“Don’t Blink”: Protecting the Wikimedia model, its people, and its values in July 2024

Welcome to “Don’t Blink”! Every month we share developments from around the world that shape people’s ability to participate in the free knowledge movement. In case you blinked last month, here are the most important public policy advocacy topics that have kept the Wikimedia Foundation busy.

The Global Advocacy team works to advocate laws and government policies that protect the volunteer community-led Wikimedia model, Wikimedia’s people, and the Wikimedia movement’s core values. To learn more about us and the work we do with the rest of the Foundation, visit our Meta-Wiki webpage, follow us on LinkedIn or on X (formerly Twitter), and sign up to our quarterly newsletter or Wikimedia public policy mailing list.

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Protecting the Wikimedia model
(Work related to access to knowledge and freedom of expression)

China blocks Wikimedia Foundation accreditation as permanent observer at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for a fourth time
[Read the Foundation’s statement about the decision]

For the fourth time, China has opposed the Wikimedia Foundation’s accreditation as permanent observer at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the specialized United Nations (UN) agency that determines global policies on copyright, patents, and trademarks. Observer status would enable the Foundation to participate in and contribute to WIPO committees where intellectual property norms are set. China once again opposed our request based on false accusations that the Foundation is complicit in spreading disinformation, and misrepresented Wikipedia’s volunteer-driven policies and practices—which are rooted in accuracy and neutrality and help effectively counter mis- and disinformation online.

We first applied for observer status in 2020. Since then China has blocked applications from several Wikimedia affiliates and chapters in addition to our own. We most recently received vocal support from the Netherlands (as coordinator of a group of industrialized countries), the United States, France, Canada, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

As the host of the world’s largest online encyclopedia, the Foundation has deep, practical expertise and a proven interest in many of the issues discussed at WIPO, including traditional knowledge, copyright, access to knowledge during times of crises, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Stephen LaPorte (General Counsel), explaining the value that the Foundation brings to international bodies like WIPO, also said:

We call on WIPO leadership to find a solution that can resolve this deadlock. Until then, we will continue to seek opportunities to represent open knowledge and the public interest at WIPO and beyond. Since 2022, our consultative status at the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) has allowed us to actively contribute to global initiatives like the Global Digital Compact, and we hope to one day share our expertise with WIPO as well.

Read the full Foundation statement about the decision.

BBC Tech Life interview about the Global Digital Compact
[Listen to the interview, starting at 15:20, and learn more about our advocacy around the Compact]

The BBC Tech Life podcast recently interviewed Costanza Sciubba Caniglia (Anti-Disinformation Strategy Lead) about our advocacy around the Global Digital Compact, a series of shared principles for global internet governance on which we have been providing input for over a year. In the interview, Costanza shared how important it is for platforms like the Wikimedia projects to participate in such processes if we want our perspective to be considered in the future of internet governance.

She reiterated our hopes that the Compact will: protect online public interest communities, respect human rights online, promote digital public goods, and ensure that artificial intelligence (AI) empowers humans rather than replacing them. On the topic of AI, Costanza shared how Wikimedia volunteers use AI tools to support their work on the projects, from identifying vandalism to judging the quality of articles, and always with human oversight.

Listen to the interview (with a cameo from Justice Okai-Allotey from Wikimedia Ghana User Group at the beginning!) starting at 15:20 on BBC Tech.

Sharing our perspectives at the Open Source Program Officers (OSPOs) for Good Conference
[Learn more about the conference]

From 9–10 July, organizers from Germany, Kenya, and the United Nations (UN) Envoy on Technology hosted the second Open Source Program Officers for Good (OSPOs for Good) conference at the UN Headquarters in New York. The aim of the conference was to champion diverse open source thinkers and highlight examples of open source for good from across the globe.

Costanza Sciubba Caniglia and Tajh Taylor (Vice President, Data Science and Engineering) attended to share insights on community building from the Wikimedia model and explain how the Wikimedia projects are an essential part of the fabric of knowledge sharing on the internet. Tajh also joined a panel to discuss “Engaging the Open Source Community,” where he emphasized that a culture of openness and transparency is necessary to encourage collaboration and volunteer work like on the Wikimedia projects.

Bringing the Wikimedia model’s unique perspective to events like this helps us to illustrate the value and necessity of adopting a truly multi-stakeholder model toward internet governance. Our participation helps UN Member States to get a full picture of the impact of potential regulations on projects like Wikipedia, which are not always considered in governance processes. 

