Social Structures
Authors: Katie Donnellan, Delia Ferri, Noelle Higgins and Laura Serra; Maynooth University ReCreating Europe Research Team
The world has become increasingly digitised, with digitisation having significantly escalated during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Lockdown restrictions implemented across the globe have pushed cultural content online and the internet has become the primary means of cultural enjoyment. This has generated ‘unprecedented challenges for the protection and promotion of diversity’ in digital cultural content, which risks exacerbating existing barriers experienced by marginalised people to the access and enjoyment of culture. Intellectual property law, specifically copyright law, is the primary regulatory means of protecting cultural creators’ proprietary rights over their content, and it traditionally operates to prioritise their rights over those of end-users, subject to certain limitations, exceptions and flexibilities as prescribed by law.
The ReCreating Europe project seeks to shape the future of digital culture and creativity by rethinking the European digital copyright framework to better support culturally diverse production, as well as inclusive access and consumption. It undertakes broad research that aims to inform the EU’s policy response to this technology-enabled ‘unprecedented democratization of cultural practices, and the production and use of intellectual property’ which ultimately intends to develop an ‘effective system of sustainable norms for digital copyright’. One of the objectives of the project is to develop research-based recommendations for the redevelopment of a regulatory legal framework that underpins a ‘culturally diverse, accessible, creative Europe.’ This is to be achieved by means of collaboration between researchers, libraries, copyright experts, policy-makers and other relevant stakeholders.
Work Package 2 (WP2) of the project, in which Maynooth University’s Department of Law and the Assisting Living and Learning (ALL) Institute are a key research partner, focuses on end-users’ access to digital culture. It investigates end-user interaction with copyright regulations as well as broader cultural policies, and how this affects their access to culture in the Digital Single Market. Within the remit of WP2, Deliverable 2.2 comprises research conducted on the premise of determining what barriers vulnerable end-users face, namely Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and persons belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, including Indigenous Peoples, migrants and refugees.
Desk-based research comprising a review of relevant literature, including UN and EU publications, academic scholarship articles, legal systems and cultural policies, laid the foundation for qualitative research, conducted by means of interviews with key informants, primarily representative organisations of the elected subject groups. This was complemented by a survey conducted across 12 European States, representing a balanced geographic, demographic and regulatory sample of Member States.
The Interim report on barriers experienced by vulnerable groups presents preliminary findings of the desk-based research and an initial thematic analysis of the interviews. Three primary issues surrounding access to digital culture for vulnerable end-users were pinpointed. First, there is a limited awareness and knowledge of copyright law and how it relates to their rights as consumers of digital cultural content among vulnerable groups. The existence and extent of this varied between the different vulnerable groups, with migrants and linguistic minority group members and their representative organisations acknowledging a lack of awareness regarding both the existence of
copyright legislation in relation to the work they conduct as well as whether and what impact such legislation has on this work.
Second, the so-called digital divide and structural inequalities faced by those groups constitute underlying barriers to access to digital cultural content by vulnerable groups. For example, interviewees mentioned several times poor internet connectivity or broadband access, lack of access to digital devices or poor digital literacy. Visually impaired persons also identified difficulties in accessing assistive technologies required for facilitating their access to digital content.
Third, preliminary patterns of convergence and divergence between the different sub-groups of vulnerable end-users were identified. A pattern of convergence across the different vulnerable groups is identified in their under-representation, as well as negative portrayals and stereotyping in digital media. Migrants’ organisations, in particular, highlighted that these negative representations are further engendering marginalisation and discrimination against them. On the other hand, with regards to PwDs, ‘some timid progress has been noted, albeit only in some countries, in relation to the representation and portrayal of disability in the media, which is more frequent and more positive.’
Similarly, cost barriers were identified across the groups, especially in relation to not being able to afford data charges. Specific to linguistic minorities, cost barriers are associated with the translation of digital cultural content into their language. Notably, accessing, and participating in digital cultural content was identified as a non-priority for Roma people and migrants, who have more pressing issues to deal with, such as their very survival, or access to education.
The Interim report on barriers experienced by vulnerable groups whilst only presenting a preliminary analysis, demonstrates the value of the research, in terms of exploring regulatory and societal hurdles which need to be cleared in order to ensure access to digital culture for vulnerable end-users in the EU. As already outlined, this is particularly pertinent in the context of an increasingly digitised world, thanks especially to the technological democratisation brought about by the pandemic. Policymakers are at a hugely important cross-roads in terms of utilising these technological advancements to empower, as opposed to further marginalise, the most vulnerable sectors of our society. As a recent report from the UNESCO surmises it: ‘the staggering increase in the digitization and online consumption of cultural content, which has only been accelerated by lockdown measures, is generating unprecedented challenges for the protection and promotion of the diversity of both content and creators.’ Thus, tackling digital exclusion must be a priority in cultural policy development, which makes the research being conducted under the auspices of ReCreating Europe so timely.