The Freedom Online Coalition (FOC) hosted multistakeholder panel discussions and meetings during the 2023 RightsCon Summit, which took place from 5 – 8 June in San José, Costa Rica. The Summit, which convened a diverse group of stakeholders from around the world, provided an opportunity for the FOC to highlight ongoing activities, as outlined in the 2023 Program of Action, including recent Coalition outputs such as the Guiding Principles on Government Use of Surveillance Technologies.
The United States, 2023 Chair of the FOC, brought together government and civil society representatives in a panel session underscoring the FOC’s work to promote a positive vision for the Internet and digital technologies, and to discuss challenges, trends, and opportunities relating to the promotion and protection of human rights online.
The FOC’s Task Forces on Internet Shutdowns (TFIS) and Artificial Intelligence & Human Rights (TFAIR) placed a spotlight on priority policy areas of the Coalition, facilitating discussions on these topics with Summit participants. These sessions aimed to further inform the activities of TFIS and TFAIR within their current mandates.
On the final day of RightsCon, the United States, alongside FOC Advisory Network representatives, participated in a civil society organised panel session revisiting the activities of the FOC’s Working Group “An Internet Free and Secure“. This session provided an opportunity to reflect on the Working Group’s contributions and outputs, which aimed to bring a human rights framing to ongoing debates on cybersecurity.
Summaries of these sessions are available below, with hybrid and online sessions featuring links for registered RightsCon participants to revisit session recordings via the Summit platform.
Addressing Internet Disruption Through the FOC’s Task Force on Internet Shutdowns | 16:30 – 17:30 CST, Tuesday, 6 June
Moderated By: TFIS co-Chairs (United Kingdom, Access Now, and the Global Network Initiative)
The Task Force on Internet Shutdowns (TFIS), co-chaired by the United Kingdom, Access Now, and the Global Network Initiative, hosted an in-person meeting at RightsCon to gather input on the mandate and future of TFIS. The co-Chairs re-capped the four core aims of the Task Force – knowledge-sharing, response coordination, norm-shifting, and improving data collection – and outlined broad intentions for TFIS in the remaining half of 2023, including facilitating more conversations with different industry sectors, developing further resources on Internet shutdowns, and integrating the work of the Summit for Democracy Tech for Democracy Internet Shutdowns workstream into TFIS activities.
Participants noted the benefit of TFIS as a space to connect companies, governments, and CSOs on shutdowns and to coordinate responses to emerging incidents. Others noted that it is often easier for companies to make the case internally for action and advocacy on shutdowns when they are able to point to institutional and government support for this issue through TFIS. It was also noted that, as demonstrated by ISOC and Access Now’s reporting, shutdowns are increasing in frequency and technical complexity, and continue to be a timely issue against which coordination is needed.
Participants noted upcoming dates and events that may provide key moments for advocacy, engagement and coordination through TFIS. The 44th session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) was noted, taking place in November 2023, and it was suggested that TFIS could help the FOC to collect relevant information on the countries up for review and share it with the UPR working group, and/or could help coordinate input and recommendations on the UPR questions amongst FOC states and CSOs. Participants also mentioned the Sustainable Development Goals summit, taking place in September 2023, as well as the Summit for the Future in September 2024. Finally, 2024 was described as the “year of elections”, with over 70 elections taking place around the world, including in countries that typically implement shutdowns during their electoral periods. Participants felt that TFIS could capitalise on these public moments in its advocacy, perhaps coordinating input from other groups and coalitions.
Promoting a Positive Vision for the Internet and Digital Technologies Through the Freedom Online Coalition | 9:00 – 10:00 CST, Wednesday, 7 June
Moderated By: Scott Busby, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, United States Department of State
Opening Remarks: Uzra Zeya, Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, United States
Panellists: Nathalie Jaarsma, Ambassador at-Large for Security Policy and Cyber, Kingdom of the Netherlands; Mehwish Ansari, Head of Digital, ARTICLE 19; Xiao Qiang, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, China Digital Times; Sebastian Smart, Regional Director, Chilean National Human Rights Institution
Uzra Zeya, US Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, provided opening remarks, noting the FOC’s commitment to promote an “open, interoperable, secure, and reliable [Internet] governed by a multistakeholder model”, recognising the evolving challenges to Internet freedom, and noting the work of the US as the 2023 Chair of the FOC in promoting a positive vision for the Internet.
Panellists discussed challenges to Internet freedom and explored both regional and country-specific case studies, including from the People’s Republic of China, the Netherlands, the European Union, and Latin America. Two key trends enabling the misuse of technology were noted: 1) the rhetoric around “tech solutionism” and the idea that security technology can address socio-economic and political issues; and 2) the notion of “function creep”, which recognises that technology can be used beyond its original purpose. Panellists reflected on the importance of transparency, especially around the development of AI, the use of a human rights-based framework in technology and policy evaluation, and the need to consider the contexts of the challenges to Internet freedom.
On the topic of how stakeholders can better engage on thematic and country-specific challenges to Internet freedom, panellists highlighted the following four areas of focus: 1) ensuring rights-respecting safeguards at the outset of technology development; 2) working collaboratively in a multistakeholder manner within the FOC to create coherent action and policy; 3) strengthening human rights-based approaches to digital technologies and conducting due diligence; and 4) leveraging collective action.