Learn more about the OSPOs for Good conference and view event highlights, visit their website.

Protecting Wikimedia’s values
(Work related to human rights and countering disinformation)

Discussing our Child Rights Impact Assessment at EduWiki Knowledge Showcase
[Watch the conversation and learn more about the Wikipedia & Education User Group]

Recently, the Wikipedia & Education User Group hosted an EduWiki Knowledge Showcase where members of the Global Advocacy team shared information about our Child Rights Impact Assessment (CRIA) and the role of children on Wikipedia. EduWiki Knowledge Showcases are a community support space to provide an inclusive and equitable gathering platform to discuss how to make an impact in the education sector.

During the showcase, Ricky Gaines (Human Rights Policy and Advocacy Lead) shared more about the process used to create the CRIA, along with the opportunities and risks it identified. Ricky also provided details about the assessment’s recommendations, focusing on those that will involve coordination between the Foundation and the community—for example, the recommendation to provide child-friendly safety resources and tools to better empower children to protect themselves. This was followed by an open discussion focused on the role of children in the Wikimedia communities and how they can help keep children safe. The discussion highlighted the important role that members of the Wikipedia & Education User Group can play in leading the volunteer community to protect children on our projects.

You can view a recording of the event on YouTube, and learn more about the CRIA in this blog post.

Discussing risk assessment at the Global Network Initiative’s (GNI) European Rights & Risks: Stakeholder Engagement Forum
[View the organizers’ event summary and learn more details about the forum]

This summer, the Global Network Initiative (GNI) and the Digital Trust & Safety Partnership (DTSP) hosted an event that brought together their members to discuss the implementation of the EU’s Digital Service Act (DSA). In particular, the European Rights & Risks: Stakeholder Engagement Forum focused on requirements that Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) conduct systemic risk assessments. The Foundation participated in the event as a member of GNI, to share our experience as the only nonprofit platform designated as a VLOP and subject to these additional requirements.

The organizers of the Forum have recently published a summary with key takeaways. One takeaway that echoed our input was the importance of building DSA risk assessments upon existing human rights due diligence practices, like our Human Rights Impact Assessment and Child Rights Impact Assessment. They also note that the European Commission has offered no additional guidance on how VLOPs should conduct risk assessments. This lack of guidance has been positive in some ways, allowing platforms flexibility to base their risk assessments on their own unique circumstances and practices. However, the members generally agreed that additional guidance would be helpful in certain areas—like examples of what constitutes an “acceptable” risk—to reduce the guesswork for small teams working to comply with the law.

Dialogues like these are opportunities for platforms designated as VLOPs to share best practices and engage with civil society around the risks impacting EU citizens. The Foundation brings a unique perspective as a non-profit, educational platform, and we look forward to participating in more such forums in the future! Read more about the event from GNI.

Protecting Wikimedia’s people
(Work related to privacy and countering surveillance)

Joining workshops to develop a common agenda for promoting knowledge sharing

Over the course of June and July, Amalia Toledo (Lead Lead Public Policy Specialist for Latin America and the Caribbean) joined three workshops focused on developing a common agenda to promote knowledge sharing. These workshops, hosted by the Open Future Foundation, SPARC, and the Budapest Open Access Initiative, discussed different aspects of knowledge sharing.

The first workshop covered privacy and how technological surveillance impacts students, researchers, and other library users. The second one explored the deployment of AI in research and education and some of the challenges that presents. The final workshop examined the shifting modes and concentration of infrastructure for research, including the risks of using proprietary technologies for research at public knowledge institutions.

These workshops will culminate in an in-person event in September, which will bring together the results of the discussions and produce an agenda for knowledge sharing that addresses the challenges that were discussed. Stay tuned for more updates at that time! 

Announcements from our team

Connect with us on LinkedIn!
[Check out and follow our Showcase webpage]

Would you like to learn more about public policy and advocacy topics our team works on? Do you want timely updates about our events and engagement with legislative and regulatory processes? Follow us on the Wikimedia Foundation Policy webpage on LinkedIn for the most up-to-date news from the Global Advocacy team about our work to promote and protect public policies, laws, and regulations that support the right to access free and open, reliable, and accurate knowledge. We are excited to connect with you! 

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Follow us on LinkedIn or on X (formerly Twitter), visit our Meta-Wiki webpage, sign up for our quarterly newsletter to receive updates, and join our Wikipedia policy mailing list. We hope to see you there!