OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media meets with German Ambassador

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM), Teresa Ribeiro, met today, 26 January 2021, with German Ambassador Gesa Bräutigam to discuss the media landscape and the challenges for freedom of expression in Germany and in the broader OSCE region.

Ribeiro and Bräutigam discussed issues like the safety of media workers, including harassment of female journalists online, the growing power of social media platforms, the challenges posed by disinformation and the necessity to co-operate with other institutions. They agreed that the ever-greater impact of Artificial Intelligence within the region is of particular importance to the OSCE as a security organization.

Ribeiro mentioned the economic difficulties that all media, but especially local media, are experiencing in the current times, including in Germany. Next, she noted the concerns that civil society actors have expressed about a new draft of Germany's Federal Intelligence Service Act that would fall short of the necessary safeguards for an effective protection of the basic right to privacy and press freedom. Ribeiro and Bräutigam agreed they would follow-up with an exchange of letters addressing these concerns.