Internet Governance Forum

The sharing and exchange of ideas, thoughts and information are the spark of human interaction, enabling us to debate, to share, to grow.

To express our humanity.

Information and communication technologies have radically expanded our capacities to connect with each other.   

But we see cracks and fractures in this current system.

At 22%, the level of internet use in low-income countries remains far below that of high-income countries, which are approaching universal use (91%).

The digital divide, across gender and geographic lines, hinders the full potential of human connection.

2.9 billion people offline.

Left behind.

Excluded from access to vital information, global discussions and economic opportunity.

Unseen and unheard.

Others, pulled deeper into the darkness with disruptions and shutdowns of the internet, phone access and blocking of social media and messaging services.

Between 2016 and 2021, the #KeepItOn coalition reported 931 Internet shutdowns in 74 countries.

These blunt tools are not only an affront to human rights.

With their disruptions to health systems, commerce and education, they stunt development.

And they occur most often during times of protest or elections, where people’s ability to connect and be heard are all the more crucial.

Good governance depends on inclusive and meaningful participation.

Yet the ability of people’s voices to be heard is threatened on many fronts in the digital space.

By regulation that criminalizes critical speech and  labels it as disinformation or harmful.

By spyware that turns a phone into an all-purpose surveillance device, invading the privacy not only of the “target” but of their family and friends.

By online campaigns that incite hatred, violence and discrimination.

As States regulate the online space, embedding human rights guardrails will help ensure our digital space is open, free, safe and inclusive. 

Social media companies, currently overwhelmingly from the Global North, need to invest sufficient resources to operate safely in every location in which they do business, expanding their language capabilities and stepping up their understanding and engagement with all the communities they serve.

We need to encourage and facilitate community-driven approaches, empowering people to design their own digital world and supporting local tech ecosystems.

And promote transparency of company and government practices. This is a vital ingredient for a meaningful conversation about our global digital commons.

We need a common global commitment to build an internet where trust is not undermined by disinformation.

Where hatred and harassment have no place.

Where people can express themselves and build their communities free from fear and repression.

The development of a Global Digital Compact, proposed by the United Nations Secretary-General and to be agreed in 2024, gives us all the opportunity to work together towards that goal.

In human rights, we have a common, unifying language to have these important and challenging conversations.

And ensure the protection of all our fundamental rights in the digital space.

Distinguished participants,

The amazing value of the internet lies in its ability to deliver on a promise already presaged by article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights almost 75 years ago:

That everyone has the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers

We have an opportunity to get it right and to reconnect the human community.

Let’s use it.