The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization stressed the urgent need Establishing common global guidelines to improve the reliability of online informationin protecting human rights.
This is one of the reflections of the Trusted Internet Conference, which took place from Tuesday to Thursday at the organization’s headquarters in Paris and was attended by 4,300 participants who discussed what is possible regulatory measures on the current online information crisis.
“The blurring of the lines between true and false, the orchestrated denial of scientific fact, the proliferation of misinformation and conspiracy theories—none of this originated in social media. But in the absence of regulation, they reproduce there much better than the truth‘ warned the Director-General of UNESCO in her inaugural address.
Audrey Azoulay emphasized that “only by taking full control of this technological revolution we can ensure that human rights, freedom of expression and democracy are not sacrificed. In order for information to remain a common good, we must now think and act together.”
The conference represents the culmination of a global dialogue initiated by the UN agency with the aim of creating the first global guidelines for the regulation of social networks in order to improve and improve the reliability of information promote human rights on-line.
“Without facts you can’t know the truth”
“Lies spread faster than facts. For some strange reason, the facts are very boring. Lies harm us, especially when accompanied by fear, anger, hatred, tribalism. you extend. It’s like throwing a lit match into a fire,” said journalist Maria Ressa, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
Ressa warned that if we continue to tolerate rewarding lies from social media algorithms, Future generations will inherit a world in which truth is dangerously devalued. “Without facts there is no truth, without truth there is no trust and we do not share a common reality.”
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva recalled the January 8 violent attacks on his country’s democratic institutions. “What happened that day was the culmination of a campaign that had begun long before, using lies and misinformation as ammunition.”
The Brazilian President added that “this campaign was conceived, organized and disseminated largely through digital platforms and messaging applications. It’s the same method used for provoke acts of violence in other parts of the world. We have to put an end to this.”
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Create a coordinated regulation based on human rights
Azoulay emphasized that At least 55 countries are already working on regulatory initiativesalthough he advocated offering them a coherent and global approach based on human rights.
“If these regulatory initiatives develop in isolation, With each country working in its own corner, they are doomed to fail. Information disruption is, by definition, a global issue, so our thinking needs to be global,” he said.
Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir stressed the importance of “creating a common set of guidelines to regulate this digital space. Technology must not be misused to oppress, monitor or bully peopleor turn off the internet.”
The Youtuber Felipe Neto shared his experiences on the extremist content distributed by algorithms. “Of course we don’t want to shut down the platforms, we don’t want to fight them. It’s about being accountable, ending impunity, putting them around the table and telling them: “You have to be responsible for the mistakes you have made and will make,” he said.
The Director-General of UNESCO called on all countries to join the organization’s efforts turn the Internet into a tool that truly serves the public and that contributes to ensuring the right to freedom of expression; a right that includes the right to seek and obtain information.
All stakeholders attended the meeting: governments, independent regulators, digital companies, academia and civil society. UNESCO will present the guidelines in September 2023.
With information from UN news.
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