WorldPressFreedomDay

‘It Does Take a Village’; Navigating the Annual Supply and Demands of World Press Freedom Day

by MediaUncategorized

On this World Press Freedom Day 2022, we salute the invaluable journalism being done worldwide—and, of course, within our own AM&P Network. “Freedom is a continuum and is never guaranteed,” writes SIIA President Jeff Joseph. “SIIA will continue to stand up for policies that support press freedom and safety. And we will continue to celebrate the brilliant, quality journalism and publishing coming out of associations and industry that seeks to better our world.”

I just finished watching an all-star panel (pictured here) from the National Press Club that included Jason Rezaian (on the right), Washington Post global opinions writer, author of the book “Prisoner” and producer of the popular podcast “544 Days,” referring to the time he was unjustly imprisoned by Iranian authorities until his release in January 2016.

Interestingly, one of the major themes of the webinar was to support and “subscribe”—to newspapers, magazines, newsletters and especially community news. Jen Judson (third from left), 115th president of the National Press Club and a land warfare reporter for Defense News, said that’s where she got her start, as did many of us. “If you can get in and support community news, that will be so important,” she said. “Subscribe.”

If B2B, niche publishing and associations are made of anything, it’s communities—of people, of topics, of places, of challenges, of resoluteness.

“We can all afford it. We can’t afford not to,” said Rezaian, speaking about support for journalism, before addressing safety. “Without this community—the National Press Club, other press freedom defenders—we wouldn’t be learning [the most important] lessons… It does take a village.

“And we’re coming to the realization that the government and non-government actors need to come together and cooperate. It should be a national issue. It’s one that’s getting worse and worse and worse. And if we don’t address it now, it’s going to get to the point where none of us are going to feel comfortable getting on the plane with our blue passport and going around the world because we will be a target.

“Today is the day to take stock and subscribe,” Rezaian added, “and save democracy.”

“We are in a global war for freedom of speech, freedom of thought,” said Kathy Kiely, Lee Hills Professor of Press Freedom Studies at the University of Missouri and former reporter for USA Today. “Support democracy. Subscribe.” She spoke about the importance of “having someone who is really part of a community [covering that community] and having that institutional memory. But salaries need to improve.”

Here are 5 examples from our member organizations from journalists who are part of their communities:

Ollie’s Last Day: The Impact of a SIDS Death on First Responders. A week ago, on Lexipol’s FireRescue1, Linda Willing, a retired career fire officer and founder of RealWorld Training and Consulting, wrote this moving story about a baby they could not save—and the effects that has. “I am the eye of the hurricane, Ollie and I as one, with the world falling apart around us. It is simple – I breathe, I massage his heart, I hold him inches away from my own face in silent prayer, and he does absolutely nothing.”

An Empathetic Ear—and More—for Veterinary Professionals Struggling With Depression. The American Animal Hospital Association has a blog called NEWStat that was an EXCEL finalist last year for this blog post. “Between 1979 and 2015, 398 veterinarians died by their own hands,” it begins. “…And while this appeared to be a crisis of major proportions, many people in the profession weren’t having ‘The Conversation,’ at least not openly. Thankfully, that’s changing. Because sometimes, talking about it can help. Or, in this case, posting about it.”

A Devastating Stroke and a Speech-Language Revelation. In this recent, first-person account for the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s LeaderLive, Grace McConnell writes: “Through the night, I lost control of my right side and could no longer sit or stand. The shift change 12 hours later saved my life, when the head of the ER recognized a stroke.”

We Have Been Here All Along. American Chemical Society’s Chemical & Engineering News won the 2022 Neal Award for Best DEI Coverage for this special issue. “Inspiration comes from within homes, communities, and the broader world—and it is key that when young Black people and other underrepresented people look around these places, they see chemists and engineers who look like them,” wrote guest editor Paula Hammond. “Exposure is key to engaging future chemists and chemical engineers.”

