Short opinion from hybrid.info
Freedom of expression is the foundation of any democratic or democratic-oriented society. Consequently, this day is very important, if not the most important.
From what can be seen and understood, freedom of expression has advanced greatly in almost all countries and societies around the world. A major impetus towards this advancement has come from the facilities created in this regard by the internet, and consequently digital platforms and digital spaces in general.
But, with these conveniences and the opportunities that technology has given to free expression, the responsibilities for monitoring and supervising what is said have also increased. Not everyone makes good use of this opportunity that is given to them. So, like everything else, freedom of expression is also misused.
As hibrid.info, we have a job description to see if anyone is abusing this opportunity to create and spread untruths.
But the main question that arises in this regard is, to what extent can the freedom given to people to express themselves be harmless, and who is the authority that oversees this?
For authoritarian, dictatorial, monist states, this dilemma is resolved significantly more easily than in democratic states.
In the former, it is the supreme political and institutional authority, as in the cases of the eastern powers, that controls everything, without having to give much accountability for the actions taken.
Whereas, in Western democracies, this issue is much more sensitive. In these cases, there are many dilemmas regarding the definition of mechanisms that oversee and address the possibility of free expression.
Even Kosovo, as a country that is totally oriented towards Western democracies, is facing this challenge.
We, as hibrid.info, have made several reports and in one of them we have also given recommendations on how this issue can be regulated. In democratic countries, and mainly in those with consolidating democracies, such as Kosovo, the hand of state institutions in regulating the information ecosystem should be as little noticeable as possible. In fact, what we have recommended, based on the practices of European democratic states, is that civil society actors, including organizations that focus on information and the media, self-regulatory bodies and similar ones, be strengthened and work with full capacity to handle and manage this ecosystem.
However, the challenge that is facing many advanced societies and which is being observed much more in Kosovo is the expansion of the use of digital platforms for communication and the impossibility or difficulty of managing them. But there is also a solution for this. We as hibrid.info have some options that may be applicable, but we must start acting as soon as possible so that people who want to express themselves freely do not have their space taken away by those who want to misuse this opportunity.