Summary

In the present report, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression examines the opportunities, challenges and threats to media in the digital age. She highlights the societal relevance of independent, free and pluralistic news media and underscores the importance of journalism as a public good. She finds that violent attacks on journalists with impunity, including online gender-based violence, legal harassment and targeted surveillance of journalists, censorship of content and manipulation of regulatory authorities have at times been entrenched, aggravated and augmented by digital technology. Noting that this year marks the tenth anniversary of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, the Special Rapporteur makes specific recommendations to States and the international community to strengthen multi-stakeholder cooperation to protect and promote media freedom and the safety of journalists in the digital age.