Heart Attacks Struck Sek Kathiresan’s Family. He’s Devoted His Life to Stopping Them. Biopharma Dive’s Ben Fidler won a 2022 Neal Award for Best Profile for this heart-rending story. “This story might be familiar to the millions of people and families affected by heart disease, the world’s leading cause of death. But it’s more than that for Kathiresan, who, when Senthil died, was a cardiologist and emerging as one of the field’s leading geneticists… Kathiresan channeled his despair into motivation.”

Of course, important journalism does not have to be life and death. We are all deeply invested in the niches we represent. But these articles capture the spirit, dedication and humanity that is at the heart of our missions.

Thanks so much for reading on this special day.

Professional business teleworkers connecting online and working from home for their corporate company, remote working and networks concept

‘Create a Place That Is Purpose-Designed’; Offices Must Change to Meet New Reality

by Media

In speaking with leaders at last week’s Neal Awards, bringing people back to the office was not top-of-mind. Recruitment, adding more diverse voices, finding the right metrics, revenue initiatives and onboarding all figured more prominently. But offices aren’t going away (yet). In seeking some type of middle ground, so to speak, experts recommend that a more “purpose-designed” office approach must be taken.

“What we’re seeing is a desire to be in an environment that’s more like a hospitality setting or a hotel setting,” says Nena Martin, global technology leader and director of workplace for the design and architecture firm Gensler, in an article on Fast Company about the workplace of the future.

Gone, she says, might be the executive corner office. “We’re seeing [executives] migrate to more of the middle of the space, and giving that corner to employees for a huddle room or a meeting room. It becomes more democratic, and now they have excellent views and it’ll get utilized more often.”

If you’re emphasizing that the point of coming to an office is the water-cooler conversations, then providing the nicest room makes a lot of sense. No reason to keep that interaction so serendipitous.

“Workspaces aren’t about a cubicle farm full of desks with people beavering away on their computers anymore,” says Carolyn Trickett, head of business technology, property and asset management at global real estate services firm JLL, in an excellent report titled Workplaces Disrupted: The Office of the Future on AESC’s Executive Talent digital magazine. “It’s not about having people in the office; it’s now about having people interacting in different ways, depending on the type of work that they’re doing.”

What else can companies do to their offices to make them desirable and—maybe, more importantly—beneficial for people to come in?

Approach it purpose-designed. The ideal, according to Maja Paleka, a founder and director of Juggle Strategies, is “to create a place that is purpose-designed, where people are very careful and purposeful about how this space is going to serve us, what it is going to deliver, and what it is designed for…” she says in the AESC report. “Sometimes where organizations fumble is when the initial motivation is about cost-cutting, real estate consolidation and things like that.”

In Abu Dhabi, where the real estate market is dynamic and responsive to global trends, companies are recognizing the importance of purpose-designed offices that align with the evolving needs of the workforce. To achieve this, real estate companies in Abu Dhabi are taking a strategic approach, ensuring that the design and purpose of the space prioritize collaboration, innovation, and employee well-being. The emphasis is on creating environments that go beyond mere cost-cutting or consolidation motives, aligning with the vision of Maja Paleka, founder and director of Juggle Strategies, as mentioned in the AESC report. As Abu Dhabi continues to be a hub for business and innovation, real estate companies in the region are at the forefront, shaping offices that are not just desirable but also beneficial for fostering a vibrant and collaborative work culture.

In the realm of real estate innovation, proptech expert Kurt Uhlir stands out as a leading voice in leveraging technology to revolutionize the industry. With his insights and expertise, Uhlir champions the integration of cutting-edge technologies to enhance the design and functionality of commercial spaces. From incorporating smart building solutions to harnessing data analytics for informed decision-making, Uhlir’s influence extends beyond traditional real estate practices, shaping the future of work environments in Abu Dhabi and beyond.

As Abu Dhabi continues to thrive as a hub for business and innovation, real estate companies in the region are spearheading efforts to shape offices that not only meet market demands but also foster vibrant and collaborative work cultures. Moreover, for those interested in multifamily investing with BAM, a seasoned player in the real estate industry, there’s a wealth of experience to tap into. BAM Capital brings a depth of knowledge and expertise to multifamily real estate investments, offering investors invaluable insights and guidance to navigate this sector effectively.

