODIG 2020 Forum

EuroDIG 2020 Forum forum | live transcript | live stream Day 1 / 11 June 2020 (all times CEST/UTC +2) 11.00 – 11.30 Studio open, arrival of participants 11.30 – 13.00 WS 4: Innovative uses of blockchain for public empowerment 13.00 – 14.30 Lunch break – Music relaxation 14.30 – 16.00 WS 6: Social media – opportunities, rights and responsibilities…

Riga Symposium Report

Report on Riga Symposium The symposium was organized by the University of Latvia Faculty of Social Sciences (FSS) on the 10th of December. Latvian researchers and opinion leaders, together with European partners, presented the latest findings in the disinformation and media literacy field as well as discussed the future challenges that the digital media landscape…

UNESCO’S INTERNET UNIVERSALITY INDICATORS

A Framework for Assessing Internet Development The Internet has developed rapidly into a communications medium which continues to transform access to information, opportunities for expression, and many aspects of government and business for people around the world. It has become a global marketplace for ideas, goods and services. It has both facilitated the enjoyment of…

Potential impacts of blockchain technology, Internet of Things, 5G and Artificial Intelligence

The Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain represent an unprecedented opportunity for the enterprise and the public sector. Every institution capable of exploiting these technologies will have a chance to radically streamline and enhance existing processes, create entirely new business models, and develop innovative products and services for a new generation of…

Comparatively, Germans, women and elederly value privacy more on platforms

Germans place the highest value on privacy compared to the U.S. and Latin American countries.  Across countries, people place the highest value on keeping financial and biometric information private —balance and fingerprint data in particular.    Germany’s status as the country with highest value for privacy is driven  largely by extremely strong preferences for keeping…

National courts, social media and convergence

Research done within the framework of the COMPACT project examined national court cases on social media and convergence in a selected set of COMPACT countries. The following report discusses the jurisprudence of the higher and appeal courts under review, investigates patterns of judicial reasoning and looks at judicial interaction between courts.   Our sample includes 147…

Cambridge Analytica and Facebook

 Facebook´ Regulatory Offensive Is Clouded

Mark Zuckerberg published an op-ed in Financial Times titled Big Tech needs more regulation, on February 17, 2017. He outlined there some ideas about the development of regulatory solutions according to Facebook. These ideas are based on the White Paper produced by Facebook and titled Charting a Way Forward..Online Content Regulation.  These regulatory frameworks should…

VR and Social Media for Online Training: Medical Realities – Basic Life Support during Covid-19

Educational video for Medical Realities on Basic Life Support During Covid – 19 for training medical staff. The project was created during lockdown in UK using entirely online network methodology for media production. Students from Escape studios volunteered to contribute to the production aiding NHS by working from home computers and using online tools for…

Practice based research projects on Social Media and Injustice – “Wild Wild Web”

Mediaframe Studios presents: Episode 2: “Wild Wild Web” by Isaac Linkens Information disorder is a term that is increasingly being used as an umbrella for the concepts of disinformation, misinformation and malinformation. It proliferated as a novel and useful term to describe the unwanted state of information pollution online, which has sparked an intensive academic…

Practice based research projects on Social Media and Injustice – “Gender and Hate speech”

Mediaframe studios presents: “Bittersweet” by Shazell Vassal Hall We start from the basic premise that gender equality comprises an important aspect of the general issue of equality in society perceived as social involvement, use of and benefiting from all social opportunities on an equal footing by everyone. It is a fundamental human rights’ principle and…

Report on Riga COMPACT Symposium

Regional Symposium on Social Media Regulation – Riga, 10 December 2019 Report on “Disinformation, Media Literacy, and Social Media Regulation” Latvian researchers and opinion leaders, together with European partners, presented the latest findings in the disinformation and media literacy field as well as discussed the future challenges that the digital media landscape presents for scientists,…

NOVI SAD 10th International Conference THE BRIDGES OF MEDIA EDUCATION 2018

Publication from NOVI SAD 10th International Conference THE BRIDGES OF MEDIA EDUCATION 2018 “Fighting fake news and hoaxes in the age of convergence: evaluation of fact-checking and debunking organizations’ performance” Bissera Zankova, Media 21 Foundation, Bulgaria     Abstract With the proliferation of new information and communications technologies, the quality of the information environment is…

Addressing Hate Speech

Challenges and dilemmas for the national regulatory authorities in the age of convergence with respect to hate speech Since the time of their inception media regulatory bodies have always faced big challenges. The latter pertain either to their status, structure, and independence or to their competences and the effectiveness of the control they exercise over…

Fighting fake news and hoaxes in the age of convergence: performance evaluation and policies against information disorder

Fighting fake news and hoaxes in the age of convergence: performance evaluation and policies against information disorder Bissera Zankova, Media 21 Foundation, Bulgaria   Abstract With the proliferation of new information and communications technologies, the quality of the information environment is a question that becomes of paramount importance for every person and society. The veracity…

