Summit for Democracy: “Upholding Information Integrity Online to Reinforce Democracy and Human Rights”

Time: Tuesday, 19 March, 14:00 – 15:30 KST

Format: In-Person (Register via this link)

Session Description: 

In recent years, the importance of a healthy information ecosystem has become increasingly apparent. It’s vital for maintaining public trust in democratic processes and institutions, fostering open, pluriform and inclusive public debate, and facilitating discussions on human rights, public health, and environmental issues grounded in a shared understanding of reality. The growing scope and sophistication of disinformation highlights the necessity for coordinated efforts among government, private sector, and civil society stakeholders. These efforts are essential to promote and protect the online information ecosystem. With a packed electoral calendar in 2024, the urgency of addressing these challenges is clear. The 39 member states of the Freedom Online Coalition’s are committed to supporting global efforts to uphold information integrity online and to reinforce democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. 

This session will highlight the vision and goal of the FOC’s multistakeholder Task Force on Information Integrity Online, and foster dialogue among Summit participants on collaborative efforts to uphold information integrity during electoral periods. We take notice of the many different efforts, including recent industry initiatives such as the Tech Accord to Combat Deceptive Use of AI in 2024 Elections to address the challenges in particular caused by AI to election integrity. At this event, we will discuss methods to collectively advocate for the promotion of a healthy online information ecosystem, and how these initiatives can work in conjunction with each other. We will also discuss what further steps are needed to fully understand our different roles and responsibilities, the functioning and the nature of the online information ecosystem, and how we consequently can better design and govern it in a way that promotes democracy and human rights. 

Opening Remarks:

• Peter van der Vliet, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Republic of Korea
• Uzra Zeya, U.S. Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights

Global Testimonies on Information Integrity: 

• Kyung Sin “KS” Park, Founder, Executive Director, Open Net Korea
• Hyra Basit, Senior Project Manager, Digital Rights Foundation
• Camilo Arratia Toledo, Project Analyst, Internet Bolivia

Panel Session:

• Moira Whelan (Moderator), Director, Democracy & Technology, NDI
• Mia Møhring Larsen, Senior Tech Advisor for Human Rights & Global Engagement, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark
• Amy Larsen, Director, Democracy Forward, Microsoft
• Alex Walden, Global Lead for Human Rights, Google
• Elonnai Hickok, Managing Director, Global Network Initiative
• Aws Al-Saadi, Founder & President, Tech4Peace
• Rachel Arinii Judhistari (Closing Remarks), Lead Public Policy Specialist, ESEAP, Wikimedia Foundation