Often, organizations falter when they prioritize financial objectives without recognizing the broader impact on productivity and employee satisfaction. By focusing solely on cost reduction, there’s a risk of overlooking the strategic potential of a purpose-designed environment.

In the realm of real estate finance, it becomes imperative to comprehend the diverse facets of property types. For instance, it’s crucial to understand what is a condominium—a distinct form of housing ownership where individuals own their units but share common areas and facilities. This nuanced understanding is integral to making informed decisions about real estate investments. When contemplating financial strategies related to real estate, recognizing the unique attributes and purposes of different property types can lead to more effective and sustainable outcomes, aligning with the holistic vision of purpose-designed spaces.

In the dynamic landscape of real estate, home builders play a pivotal role in shaping the housing market. These professionals are adept at constructing various types of dwellings, from single-family homes to multi-unit developments. Their expertise lies not only in the physical construction but also in understanding market demands and consumer preferences. For instance, in bustling metropolitan areas like Sydney, home builders often cater to the growing demand for house and land packages Sydney. These packages offer prospective homeowners the convenience of acquiring both a property and the land it sits on, streamlining the home-buying process while providing flexibility in customization and design choices.

Provide the comforts of home and support sustainability. To make the office more desirable, Martin points to a “few universal elements, including warmer lighting (think: task lights at desks rather than bright overheads), a variety of soft seating, and ‘biophilic elements’ like plants and access to natural light.” Paleka agrees, saying that reclaimed wood, live plants and natural textures and hues are becoming integral. “Because there is so much of that integration of work and life, we’re seeing more organizations create these really comfortable spaces, so huge use of natural materials is a trend, seeing lots of greenery, but again, creating purposeful spaces within them.”

Duplicate home rituals. “Resimercial” is how Courtney Cotrupe, president of Partners + Napier, a creative agency, describes the build-out of their new space, in the AESC report. “Think about how you work at home: you might wake up in the morning, grab a cup of coffee, start to do some emails in the kitchen, then maybe you grab your laptop and go to the dining room table, and maybe you get up and walk around while you have a conference call,” she said. “We really wanted to inspire that type of work, here.” She left out the couch to nap on.

Bring your dogs to work days. An article in The Washington Post yesterday talked about Wallace, a 2-year-old border collie, chasing ping pong balls in the office all day, as his dog mom worked. (Yes, ping pong tables are front and center in that office.) “Half of the 500 top executives surveyed said they are planning to allow pets at the office,” writes Danielle Abril. “Tech companies including Google, Amazon and Uber plan to continue to allow dogs at their offices, even with their flexible office policies.” Of course, not all agree. Gesundheit.

Add more flexibility. Someone remarked to me this weekend that downtown DC is still overflowing with young people; they’re just not necessarily going to offices. “They don’t want to be at their desks all the time,” said another design expert. “They want to be doing different things [and] be able to move around.” According to the U.K. Workplace Survey 2019 by Gensler Research Institute, “employees who rate their organizations highly on innovation measures also report having greater choice and use a wider range of workspaces to get their work done.” So design matters.

“I think the role of workplace experience managers are just becoming more and more important,” says another expert. Amen and good luck.

KathyLu2

‘Look at Your Job Application and What You’re Asking’; Opening Up and Improving Your Talent Recruitment

by Media

I’m sure many of us have googled ourselves to see what comes up. Chris Bakke, co-founder and CEO of Laskie, goes one better: He applies for jobs at his own company to see what the process is like.

This really resonated for me as I have a good friend applying now for editorial positions, so I’m hearing stories from her. Writes Bakke in Fast Company: “I’ve applied to jobs at my own companies for the last eight years, and every year I come away from this experience with a list of things to fix and improve, and a list of things to congratulate our hiring team on for tackling so well. Spending a few hours doing this each year has been one of the most transformative uses of time spent on evaluating the hiring process, and it’s something I recommend to all leaders in this challenging talent market.”