RESEARCH FINDINGS AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ORGANISATIONS AND INITIATIVES TACKLING FAKE NEWS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This research and policy paper summarises the key findings and recommendations from up-to-date performance analyses of European organisations and initiatives fighting fake news. These findings and recommendations represent the direct outcome of the piloting of an entirely novel methodology for defining key indicators for performance evaluation of fact-checking organisations in a number of…

Access to reliable and accurate information in COVID-19 pandemic: a matter of life and death

Bissera Zankova, Media 21 Undermining the right to health could generate serious risks for society and generations ahead. Disinformation represents a hazardous tool that can seriously jeopardise this right during the raging COVID-19 pandemic. In such grave crisis, disinformation can prove more toxic and perilous than ever. These arguments motivated UNESCO to coin the term…

Standards in the digital society should be responsive to gender equality

Standards in the digital society should be responsive to gender equality Standards are key contributors to an inclusive digital society. Products, systems and services must be mutually compatible and interoperable, so that people can communicate with each other through different devices. The Internet of Things (IoT) represents a stage towards full digitization and also relies…

Standardisation in the Digital Single Market – before and after 2020

Standardisation  in the Digital Single Market – before and after 2020   Standardization issues in the new technological environment are of increasing relevance for Europe. “Media 21” Foundation presents excerpts from the latest European documents compiled by the information society expert dipl.eng Anelia Dimova, Bulgaria.   The process of European Standardisation  The objective that European…

Social media regulation – a proposition for a social media arbitration mechanism

Social media regulation – a proposition for a social media arbitration mechanism   Dr. Bissera Zankova, Media 21 Foundation Dr. Valeriy Dimitrov, professor at the Legal Faculty of the University of National and World Economy, Sofia   Introduction The issue of how to regulate social media platforms, including social networks, is gaining momentum among stakeholders.…

International community against disinformation in the situation of COVID-19 pandemic

International community against disinformation in the situation of COVID-19 pandemic While the corona virus crisis is escalating, the U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made the admonition that the world is not only immersed in a pandemic but is also facing “a dangerous epidemic of misinformation” about COVID-19. He announced a U.N. campaign based on scientific knowledge…

Corona virus and disinformation

Corona virus and disinformation   These days disinformation is developing as fast as the coronavirus spread. This is a reason for worry: the World Health Organization (WHO) is concerned about an “infodemic,” a flood of accurate and inaccurate information about COVID-19. However, it is not currently possible to trace any of the conspiracy narratives it…

The multifarious effects of GDPR

The multifarious effects of GDPR

The multifarious effects of GDPR The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a milestone in the regulation of data and privacy of individuals residing in the European Union (EU). It is an instrument that establishes the minimum level of personal data protection throughout all 28 EU Member States. In that sense, individuals’ names, photos, posts…

Fears and speculations in Bulgaria after National Children’s Strategy draft project was introduced

Fears and speculations in Bulgaria after National Children’s Strategy draft project was introduced

Fears and speculations in Bulgaria after National Children’s Strategy draft project was introduced     In April 2019 it was officially stated that the Bulgarian government decided to put the National Children’s Strategy on halt. Bulgarian media announced that, at the request of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, work on the National Children’s Strategy project would cease due to…

IGF 2018 Key Messages: Media&Content

IGF 2018 Key Messages: Media&Content

IGF 2018 Key Messages: Media&Content   The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is a world platform that involves people from various stakeholder groups in discussions on public policy issues relating to the Internet. The IGF facilitates a common understanding of how to maximize Internet opportunities and addresses risks and challenges that arise out of the technological…

EuroDIG 2019: Highlights of messages

EuroDIG 2019: Highlights of messages

EuroDIG 2019: Highlights of messages     EuroDIG, the European Dialogue on Internet Governance, was established in 2008 as annual event that brings together Internet stakeholders from all over Europe (and beyond). Participants representing government, industry, civil society, academia and the technical community each year develop, in a bottom-up fashion, a dynamic agenda that explores…

Dortmund Overview of Global Regulatory Initiatives and Suggestions, Governmental Initiatives, New Regulatory Challenges

Dortmund Symposium  Overview of Global Regulatory Initiatives and Suggestions, Governmental Initiatives, New Regulatory Challenges Please find below the discussion materials:   Schedule COMPACT Social Media overview Digital Media Regulation in V4 Global suggestions for social media regulation Recommendations & Findings 2 Recommendations & Findings 3 Minutes  

Eurodig 2019: Dutch experience

Eurodig 2019: Dutch experience

Dr. Bissera Zankova, Media 21 Foundation, Bulgaria Created in 2008 by several organisations, government representatives and experts, the European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG) has gained significant popularity on a European and global scale.  EuroDEG aims to present, as open multi-stakeholder platform, an exchange of views about the Internet and its governance for fostering dialogue…