On May 6, the Swedish Dialogue Institute for the Middle East and North Africa hosted a round table discussion entitled “Digital space - the new frontier of civic space”. The session explored the links between civic space and digital space, the rights and responsibilities of tech companies, governments and users, and pathways to ensure that digital space could be an enabler for engagement and democracy in the MENA region. It was part of the 2021 Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development, co-hosted by SIPRI and the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, which focused this year on the theme “Promoting Peace in the Age of Compound Risk”.
On May 6, the Swedish Dialogue Institute for the Middle East and North Africa hosted a round table discussion entitled “Digital space - the new frontier of civic space”. The session explored the links between civic space and digital space, the rights and responsibilities of tech companies, governments and users, and pathways to ensure that digital space could be an enabler for engagement and democracy in the MENA region. It was part of the 2021 Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development, co-hosted by SIPRI and the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, which focused this year on the theme “Promoting Peace in the Age of Compound Risk”.
The round table consisted of a highly qualified and diverse set of speakers from across the Middle East and Europe: Professor Rasha Abdulla (American University Cairo), Associate Professor Walid Al-Saqaf (Södertörn University), Marwa Fatafta (AccessNow), Mohamed Ghedira (Chnowa Barnemjek), Dia J. Kayyali (Mnemonic aka Syrian Archive), Sara Lindblom (Sida), and Nadim Nashif (7amleh - The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media). It was moderated by Charlotta Sparre, Director of the Dialogue Institute.
Social media platforms: a double-edged sword
On the overarching question of whether the use of technology mostly strengthens or weakens core aspects of democracy and democratic representation, the panellists largely agreed that it depends on the political context. In contexts where political systems broadly allow for freedom of speech, technology can play a constructive role, while it is more questionable when the civic space is limited. Professor Abdulla pointed to social media playing an important role in making people feel they had a space and voice during the Arab spring, but that governments later caught up and have effectively limited the space. Marwa Fatafta, who leads AccessNow’s work on digital rights in the MENA region, reminded the audience that social media platforms are commercial, built to make profit, and that their business model presents a challenge to human rights.
The issue was to some extent interpreted as an ongoing tug of war between activists and governments, with Nadim Nashif pointing to a more positive environment before and druing the Arab spring, and a more challenging one since then, given a wave of legislation, new problematic algorithms and surveillance. According to Professor Al-Saqaf, Twitter previously had little oversight or monitoring, but this had gradually increased “after activists started flourishing and governments began introducing new repressive measures”. Mohamed Ghedira, on the other hand, pointed to the relative success of Tunisia, where the internet had been completely controlled by the state before the Arab spring, whereas today the situation has improved: “Our challenge now is mainly about getting politicians to understand that they need to communicate, also on issues they would rather avoid.” There was some optimism expressed about young people being at the heart of technological progress and that “they are always one step ahead”.
The challenges of content moderation and transparency
Panellists expressed concern about uneven and problematic content moderation policies – often considered arbitrary and discriminatory – and lack of transparency concerning operating procedures by social media platforms.
While platforms have a set of principles that are supposed to be universal, the reality has proved rather different. Dia Kayyali, whose organization Mnemonic works to preserve evidence of the Syrian civil war, explained that “once Google started using AI to find extremist content, as per their definition, a lot of other content was also deleted very quickly.” This was echoed by Marwa Fatafta: “Often content that documents human rights violations is removed, even before it is seen.” While there is an over-enforcement regarding legitimate criticism, there is sometimes also a lack of, or delayed, enforcement, in the case of disinformation campaigns or hate speech against minorities, which may reflect a lack of resources or understanding of the MENA context. It was also pointed out that LGBTQ-related content frequently gets reported and removed in the region, even after extensive conversations with media platforms.
Lack of transparency with users on how companies develop their policies regarding moderation and protecting freedom of speech, and implement them, remains a significant issue. Several speakers raised the example of Facebook, whose policies were considered shrouded in mystery: “We don’t know who Facebook considers dangerous and why.” In the Israeli-Palestinian context, Nadim Nashif argued that a significant amount of Palestinian-produced content was removed on unclear grounds. (In spite of the Dialogue Institute having made numerous attempts to invite representatives from various technology companies, it should be noted that there were no representatives from Facebook etc. on the panel, who could respond to these comments.)
Participation versus polarization
There was a wide-ranging discussion as to whether social media platforms contribute to greater and more inclusive participation or whether they rather contribute to further polarization and divides. Mohamed Ghedira spoke enthusiastically about the opportunities that digital democracy has offered, “I am a natural optimist. We are creating a virtual community that fosters freedom of expression, asks questions, and engages in debates. The digital space is a great way to promote justice and dialogue.” Dia Kayyali agreed that platforms provided some opportunities for justice and organizing activists, but this was in spite of them, rather than because of them: “We have become experts at understanding how to use platforms effectively.”
Other speakers were more pessimistic, referring to social media platforms as gatekeepers and pointing to how state-run troll armies and disinformation campaigns have in fact limited participation and sought to delegitimize the voices of dissidents. For example, algorithms, such as those used by Facebook, where the more you like posts by certain people, the more their posts pop up on your timeline, were seen to contribute to increased polarization. “This amplifies echo-chambers and draws a shell around you – a very dangerous phenomenon,” said Professor Abdulla.
The practice known as shadow-banning (which refers to the principle of blocking or partially blocking a user or their content from an online community, but without informing him or her) was seen as particularly problematic, even more so than actual suspension of accounts. As one speaker put it, “You tweet and you tweet, but nothing happens… it’s like you are talking without realizing that no-one is actually listening.”
Sara Lindblom, Senior Advisor in Democracy and Human Rights at Sida, addressed the role of donors, in supporting civil society organizations seeking to further participation and combat polarization. “We need to be good allies to the actors trying to be forces for good. This involves both financial and – equally importantly – political support.” In this context, Sweden’s drive for democracy, which was initiated as a reaction to shrinking democratic space, was highlighted. Lindblom also emphasized the challenges of the digital divide, which limits effective participation of marginalized groups.
Recommendations: greater transparency and increased co-operation
The following recommendations were made by the panellists:
The session can be seen in its entirety at Digital space—the new frontier of civic space - YouTube.