Strategies to Limit the Use of AI-Driven Technologies for Repressive and Authoritarian Purposes | 7:45 – 8:45 CST, Thursday, 8 June
Moderated By: Zach Lampell, Senior Legal Advisor, Freedom of Expression & Digital Rights, International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL)
Panellists: Joanna Bryson, Professor, Hertie School of Governance; Felix Kroll, Deputy Head, Cyber Security and Cyber Foreign Policy, German Federal Foreign Office; Nicole Manger, Lead, Digital Cooperation & Technology Governance, German Federal Foreign Office; Steven Feldstein, Senior Fellow, Democracy and Governance, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Shabnam Mojtahedi, Legal Advisor, Digital Rights, ICNL
The co-Chairs of the FOC Task Force on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights (TFAIR), Germany and ICNL, opened the session with an overview of the Task Force’s core areas of work, which include: hosting thematic deep dives with experts on AI ethics and governance; strengthening human rights language in emerging policy documents in relation to AI; and working collaboratively with civil society and academia to establish platforms that monitor misuses of AI with the aim of supporting efficient diplomatic action.
Panellists initially highlighted concerning trends in the misuse of AI-driven technologies, including large-scale government surveillance and tools such as Facial Recognition Technology, which are being deployed to track human rights defenders, stifle dissent, and restrict freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly. Panellists noted how such misuses of AI technologies contribute to a loss of privacy and shrinking of civic spaces, drawing attention to the use of deepfakes, which have the potential to spread misinformation, influence public opinion and undermine democratic processes. The pioneering of new surveillance techniques by authoritarian states was noted as an alarming trend, with panellists emphasising the need to explore safeguards that can be implemented by the international community, as well as normative pressures that can be applied to address these kinds of state-sponsored actions.
Information-sharing around litigation outcomes in cases addressing misuses of AI-driven technologies was noted as essential to support actors in collectively pushing back against the potential for authoritarian and repressive uses of such technologies. Panellists mentioned the need for accessible resources that break down technical language, and further engagement with affected communities. Panellists also noted that adhering and referring to existing frameworks and voluntary codes of ethics regarding AI is essential; however, their implementation remains a key area of concern, including the need for states to ensure resources are available to both identify and address human rights violations related to AI-driven technologies.
The panel concluded that a UN Special Rapporteur focusing on Artificial Intelligence would be of significant benefit to increasing awareness of these challenges, and effectively communicating on the topic to help dispel misinformation about AI-driven technologies. In addition, it was noted that finding a technical solution to enable the labelling of AI-generated content is an ongoing conversation occurring amongst stakeholders and, if technically feasible, is an important step to addressing the potential misuse of AI-driven technologies.
Revisiting the Freedom Online Coalition’s Working Group on “An Internet Free and Secure” | 10:15 – 11:15 CST, Thursday, 8 June
Moderated By: Chris Painter, President, The Global Forum on Cyber Expertise Foundation
Panellists: Scott Busby, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, United States Department of State; Jason Pielemeier, Executive Director, Global Network Initiative; Adeboye Adegoke, Senior Program Manager, Paradigm Initiative; Tatiana Tropina, Assistant Professor in Cybersecurity Governance at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs, Leiden University
This session revisited the Freedom Online Coalition’s Working Group “An Internet Free and Secure” (WG1), which was active from 2014 – 2017 and worked to bring a human rights framing to ongoing debates on cybersecurity. Scott Busby, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, provided opening remarks for the session, highlighting WG1’s pioneering work in the early days of the FOC’s activities. The Deputy Assistant Secretary noted how cybersecurity is intrinsic and essential to achieve the FOC’s mission, and emphasised how the Coalition is well positioned to reimagine cyberspace as a tool to achieve its objectives in conjunction with its values.
Panellists discussed the Working Group’s efforts to change the discourse around how cybersecurity is defined and the prevalent narrative of it being an issue exclusively of national security, emphasising the protection of individual human rights online, and specifically privacy, in ongoing discussions around cybersecurity and its many dimensions. The Working Group’s definition of cybersecurity, in addition to its recommendations for human rights based approaches to cybersecurity, were highlighted as setting an important benchmark in deepening understandings of how cybersecurity influences policies and frameworks in relation to the rights of individuals. In addition, WG1’s multi-stakeholder composition, featuring experts across multiple sectors, was underscored as a key enabler to the Working Group fulfilling its mandate, with stakeholders gaining a seat at the table through the FOC’s sub-entity to ensure human rights remained a key element of cybersecurity discussions.
In discussing how the Working Group’s outputs can continue to be utilised, panellists noted that new and emerging challenges relating to cybersecurity need to adhere to the fundamental benchmarks endorsed by FOC Member states, as noted in the Coalition’s underpinning documents and other outputs. The need for new cybersecurity policies to be assessed in relation to potential harm to human rights, and whether they adhere to existing principles, was further emphasised. To ensure cybersecurity policy-making prioritises promoting and respecting human rights, panellists noted opportunities for Coalition Member States to integrate WG1’s recommendations into the development of cybersecurity strategies, increase engagement in regional organisations, coordinate in multilateral processes and spaces, as well as explore how this may translate to national processes.