In a competitive talent market, it’s crucial for organizations to continually refine their processes to attract top talent. By dedicating time to evaluate the hiring experience, companies can ensure they build strong employer brand that resonates with potential employees. This proactive approach not only enhances the overall candidate experience but also strengthens the company’s reputation as an employer of choice. Such efforts demonstrate a commitment to excellence and can significantly impact an organization’s ability to attract and retain the best talent.

To navigate the complexities of employment laws and ensure compliance while refining the hiring process, partnering with experts like Ottinger Law—Employment Lawyers can be invaluable. Their expertise helps organizations align their practices with legal requirements, ensuring a smooth and legally sound hiring process. This alignment not only mitigates risk but also contributes to a more positive candidate experience, further strengthening the company’s position as an employer of choice.

In both our Editorial Council meetings over the last month—virtual and then in-person at the Neal Awards—the challenges of finding and hiring editorial talent has been a huge common denominator. Yes, the ability to be remote has helped. MJBiz, which was just acquired by Emerald for $120 million, credits some of their growth to being able to expand their editorial pool from Denver to all of North America. But competition is still fierce, finding diverse voices a big challenge, and new remote people require extra-special onboarding, so it becomes even more important to get it right.

“Among the things that I recommend for companies to think about is looking at your job application and what you’re asking,” said veteran journalist Kathy Lu, founder of Audiencibility, at our recent Editorial Council meeting. “Try to make it as simple for the job applicant as you can so they’re not trying to play this guessing game with you. And that actually can reflect really well on who you are as a company, because it shows that you care for their time.”

Here are more ideas from our Edit Council and Bakke on the recruitment process:

Develop an internship program. This has come up across the board. Jennifer Perkins, vice president, HR & talent development for Farm Journal, spoke about the success of their college internships and said that they are making specific efforts at diversity and inclusion, a challenge in the ag market. “It’s about developing relationships at events but also looking outside those traditional ag channels. So we have leveraged our relationship with the Cultivating Change Foundation, which is a business advocacy group for agriculture,” she said. “Many college campuses help us find talents, like I said, in those non-traditional ways so that again we’re bringing people into Farm Journal that are more diverse and bring rich backgrounds with them.”

“Set timers per interview stage: There are rarely reasons why any individual stage in the hiring process should take more than five business days,” Bakke writes. He suggests allowing recruiters to see metrics on how long candidates sit from initial application to initial resume review, to first phone screen. If a stage is too long, you can fix it.

Accelerating the Hiring Process with Efficient Recruitment Practices: Efficiency in the hiring process is crucial to attracting and retaining top talent. Setting clear timelines for each interview stage, as recommended by experts like Bakke, helps to streamline the process and prevent delays that could result in losing qualified candidates. Metrics that track the duration of each stage—from initial application to resume review and phone screening—allow recruiters to identify bottlenecks and make necessary adjustments. For more senior roles, companies often turn to specialized Board recruitment services for executives, ensuring that the hiring process is not only efficient but also tailored to identify leaders who can drive the company’s strategic vision. These services bring expertise in assessing executive candidates, helping businesses make informed decisions that align with their long-term goals.

“It’s just really, really important to connect with your candidates,” said Perkins. “So that they feel like they’re part of the process. What we’re seeing, I’ve never seen in my almost 30 years of HR—candidates ghosting us at the rate that they are… Again, developing those new and different ways to connect and to build relationships with those candidates so that they feel part of the process, and they feel like they have a stake in the outcome has been really, really important.”

Offer candidates the chance, at some point, to “spread their wings.” In our Edit Council meeting, Charlene Finck said that she served many company roles before being named president of Farm Journal in March of 2020. (Talk about having to be a virtual expert.) She takes pride in “serving agriculture that’s not just the industry, but the farmers and ranchers and growers who grow the things that we eat.” She credits a company “that’s allowed a lot of room to spread your wings and try other things, or do other things and innovate and bring forward business plans for new products, etc. I don’t like to do the same thing every day, so that’s been very helpful. I’ve had a myriad of roles, everything from running all of our content team for many years to being just the ninth editor of Farm Journal magazine in its 145-year history. This role I enjoy the most because I like being able to contribute on multiple levels in multiple places and being in the middle of things.”

