Paris, Feb. 24 (BNA): UNESCO’s “Internet for Trust” conference, dedicated to discussing draft global guidelines for regulating digital platforms and protecting freedom of expression and access to information, gathered 4,300 participants in person and online.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said the conference brought together various stakeholders including governments, independent regulators, digital companies, academia, technical society and civil society.
Among the issues raised were how to make the platforms more transparent and have content management policies and practices in line with human rights standards; balancing artificial intelligence and human moderation; Promote greater participation by civil society, youth, influencers and other actors in shaping the Internet of Trust.
The global dialogue to discuss the guidelines has been well received by various stakeholders, including the European Commissioner for Values and Transparency, Vera Jourova.
However, participants agreed that there were still many issues to discuss after the multistakeholder process, particularly with actors from the Global South.
Reflection points arising from the various panel discussions and comments from the audience and online will be analyzed in the coming months.
UNESCO will continue to receive comments on the Guidelines until 8 March and contributions can be submitted through the online feedback platform. A new draft is expected to be available by the end of March.
As a United Nations agency with a global mandate to defend and promote freedom of expression, UNESCO seeks to guide the processes of regulating the digital ecosystem with a human rights-based approach.