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OSCE Policy Manual｜Safeguarding media freedom in the age of Big Tech Platforms and AI – in partnership with the Forum on Information and Democracy
This Policy Manual highlights how the current digital information ecosystem — dominated by Big Tech platforms (very large social media and search engines, and increasingly also AI companies) — has become increasingly captured in ways that undermine media freedom. It underscores the need for democratic state intervention, based on the rule of law, to ensure an enabling environment for independent and pluralistic journalism.
The Manual offers a vision for healthy online information spaces, where the availability and accessibility of public interest information are ensured. It puts forward mitigation measures and key recommendations for States to implement long-term structural reforms and sustained investments to address the distortions in today’s online information ecosystem.
The recommended mitigation measures cover three key areas:
• Visibility of journalism and public interest information online
• Media viability and funding models that support public interest information
• Vigilance, or the online safety of journalists
The core of this Policy Manual lies in the guidance it provides on how to enable healthy information spaces online by freeing the ecosystem from heavily concentrated gatekeeping power, and instead fostering an enabling environment for media freedom in the algorithmic and artificial intelligence (AI) era.
It concludes that for media freedom to be safeguarded, addressing platform-related challenges alone is not sufficient. Instead, it calls for more ambitious structural reforms — to move beyond merely mitigating media dependency and towards building an independent, pluralistic online information and media landscape that can sustain democratic debate and societal resilience.
This publication is part of the project “Healthy Online Information Spaces – SAIFE Renewed”. It was produced in collaboration with the Forum on Information and Democracy.
OBSERVACOM｜”SHADOW BANNING”: The Subtle and Covert Censorship of the Major Tech Platforms – supported by the Forum on Information and Democracy and Digital Action
In today’s digital ecosystem, platforms play a central role as intermediaries in the circulation of information. As part of that role, they implement content moderation systems that include visible and relatively well-known measures. These can range from removing posts, temporarily or permanently suspending accounts, and other sanctions that users are generally informed about. These decisions are usually accompanied by users’ access to appeals mechanisms —at least under the terms set by the companies themselves— and are framed as part of compliance with their community guidelines.
The purpose of this investigation is to examine the phenomenon of shadow banning that takes place on digital platforms, identifying specific cases and analyzing their impact on the visibility of media outlets, critical voices, and underrepresented sectors. Additionally, it seeks to assess how transparent platforms are regarding these practices, along with the consequences for democratic participation in online public spaces.
The Economic Imperative of Investing in Public Interest Media – Statement of the High-Level Panel on Public Interest Media
Rarely has the need for public interest media been greater. At a time of heightened economic uncertainty and political disruption, the economic and broader societal benefits provided by trusted and independent news organizations are more important than ever.
The Forum on Information and Democracy has convened a High-Level Panel of leading international economists. Their collective statement examines the drivers of this crisis and proposes a concrete plan of action for governments worldwide.
Their analysis not only discusses the political and democratic consequences of free information but also delves deeply into its economic significance – an aspect that has been largely overlooked until now.
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Workstream on Information Integrity on Climate Change and Other Environmental Issues｜Interim report ahead of COP30
Recognizing the growing threats posed by climate and environmental disinformation, attacks against press freedom, environmental journalists and activists and the importance of information integrity to tackle the climate and environmental crisis, the governments of Armenia and Brazil, in collaboration with the Forum on Information and Democracy, launched a dedicated workstream as part of the Partnership for Information and Democracy in February 2025. Convening interested States from the Partnership for Information and Democracy, civil society organisations, and researchers, the workstream held four meetings to examine challenges, share research, and identify practical policy and institutional responses.
The workstream on Information Integrity, Climate Change, and Other Environmental Issues, coordinates its efforts with the Global Initiative on Information Integrity on Climate Change and provides insights in the run-up to COP30 hosted by Brazil and COP17 to be hosted in 2026 by Armenia.
This interim report provides the preliminary results of the workstream, both the analysis of the information crisis, and the policy recommendations that can inspire COP30 discussions and outcomes.
OSCE Policy Manual｜Safeguarding media freedom in the age of Big Tech Platforms and AI – in partnership with the Forum on Information and Democracy
This Policy Manual highlights how the current digital information ecosystem — dominated by Big Tech platforms (very large social media and search engines, and increasingly also AI companies) — has become increasingly captured in ways that undermine media freedom. It underscores the need for democratic state intervention, based on the rule of law, to ensure an enabling environment for independent and pluralistic journalism.
The Manual offers a vision for healthy online information spaces, where the availability and accessibility of public interest information are ensured. It puts forward mitigation measures and key recommendations for States to implement long-term structural reforms and sustained investments to address the distortions in today’s online information ecosystem.
