2009-2019: A revolutionary decade for freedom of speech

Expert and lawyer on Human Rights, Renata Ávila, will talk about freedom of speech and human rights on the digital era.

While the Web is 30 years old, the last decade has been the most challenging for our societies to preserve and advance freedom of speech. It started celebrating the transformative power of the Internet and social networks to transform democracy and open societies, it continued with a celebration of so-called “Internet Freedom”, as the world witnessed the “Arab Spring” unfolded.  It shifted power and revolutionised journalism with the courageous publications of WikiLeaks, the most radical institutional innovation for journalism, inspiring a global movement of digital whistleblowing. And then, freedom of speech moved backwards: sophisticated surveillance, censorship, increased controls and restrictions of content, fake news citizens are blame of either producing or believing, and even a genocide in Myanmar potentially triggered by social networks.  Are our rights at risk? Can we reverse the trend? The talk will analyse key moments that shaped freedom of speech online during the last decade and a defining moment ahead that can change everything.

About the speaker: Renata Avila (Guatemalan), is an international Human Rights lawyer, specialising in the next wave of technological challenges to preserve and advance our rights, and understand better the politics of data and their implications on trade, democracy and society. She is currently writing a book on digital colonialism and designing international policies and prototyping technology for a democratic future. She is a Board member for Creative Commons and co-convener of the Progressive International. She also serves as a Board Member of the Common Action Forum and a Global Trustee of the Think Tank Digital Future Society. She is a member of the WEF’s Global Future Council on Human Rights and Technology and a Steering Committee Member of the Information Society Advisory Council (CSISAC) for the OECD. Renata Avila is the Executive Director of Smart Citizenship Foundation.