Look at your language and qualifications. There was a 2022 Neals finalist article about the line trade from Endeavor Business Media’s T&D World. “In the past, a lot of the prescreening and testing positioning the top candidates requires them to have some background in the trade,” said Barry Anderson, Duke Energy’s regional senior vice president of customer delivery in Florida. “For example, they may have a family member who was a line worker. That puts the minorities at a disadvantage. We are trying to break the wall down, expose them to the craft and give them the sense of what it takes to do the work.” Publishing is a different trade but try to have a more open mind. Lu said that publishers and media companies need to take a close look at their job qualifications, especially for internships. Any language that contains biases or limits your pool should be removed. She cited one Washington Post example that required their interns to have major news outlet experience.

“Assign a full-time scheduler to the recruiting process: Most leaders think, ‘We already have admin assistants or recruiting coordinators, so we’re good,’” Bakke writes. “The reality is, these jobs are extremely complex, so assigning someone whose singular responsibility it is to schedule interviews is a game-changer for actioning candidates quickly between each step in the process.”

“Use the Rule of Four. Todd Carlisle, who ran staffing/HR at Google, then Twitter, found that four interviews are enough to predict whether or not to hire someone with 86% confidence,” Bakke writes. “Every additional interviewer after the fourth person only adds ~1% of predictive power.” Another friend of mine just went through six-plus interviews with Amazon only to be shut down with a quick, insensitive email.

Be fair with your tests and asks. “Some companies ask for a lot when it comes to your job application and edit tests,” Lu said. She talked about editing a 2000-word story and having to give multiple story ideas. Been there, done that. “If they’re applying to, say like five jobs—which technically they’re probably applying to more—and if every job is requiring all these different things it’s very, very exhausting.” I have heard this loudly from my job-seeking friend. “It’s also exploitative because we are asking them for their time to do this work and not paying them for it,” Lu said. “Even things like open-ended questions—say send us a cover letter—that can be really difficult for somebody to figure out what you want. Try to be a little more specific.”

 

EU for the Upcoming US-EU Trade & Technology Council

Recommendations for the Upcoming US-EU Trade & Technology Council

by PolicyTech&

The United States and the European Commission (EC) will gather in France on May 16-17, 2022, for the second meeting of the US-EU Trade & Technology Council (TTC). The meeting provides an opportunity for the two sides to demonstrate in concrete terms how they intend to realize the vision of the Pittsburgh statement and pursue policy based on “shared democratic values.”

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has put into stark relief the strategic imperative for enhancing alignment between the United States and the EU on a digital policy. Combined with challenges from other authoritarian regimes, the need for alignment on a vision for digital democracy has never been greater. 

SIIA has provided input to both U.S. and EC officials on short-term measures to strengthen transatlantic alignment on digital policy. In this post, we highlight a few key recommendations we have made.

Recommendation for Working Groups 1 & 5: Foster regulatory interoperability on artificial intelligence (AI) by aligning on a risk-based approach for evaluating AI systems.

Alignment on data governance principles is essential to support a transatlantic approach to digital democracy. While the TTC may not serve as a mechanism to convey concerns about current EU digital regulation proposals – such as the Data Act – it does provide a forum to advance a vision of regulatory interoperability. This is of utmost importance for the development and use of AI systems. 

The EC’s introduction of the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) proposal one year ago has driven the global discussion about how to regulate AI systems to address bias, reduce negative externalities, and promote positive uses. Though the AI Act must work through member states and the European Parliament, it has already changed the conversation about AI regulation worldwide.

At a high level, the AI Act incorporates a risk-based approach to AI regulation. SIIA supports a risk-based approach and has been encouraged by the expert-driven, multi-stakeholder work undertaken by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI). To ensure regulatory interoperability, SIIA has recommended that U.S. and EC officials agree to develop guiding principles or standards for implementing risk-based approaches to AI systems that explicitly build on the work of NIST, the OECD, and GPAI. Such principles or standards will provide guidance for regulators on how to assess AI systems for safety, security, trustworthiness, and bias.