The recommended mitigation measures cover three key areas:
• Visibility of journalism and public interest information online
• Media viability and funding models that support public interest information
• Vigilance, or the online safety of journalists
The core of this Policy Manual lies in the guidance it provides on how to enable healthy information spaces online by freeing the ecosystem from heavily concentrated gatekeeping power, and instead fostering an enabling environment for media freedom in the algorithmic and artificial intelligence (AI) era.
It concludes that for media freedom to be safeguarded, addressing platform-related challenges alone is not sufficient. Instead, it calls for more ambitious structural reforms — to move beyond merely mitigating media dependency and towards building an independent, pluralistic online information and media landscape that can sustain democratic debate and societal resilience.
This publication is part of the project “Healthy Online Information Spaces – SAIFE Renewed”. It was produced in collaboration with the Forum on Information and Democracy.
OBSERVACOM｜”SHADOW BANNING”: The Subtle and Covert Censorship of the Major Tech Platforms – supported by the Forum on Information and Democracy and Digital Action
In today’s digital ecosystem, platforms play a central role as intermediaries in the circulation of information. As part of that role, they implement content moderation systems that include visible and relatively well-known measures. These can range from removing posts, temporarily or permanently suspending accounts, and other sanctions that users are generally informed about. These decisions are usually accompanied by users’ access to appeals mechanisms —at least under the terms set by the companies themselves— and are framed as part of compliance with their community guidelines.
The purpose of this investigation is to examine the phenomenon of shadow banning that takes place on digital platforms, identifying specific cases and analyzing their impact on the visibility of media outlets, critical voices, and underrepresented sectors. Additionally, it seeks to assess how transparent platforms are regarding these practices, along with the consequences for democratic participation in online public spaces.
Data access beyond the EU: exploring the possibilities of the DSA Article 40
The Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte and the Forum on Information and Democracy hosted a workshop on 18 September 2025 to explore how the DSA data access provisions can be leveraged beyond the EU to provide transparency and accountability.
The Economic Imperative of Investing in Public Interest Media – Statement of the High-Level Panel on Public Interest Media
Rarely has the need for public interest media been greater. At a time of heightened economic uncertainty and political disruption, the economic and broader societal benefits provided by trusted and independent news organizations are more important than ever.
The Forum on Information and Democracy has convened a High-Level Panel of leading international economists. Their collective statement examines the drivers of this crisis and proposes a concrete plan of action for governments worldwide.
Their analysis not only discusses the political and democratic consequences of free information but also delves deeply into its economic significance – an aspect that has been largely overlooked until now.
Time for a new approach: A new policy brief calls for digital taxes to fund journalism
At the M20 Summit, an independent initiative focused on integrating media and information integrity into the G20 policy agenda, the Forum on Information and Democracy is releasing its new policy brief that examines the potential of digital service taxes (DSTs) to sustain quality journalism as the financial landscape of the media sector increasingly deteriorates.
“It is essential to defend the GDPR not only as a legal framework, but as a genuine political and democratic project.”
In May 2025, the European Commission adopted a proposal to reopen and simplify the founding text of personal data protection in the European Union, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The rationale behind this move is the burden placed on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to maintain records of collected data. Meanwhile, civil society organizations such as European Digital Rights (EDRi), are warning that “reopening the GDPR is a threat to rights, accountability and the future of EU digital policy”.
Time for implementation: how the OGP framework can support reforms on information integrity
On World Press Freedom Day, the Forum on Information and Democracy (FID) and the Open Government Partnership (OGP) are calling for the implementation of critical reforms to enhance media freedom and information integrity in an age of digital disruption. To ensure the protection and promotion these two crucial issues for the future of democracy, the report “Strengthening Media Freedom and Information Integrity through Open Government Reforms” emphasizes the need to bridge the two agendas and communities. It also builds on the Open Gov Challenge launched in 2023 and a series of webinars hosted by the FID in March 2025 which gathered representatives from governments (including Armenia, Canada, France, Ghana, Morocco, Netherlands, South Africa, etc. ) and civil society.
Legislative trends in the regulation of artificial intelligence in Central America and the Dominican Republic｜in cooperation with IPANDETEC
In the Central American region and the Dominican Republic, there has been a legislative trend on the regulation of artificial intelligence since 2023. These bills have been presented in three specific countries: Costa Rica, Panama and the Dominican Republic, which are still under discussion in their respective legislatures. A model law proposed by the Latin American and Caribbean Parliament also promotes AI regulation. Yet, progress is slow and data protection laws are also outdated to deal with the new challenges of AI.
This analysis was developed in cooperation with IPANDETEC.
