Press Council prepares new Code of Journalists: More precise definition of hate speech, discrimination, use of artificial intelligence
(Source: Cenzolovka) Adoption of the new Code of Journalists is expected at the end of the year. It will define more precisely the provisions that have been interpreted differently so far, such as hate speech, discrimination or the use of artificial intelligence in the media, followed by the introduction of a new category, such as campaigning against people or the right to be forgotten.
The Press Council, an independent self-regulatory body, is actively working on amendments to the Code of Journalists of Serbia.
– The code, as a document that prescribes ethical standards of the profession, was written back in 2006 and should be slightly modernized, says Gordana Novaković, secretary general of the Press Council (PC).
The new code will specify provisions that have been interpreted differently so far, more clearly define hate speech, artificial intelligence, discrimination or who is a public figure, and will introduce new categories, such as campaigning against people, the right to be forgotten.
Conducting campaigns against people or the right to be forgotten (removal of content about a person on request, if his rights are threatened and if the public interest does not prevail, prim. nov) are just some areas that are not covered by the existing code, and there are provisions for which the Complaints Commission of the Press Council in its work so far has determined that they need additional guidelines or small changes, Novakovic says and adds:
“We also know from practice that some provisions are not precise enough and are interpreted differently by the media.”
She says the change will be in most chapters of the Code, and that there will likely be changes in the name and order of chapters.
The new Code should also define certain terms more precisely: for example, who is a public figure, what is hate speech, what is discrimination…
MORE ABOUT THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The use of artificial intelligence tools in the media is increasingly present in Serbia, and Gordana Novaković reminds that back in 2021, “we have introduced a provision relating to the use of artificial intelligence in the Guidelines for the Implementation of the Code in the Online Sphere”.
Reporters Without Borders at the end of 2023. published The Paris Charter containing 10 guidelines for the ethical use and development of the AI system in the field of media. Novakovic points out that the existing provision in the Guidelines for the Implementation of the Code covers almost everything that is in the Paris Charter, but that all this “will certainly be found in the new Code”, and adds:
“At the end of last year, the Press Council conducted a survey ‘Challenges of media self-regulation in the digital age’ with a particular focus on the use of artificial intelligence and the right to be forgotten. Half of the respondents said the code should be adapted to new technologies.”
NEW CODE PROBABLY AT THE END OF THE YEAR
The proposal for a new Code may go to public debate as early as next month, says Gordana Novakovic.
After that, she expects it to be adopted at the end of the year by the assemblies of the Association of Journalists of Serbia and the Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia, which adopted the Code.
The working group that is preparing the proposal for changes has seven members – mostly journalists, some members of the Press Council Complaints Commission, but also lawyers and representatives of the academic community, proposed by UNS, NUNS, Media Association and Lokal press.
“We are also consulting with representatives of the judiciary and NGOs,” Novakovic said.
NOTE: The text was supplemented with a sentence on the previous research of the Press Council “Challenges of media self-regulation in the digital age” on 28.2.2024. at 16:50.
Author: Danica Đokić