Welcome to Liberties' monthly round-up, where we catch you up on the most pressing human rights topics we've been working on. This month, we've been gearing up for the European Parliament plenary vote on the European Media Freedom Act due to take place next month by calling on MEPs to rectify the gaping loopholes. We're also pushing EU lawmakers to strengthen the AI Act to ensure fundamental rights and the rule of law are protected. Of particular interest for colleagues working at NGOs, we're excited to announce the launch of a new series, 'Foundations of Persuasive Messaging' on Knowledge Hub. For students, or anyone interested in learning more about how the European Union works, check out our explainer articles de-mystifying EU institutions and the CJEU.
In a nutshell
#EMFA: Transparency in state advertising: Liberties joined 15 civil society organisations (CSOs) calling on the European Parliament to include tools in the European Media Freedom Act to prevent the unfair distribution of state resources to media services. Read the open letter here.
#EMFA take 2 - Briefing Breakfast at Brussels: Liberties’ tech & rights lead Eva Simon gave a speech to Members of European Parliament at the Briefing Breakfast on the EMFA, outlining our recommendations to MEPs ahead of the EP vote next month. Check out our brochure, which is a cheat-sheet of the EMFA’s shortcomings and our proposed remedies.
AI Act must also prevent harmful use of tech by law enforcement: 115 CSOs, including Liberties, called on EU lawmakers to regulate the use of AI systems by law enforcement, migration control and national security authorities throughout Europe. Read the open letter here.
Chat control law would violate rights - say NO: Liberties added our signature to EDRi’s open letter calling on EU governments to say no to mass surveillance proposal. Read it here.
Digital rights narrative workshop in Amsterdam - our head of communications Valentin Toth joined dozens of digital rights organisations from Europe and beyond to participate in a 2-day workshop in the Dutch capital with progressive campaign strategist Anat Shenker-Osorio.
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In focus
Knowledge Hub: New Series - Foundations of Progressive Messaging
Liberties is delighted to announce the launch of a new series on our e-learning platform knowledge hub. This seven-module, Foundations of Progressive Messaging, will give you a solid grounding in how to create messages that shift public opinion in favour of progressive causes like human rights and environmental protection. You’ll learn how people form their opinions, how to avoid the most common messaging mistakes, how to create a persuasive campaign narrative and how to convert this into communications materials for social media.
Modules 1 (values) + 2 (frames) are already up. The course is free and each module only takes an hour to complete - so what are you waiting for? Enrol here.
Democracy Drinks Berlin - Online Activism: Danger, Disinformation & the DSA
The September edition of Democracy Drinks was a special occasion. As well as kicking off our networking event series after summer break, the evening marked the unofficial inauguration of Liberties’ new headquarters in Potsdamer Platz. In anticipation of our upcoming report on civic space, Jascha Galaski, advocacy officer at Liberties, discussed the dangers of online activism with guest speaker Dr. Julian Jaursch, project director for policy and platform regulation at Stiftung Neue Verantwortung (SNV) and renowned Digital Services Act (DSA) expert. Read it here.
AI Act must protect the rule of law
Liberties, alongside ECF & ECNL, penned an open letter expressing concern that the AI Act doesn’t sufficiently protect fundamental rights. Signed by over 60 human rights organizations, the letter calls on European lawmakers to ensure that the Artificial Intelligence Act is fully coherent with rule of law standards, including transparency, accountability, and access to justice. Read it here.
Do you want to join us? Check out our vacancies.
Are you a student interested in a career in communications in the NGO sector? We are looking for a Communications & Campaigns Assistant (Intern) to join us for an internship position.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. More information here.
In case you missed our explainers...
European Union Institutions: Roles, Duties, Operational Mechanisms
The European Union is often accused of being too complicated for ordinary citizens to understand how it works, and understandably so. Creating a supranational system of governance that would allow for joint decision-making between 27 member states (and counting) was never going to be simple. To demystify the Brussels bubble, we've put together an explainer on the EU’s 7 main institutions.
The European Union's framework comprises seven main institutions. Created by Article 13 of the Lisbon Treaty, collectively they form an integrated system that carries out the EU’s decision-making process and provides inter-institutional oversight. Learn more.
Court of Justice of the European Union: Composition, Operation, Duties
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is the European Union’s (EU) judicial arm and is based in Luxembourg. Composed of two courts, it ensures that EU law is applied uniformly across the bloc and resolves disputes between national governments and EU institutions.
To learn more about the CJEU’s duties and the written and oral stage of CJEU’s cases, read our explainer article.
Member's Corner
Network news Immigration centres in Italy: The Italian Coalition for Civil Liberties (CILD) condemns the adoption of new securitarian measures, which includes the creation of new detention centres (CRPs). According to CILD, CRPs are inhumane, oppressive and costly. Read more.
Immigration centres in Lithuania also cause concern: Human Rights Monitoring Institute (HRMI) presents its conclusions on the draft Law on the Legal Status of Foreigners. Learn more.
Extreme right-wing threats: VoxPublic initiates two inter-associative and trade union events to gain a better understanding of the new threats to civil society and to consider possible responses. Read their write-up here.
Toxic algorithms: Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has sent Ireland's newly established Media Commission a submission on the hazards of the algorithms that select what people see on platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok. Learn more. {Enjoying this newsletter? Subscribe}]
What we're reading
- Populism:
- Surveillance:
Democracy Drinks, Wednesday 18th October
For October’s Democracy Drinks, Liberties will be returning to our usual nook in Richie’s Café & Bar in Kreuzberg. Now that the weather is getting colder, it’s the perfect time to cosy up with a beer and discuss the latest human rights developments. We’re keeping our special guest under wraps for the moment, but expect the results of the imminent Polish elections to be a subject of discussion.
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Take care,
Eleanor & the Liberties Team
