It is a little known fact that the Wikimedia Foundation runs its own servers in several places around the world. This has some advantages, but also poses specific challenges. Let’s take a look! wikimedia.brussels/wikipedia-is...

Protecting and Empowering Children Online: A Wikimedia Perspective wikimedia.brussels/protecting-a...

The futures of human knowledge and AI are inextricably linked. What are the opportunities that AI can bring to human knowledge, what are the emerging risks and how can we mitigate them? @wikimediafoundation.org published a Human Rights Impact Assessment on AI & ML.

Wikimedia Foundation board elections are open until 22 October. Two seats need to be filled. Editors with 300 edits before July 28, 2025 across Wikimedia wikis and at least 20 edits between August 28, 2024 and July 28, 2025 may vote.

The Wikimedia Foundation is taking a SLAPP case to the European Court of Human Rights. The hope is that the case and its rulings serve to bring about greater protections against overbroad claims. Details here: medium.com/wikimedia-po...

A Portuguese court has order the removal of some edits of Wikipedia article. It also ruled that the Wikimedia Foundation has to hand over IP & email addresses of users. WMF is complying, but also appealing to the European Court of Human Rights. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...

Training for Wikimedians on online child safety at #Wikimania in Nairobi: How to recognise different types of CSAM & CSEM and how to react. Not a pleasant session, but an important one.

The Danish government is suggesting to amend its copyright to add: 1. A general protection against realistic, digitally generated imitations of personal characteristics. 2. An imitation protection for performers. The deadline for comments is 21 August 2025: hoeringsportalen.dk/Hearing/Deta...

German toymaker Ravensburger used the Vitruvian Man, copyright long expired, on a jigsaw puzzle. Italy claimed that its Cultural Heritage Code extends protection, even beyond Italy. A German court now ruled against this. @justusdreyling.bsky.social from @communia.bsky.social has the write-up:

China’s fifth veto of Wikimedia’s requests for accreditation denies permanent observer status at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the UN specialised agency that shapes global intellectual property (IP) policies and the future of open access to knowledge.

An experiment to show AI-generated summaries on the top of Wikipedia articles was halted. The community responded, criticising inaccuracies in the sample. The editing community is now discussing its position on large language models and Wikipedia. Check it out: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...

Wikinews is one of the lesser known Wikimedia projects. It doesn't attract many volunteer editors, which means it struggles staying up-to-date and sometimes with reliability. There is now a public consultation about possibly closing it down (a move I personally support).

The @wikimediafoundation.org has updated its terms of use to adjust language for clarity, to be up to date with suggestions from our first Digital Services Act (DSA) audit and to make sure the language of the legal sections aligns with international case law. Six small-ish changes.

Belarusian Wikipedia sysop Maksim Lepushenka was arrested last month, becoming the latest Wikipedian arrested in Belarus. Lepushenka's account has since globally locked by the community, as a compromised account. Another Belarusian Wikipedian, Olga Sitnik, was arrested in April. More: w.wiki/EZ2R

We are challenging the lawfulness of the UK’s Online Safety Act Categorisation Regulations, which determine our obligations under UK laws. These rules create unacceptable risks for Wikipedia’s volunteer users, such as disempowering those who wish to keep their identity private. Read ➡️ w.wiki/E3XD

The Wikimedia Foundation is challenging the lawfulness of the UK's Online Safety Act. It would require the verification of the identity of Wikipedia users and to allow users to block unverified users from editing. This would break Wikipedia's content moderation.

The Polish government returns to truly free licensing. wikimedia.brussels/polish-gover...

We should start using the terms "Middle West" ("Near West") and "Far West" when it comes to geopolitics.

2025 is Art Deco Year. The Belgian capital itself is a 24/7 open-air exhibition of the style and I wrote about it for the new Brussels Times Magazine.

How election information gets edited and spreads across Wikipedias is important. Together with @ivir-uva.bsky.social and @eurecat.bsky.social we are currently researching the data around the 2024 EP elections to learn what works and what doesn't in countering disinformation.

The saga around the Italian cultural heritage code continues. After previous cases have already targeted: 🔸 GQ magazine 🔸 Clothing articles by Jean Paul Gautier 🔸 A puzzle This time, the culprit is (🧐checks notes) balsamic vinegar. More: communia-association.org/2024/11/25/a...

Between you and I, Paris Musées have 372,542 rights-free images you can simply download, at hi-res, and use as you choose. Isn’t that just brilliant and please can UK institutions emulate them?

The annual audit report of Wikipedia, as required by the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), has now been published. Its intention is to independently assess how Wikipedia recognises and mitigates systemic risks, such as harassment and disinformation.

Come work with us! We have an exciting position for someone with an interest in copyright and technology ↘

This new report outlines opportunities and threats at the intersection of the open movement, the socio-technological zeitgeist, and current policy thinking. h/t @openfuture.bsky.social @okfn.bsky.social @creativecommons.bsky.social @wikimedia.bsky.social

from the exact article you think

The proposed Digital Knowledge Act by @communia.bsky.social is a great idea. Here’s why: wikimedia.brussels/we-need-a-di...

Wikimedia is at the Council of Europe today to share its experiences with SLAPP cases. The CoE is working on a Recommendation, while the EU has recently passed an anti-SLAPP Directive. Wikimedians and Wikimedia have been SLAPPed in several EU countries including Estonia and Portugal (links below).

from German Wikipedia: "shit day," the extra workday(s) employers would add at the end of the year to make up for the time employees spent shitting on the clock

Mickey Mouse is now in the public domain. 🥳 So what does that mean for our shared culture? Free-range archivist Jason Scott takes readers on an enlightening tour of copyright, the creative ecosystem & film preservation in a thoughtful new post: blog.archive.org/2024/01/05/m...