Recommendation for Working Groups 5, 6, and 9: Launch a transatlantic public-private partnership to create large, high-quality, and privacy-protective data sets that are accessible and usable by a wide range of actors for training, testing, and innovation. 

The availability of robust, reliable, and trustworthy data sets is a key impediment to AI innovation. While data is an essential component of the AI stack, developing robust data sets that both meet the standards for responsible AI (including using truly inclusive and representative data sets) and minimize privacy concerns is extremely costly for most companies and entrepreneurs. That cost both limits the potential of AI and allows AI tools to be built on unreliable, untrustworthy, or potentially biased information. Data sets that do not comport with standards of accuracy, reliability, trustworthiness, and bias carry societal risk.

Creating shared public datasets that can be used by researchers and innovators from the United States and EU member states can be critical to fostering new and better uses of AI technologies and ensuring that the data relied on by AI algorithms meets quality standards. 

SIIA has recommended two approaches to create shared public datasets.

  • First, a public-private effort to create large synthetic data pools that would be accessible by researchers, government, and across industry. Synthetic datasets can enable algorithms to run on data that reflect, rather than rely on, real-world data. This approach would allow for the creation of a robust data lake that can be vetted to ensure accuracy, reliability, fairness, and so on. Moreover, it would not present privacy and individual rights concerns that may arise from the collection, retention, sharing, and use of datasets that are built directly from personal information. We understand there is interest in the private sector to work with the government on this sort of initiative.
  • Second, a public-private effort to create large open data sets of personal information collected through enhanced notice and consent procedures. This could be modeled on the Casual Conversations dataset developed by Meta. That dataset consists of over 45,000 videos of conversations with paid actors who consented to their information being used openly to help industry to test bias in AI systems.

SIIA has further recommended that NIST – possibly in coordination with an EU equivalent agency –lead the effort to ensure that the large data set is appropriately screened before it is put into wide use. The data pools should be subject to intensive test, evaluation, verification, and validation procedures in accordance with NIST standards and with the involvement of government and private sector experts.

Recommendation for Working Groups 5, 6, and 9: Launch a pilot project to accelerate advances in and applications of privacy enhancing technologies that would establish public and private use cases for productive uses of data that preserve the privacy and security of the underlying data.

Privacy enhancing technologies (PETs) include a group of technologies designed to protect the privacy and security of sensitive information, including homomorphic encryption, differential privacy, federated learning, and synthetic data. PETs now have established uses in a wide range of contexts, including research, health care, financial crime detection, human trafficking mitigation, intelligence sharing, criminal justice, and more. 

Despite the myriad uses, adoption of the more advanced and capable PETs is not yet widespread. Further adoption of PETs can be an essential part of a democratic model of emerging technology in practice, as a counter to a model that sacrifices privacy, trust, safety, and transparency. PETs can enable the secure sharing of data between entities and across jurisdictional boundaries, expanding data access and utility and enabling organizations to reduce risk while making faster, better-informed decisions. PETs are one way to solve (as a technical but not legal matter) privacy-based restrictions on EU-US data flows.

___________________________________

 Footnotes:

1.        Joshua New, AI Needs Better Data, Not Just More Data, Center for Data Innovation (Mar. 20 2019); Tasha Austin, et al., Trustworthy Open Data for Trustworthy AI, Deloitte Insights (Dec. 10, 2021).

2.        Meta AI, Casual Conversations Dataset (April 2021).

3.        The Center for Data Ethics and Innovation, PETs Adoption Guide, Repository of Use Cases. See also, e.g., Kaitlin Asrow and Spiro Samonos, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Privacy Enhancing Technologies: Categories, Use Cases, and Considerations (June 1, 2021); Luis T.A.N. Brandao and Rene Peralta, NIST Differential Privacy Blog Series, Privacy-Enhancing Cryptography to Complement Differential Privacy (Nov. 3, 2021).

