Rights

Bulgarian Journalists Boycott the Ministry of Finance’s Absurd Requirements for Accreditation

Bulgarian journalists are boycotting the absurd demands placed on them by the Ministry of Finance headed by Asen Vassilev.

In an open letter to Minister Vassilev, with which the Association of European Journalists stands in solidarity with reporters and editors, it is stated:

"Dear Mr. Minister,

Bosnia CSOs Warn that New FOI Bill Will Limit Citizens’ Rights

A group of 20 civil society organisations from Bosnia and Herzegovina, gathered in the Initiative for Monitoring European Integration, has issued a warning on "the shortcomings of the Draft Law on Freedom of Access to Information of Bosnia and Herzegovina," which Bosnia's state-level government, the Council of Ministers, adopted on April 12. 

Freedom of Information in Balkans Still ‘On Paper Only’, Panel Hears

Freedom of Information, FOI, Laws in the Western Balkans are over a decade old. Even though almost all countries monitored by BIRN have laws that are considered well-written, their value is often only on paper, speakers from the region told BIRN's panel discussion, "Freedom of Information in the Balkans: Calls Not Answered".

Türkiye’s digital quality of life improves slightly

Türkiye has improved by two positions in Surfshark's Digital Quality of Life Index regarding digital wellbeing, rising from 54th to 52nd out of 117 countries.

Out of the five fundamental digital life pillars, Türkiye's best is for e-government (39th) and the worst score is for internet quality (ranking 69th globally).

Official warns against internet ‘addiction’

 

Turks are spending nearly eight hours on the internet that is more than the world average, Ali Taha Koç, head of the Turkish Presidency's Digital Transformation Office, has said.

"Data from We are Social for the first quarter of this year showed our addiction to the internet. According to data, Turks spend seven hours and 57 minutes on the internet," he noted.

Bulgaria Ranks 85th in Digital Quality of Life Globally

 Bulgaria ranked 85th, according to a study assessing the digital quality of life worldwide. This year the survey covers 90% of the world's population and rtes110 countries, looking at five main pillars of digital life: accessibility and quality of the Internet, e-infrastructure, e-security and e-government, according to BGNES

Mobile data usage and number of texts sent increase y/y

Ljubljana – Slovenian mobile network users sent almost 574 million SMS messages in the second quarter of 2021, an increase of 4% compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, mobile broadband users downloaded more than 56 million gigabytes of data, which is 26% more than last year.

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