Project title: Freedom of Expression and Privacy Protection on the Internet in Serbia
Duration: February 2017 to December 2017
Donor: American Bar Association Rule of Law Institute
About the project: The main goal of this project is to educate key beneficiaries on issues and challenges surrounding freedom of expression and privacy protection on the internet in Serbia and to empower them by building their capacities for advocating and achieving the aforementioned rights. In addition, the project’s goal is to educate the broader general public on these issues and ensure that debates on this topic and general activism for the reform of key areas of Serbian legislature continue after the end of the project. These goals will be achieved through the following specific objectives: Objective 1: YUCOM will create an Analysis of the current legal framework and practices and compare them with European and global principles and standards in order to find the best practices and solutions that can be implemented in Serbia; Objective 2: A comprehensive media campaign will be run throughout the entire duration of the project to inform the public on the activities of the project, including its aims and objectives; Objective 3: YUCOM will organize focus groups in key Serbian cities with organizations involved in these topics that are designed to spur a debate on them and collect information for the Analysis; Objective 4: A networking campaign will be conducted in order to gather all interested actors into an informal group that will regularly communicate on the issues of freedom of expression and privacy protection on the internet, discussing and coordinating further plans for activities on these topics, as well as advocacy and litigation strategies; Objective 5: Round tables that will include all the key beneficiaries of this project will be organized in different areas of Serbia in order to educate key beneficiaries on the issues of internet freedom and privacy, as well as to build their capacities for defending against laws or state action that restrict internet freedom; Objective 6: In order to be able to closely follow the situation ‘on the ground’, YUCOM will be monitoring key online media outlets to evaluate if there are any breaches in freedom of expression on the internet and their exact nature, as well as offering legal representation in 1 strategic case; Objective 7: YUCOM will address all the findings and results of our research to the main stakeholders in order to lobby and advocate legal reforms necessary for the achievement of unhindered freedom of expression and protection of privacy on the internet, legislature harmonization with international and European standards via direct meetings.