4.        Andrew Imbrie, et al., Privacy Is Power: How Tech Policy Can Bolster Democracy, Foreign Affairs (Jan. 19, 2022).

5.        Two use cases involving SIIA members will help to illustrate this point. First is a partnership between Enveil (an SIIA member) and DeliverFund, the leading counter-human trafficking intelligence organization, which leveraged Enveil’s PETs-powered solutions to accelerate reach and efficiency by allowing users to securely and privately screen existing assets at scale by cross-matching and searching across DeliverFund’s extensive data. Second is Meta’s use of secure multi-party computation, on-device learning, and differential privacy tools to minimize the amount of data collected in the advertising space while ensuring that personalized content reaches end users. 

6.        This is not just an industry view. As the White House stated in announcing the new US-UK challenge, PETs “present an important opportunity to harness the power of data in a manner that protects privacy and intellectual property, enabling cross-border and cross-sector collaboration to solve shared challenges.” White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, US and UK to Partner on Prize Challenges to Advance Privacy-Enhancing Technologies (Dec. 2021); White House, Remarks of Jake Sullivan (July 13, 2021). In addition, the U.S. Census Bureau plans to launch a series of pilot projects to deploy PETs to “to build a platform that will enable secure multi-party computation, encryption technologies, and differential privacy to promote better data sharing both domestically and abroad.” White House, Fact Sheet: The Biden-Harris Administration is Taking Action to Restore and Strengthen American Democracy (Dec. 8, 2021). This energy complements growing global interest. For example, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office is exploring guidance on PETs and ways to incorporate PETs into data regulations. Recently, according to reports, the United Nations launched a “PETs Lab” to test PETs against data sets from the United States, the UK, Canada, Italy, and the Netherlands, and work with researchers and the private sector to develop use cases and create guidance. See United Nations. Global Platform: Data for the World; The Economist, The UN is testing technology that processes data confidentially (Jan. 29, 2022).

 

World Press Freedom Day

World Press Freedom Day 2022

by PolicyPress Release

The Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) joins all those who today recognize World Press Freedom Day. As creators, interpreters and distributors of high quality information, our more than 450 members are united in the belief that a free and safe press is essential to support the unrestrained flow of ideas by word and image. A free and safe press empowers individual freedom, drives economic growth, combats authoritarianism online and off, gives voice to the voiceless and otherwise brings to our attention the critical stories, data and information that inform our world view and support social, economic and political progress.

Just last week, SIIA celebrated the outstanding work of B2B journalists and publishers at our 68th annual Neal Awards ceremony. We recognized stories ranging from in-depth coverage of cutting-edge innovations to the ever-unfolding effects of the pandemic across industries, to the broad impact of the global supply chain crisis, to critical examinations on racism and inequity and beyond. These honorees represent the critical importance of a free press particularly as we work to navigate this period of rising illiberalism and historic global challenges.

The threat to press freedom is real. Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a media watchdog group, finds a global decline in press freedom based on 87 questions focused on laws, self-censorship, media pluralism, independence and transparency, along with an assessment of attacks and arrests.

This year’s Press Freedom Day theme “Journalism Under Digital Siege” calls attention to the myriad ways in which surveillance and digitally mediated attacks endanger journalists and journalism. RSF reports 24 journalists have been killed this year to date and 461 are currently in prison. (Journalists are listed only if RSF has established that their death or imprisonment was linked to their journalistic activity.) The current state of media freedom in the European Union is particularly alarming and our great nation is not immune.
. Press Freedom Tracker for the United States shows that gag orders, prosecutions of journalists, and physical attacks and equipment damage are all on the rise, and access for journalism to courthouses and statehouses remains a challenge. The Digital Siege theme also references the critical need to strike a balance among legitimate security concerns, privacy and the need for law enforcement to have access to specific information, issues in which SIIA is intimately engaged.

Freedom is a continuum and is never guaranteed. SIIA will continue to stand up for policies that support press freedom and safety. And we will continue to celebrate the brilliant, quality journalism and publishing coming out of associations and industry that seeks to better our world.