TCU is Covered by Portugal’s Most Viewed New Program Following a Meet and Greet!

TCU staff and the digital rights community received a five segment during Portugal’s most viewed news program! “Jornal da Tarde at Radio e Televisao de Portugal (RTP). The segment was broadcasted on various channels!.

TCU staff and the digital rights community receiving a five minute segment during Portugal’s most viewed news program! Check out the clip on the right of the page!

This week IUS OMNIBUS, a Portugal-based citizen protection and digital rights organization, organized an event to welcome the Global Gathering to Portugal.

The event was covered by numerous media outlets, including Jornal da Tarde at Radio e Televisao de Portugal (RTP).

In addition, the ambitious campaign, Open Up Algorithm, was launched. In attendance were diverse Portuguese civil society organizations, companies, government officials, and open source community leaders. Team CommUNITY had the opportunity to present their three-year vision, and begin discussions on how it could better support the local Portuguese community in coming years.

Team CommUNITY’s Panel, from left to right: Mehwish Ansari, Head of Digital at ARTICLE 19; Sandy Ordoñez, Head of Team CommUNITY; Erin McConnell, organizer of the Global Gathering; Francisco Rocha and Sofia Gomes, Co-Founders of PrivacyLx; and Daniela Antão, Secretary-General of IUS OMNIBUS.

The 2023 Global Gathering in Portugal

The conversation started with Mehwish Ansari, Head of Digital at ARTICLE 19, reflecting on the state of digital rights and the importance of upcoming multi-stakeholder decisions that will take place in the coming year, and how this will impact citizens worldwide.  

Sandy Ordoñez, Head of Team CommUNITY (TCU) shared the many reasons the event was moved to Estoril, Portugal, sharing:  "Portugal has some of the most progressive laws in the world, and has become one of the most important beacons of democracy worldwide," she explained. 

Ordonez also pointed out that Estoril has the beauty and energy to help people in the digital rights community rest and restore after a difficult period. She highlighted the fact that the Portuguese entrepreneurial spirit is innovative but always centers the human spirit, which is the most important priority for us as global citizens.

Erin McConnell, organizer of the Global Gathering at TCU, shared the priorities of the digital rights community, and explained the various profiles that will be attending the Global Gathering. The event will welcome journalists; technologists working at the intersection of open source, technology, and human rights. We will also welcome digital security experts supporting activists globally and individuals working on user protections through policy advocacy, particularly within the European Union on data privacy, regulation of artificial intelligence and other technologies.

Community members of the Portuguese Digital Rights, Francisco Rocha and Sofia Gomes, Co-Founders of PrivacyLx, described why digital rights matter to Portuguese citizens, particularly youth, how the youth of Portugal are getting involved in the global pushback through public interest technology spaces, and why the Portuguese community is so vital to ensure the future of democracy and human rights worldwide.

Daniela Antão, General Secretary of Ius Omnibus.

Ius Omnibus and Consumer Alliance for Algorithm Transparency

Daniela Antão, General Secretary of IUS OMNIBUS, and Francisco Miranda Rodrigues, the Chair of the Association of the Portuguese Psychologists explored the negative impact social media generates in people and the darkening psychological effect of the algorithms the platforms deploy. 

Daniela defended free access to onlines markets, consumer redress and effective protection of human rights in the digital landscape. 

Most excitingly, Ius Omnibus launched their campaign Open Up Algorithm, which looks forward to opening and bringing light to the algorithms in the apps. They argue that network users, as holders of personal data, exercise their right to access the logic involved in the automatic processing of their data and the consequences associated with the categorizations that networks make about people. Review their campaign here!

“Consumer Alliance 4 Algorithm Transparency” is a consumer initiative, supported by the Portuguese consumer association Ius Omnibus, that offers the opportunity to people to sign in a standardized request to ask access people to their own social networks collected data.