On 6-7 February, the 8th Freedom Online Conference took place at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Accra, under the theme “Achieving a Common Vision for Internet Freedom.” The Conference gathered over 300 participants from civil society, private sector and academia from 60 countries all over the world.
The focus of the FO Conference 2020, Achieving a Common Vision for Internet Freedom, recognised the significance of convening key actors to renew commitments and pathways towards a rights-respecting framework for Internet freedom through achieving certain key goals. The Conference provided a unique forum to re-examine the state of play of current and arising challenges to freedom online, exchange perspectives and identify possible solutions. With Ghana at the helm, the Conference placed particular emphasis on reviewing the current state of digital rights across Africa, outlining strategies for improving digital rights on the continent, and globally.
To do this, the Conference sought to establish a common understanding across stakeholder groups of the respective challenges, and derive a shared understanding of the responsibilities and need for action by the respective stakeholder groups, with a sharing of ideas and best practices for possible solutions.
The Conference consisted of two plenary sessions and 16 parallel workshops, developed jointly by FOC Governments and the FOC Advisory Network. The Conference program built on FOC priorities identified in the Program of Action for 2019-2020, including digital inclusion, the promotion and protection of human rights online in the context of cybersecurity, challenges to human rights caused by misinformation/disinformation, and potential human rights implications of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. Other issues that were addressed in the parallel workshops included safeguarding elections, social media and offline violence and child online protection.
A key takeaway from across Conference sessions was the notion that tackling issues relating to freedom online must be done in a way that respects international human rights law, and by advocating for the existing universal human rights framework in global forums. The Conference reaffirmed that multistakeholder engagement must be at the heart of FOC’s activities going forward. Besides facilitating multistakeholder discussions on topics critical for online freedom, the Conference also provided strategic opportunities for FOC Members and Members of the FOC Advisory Network to hold in-person working meetings. These included a Strategy and Coordination meeting, an in person meeting of the FOC Advisory Network, an FOC Advisory Network roundtable, and a Peer Learning Session for FOC Members. The Peer Learning Session provided a platform for members to share information about successes and challenges in meeting member responsibilities, noting the commitments made by members and the principles set out in the Tallinn Agenda and the San Jose Statement. The Members discussed successes and challenges around fulfilling membership commitments domestically and internationally as well as relating to FOC engagements. Members emphasized the importance of strengthening internal and external coordination efforts as well as the crucial role of engaging with non-governmental stakeholders.
You can read the Chair’s Summary here.
