IGF 2023 Town Hall #117 Protect people and elections, not Big Tech!

    Time
    Tuesday, 10th October, 2023 (07:30 UTC) - Tuesday, 10th October, 2023 (08:30 UTC)
    Room
    WS 7 – Room K
    Issue(s)

    Counter-terrorism and Human Rights
    Non-discrimination in the Digital Space
    Technology in International Human Rights Law

    Debate - 60 Min

    Description

    In 2024, more than 2 billion people will be entitled to vote as over 70 countries go to the polls, in the biggest and most significant year for elections globally this century. This will include some of the world’s largest democracies like the United States, the European Union, India, Mexico, and Indonesia, as well as countries facing issues related to active democratic decline, conflict and even active oppression of citizens’ freedoms. In this context, the relentless spread of disinformation, hate speech, abuse and manipulation threatens to undermine efforts to advance democracy and freedoms and raises concerns for the broader Internet governance community. The newly formed Global Coalition for Tech Justice is convening an open conversation about the relevance of protecting people and elections, as well as the relevance of safe and responsible social media and messaging apps. During this session, we aim to bring together leaders in the fields of social media accountability, human rights, the broader Internet Governance Community, as well as social media companies and policy makers to explore joint efforts to influence policies and resourcing of election-related safeguards. In terms of session organisation, our main goals are the following: 1. Discuss social media companies’ responsibilities and the specific risks they pose to the public information space and election integrity. The convenor of the Global Coalition for Tech Justice, Digital Action, will give an introduction to the debate. 2. Spark a discussion on how we can collectively ensure Big Tech plays its part in protecting democracy and human rights during 2024 elections. 3. Present the "Protect people and elections, not Big Tech" Campaign, as well as the Global Coalition for Tech Justice as a newly formed global movement to ensure Big Tech plays its role in protecting elections and citizens’ rights and freedoms across the world. 4. Gather input for collective action moving forward. Here the focus will be on allowing for the voices and expertise of global majority civil society organisations to lead the global conversation.

    We aim promote hybrid participation by: (i) alternating questions between online and on-site audience; (ii) using a jamboard with a group of questions to the participants online and onsite and in order to gather inputs; (iii) actively invite some people interested in the thematic to participate online; (iv) giving an active role for the online moderator, who will also be a part of presenting the speakers and commenting on presentations.

    Organizers

    Digital Action
    Alexandra Pardal, Campaigns Director at Digital Action, Civil Society, WEOG
    Bruna Martins dos Santos, Global Campaigns Manager at Digital Action, Civil Society, GRULAC
    Bulanda Tapiwa Nkhowani, Campaigns and Partnerships Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa at Digital Action, Civil Society, Africa.

    Speakers

    - Alexandra Pardal, Campaigns Director at Digital Action, Civil Society, WEOG
    - Ashnah Kalemera, Programmes Coordinator, Collaboration on International ICT Policy For East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), Civil Society, Africa.
    - Yasmin Curzi, Professor at FGV Rio Law and co-coordinator of the Dynamic Coalition on Platform Responsibility, Academia, LAC. 
    - Lia Hernandez, Founder and Member of the Advisory Board of IPANDETEC, Civil Society, LAC
    - Daniel Arnaudo, Senior Advisor for Democracy and Technology at the National Democratic Institute

    Onsite Moderator

    Bruna Martins dos Santos, Global Campaigns Manager at Digital Action, Civil Society, GRULAC

    Online Moderator

    Bulanda Tapiwa Nkhowani, Campaigns and Partnerships Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa at Digital Action, Civil Society, Africa.

    Rapporteur

    Ashnah Kalemera, Programmes Coordinator, Collaboration on International ICT Policy For East and Southern Africa (CIPESA)

    SDGs

    10. Reduced Inequalities
    12. Responsible Production and Consumption
    16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

    Targets: This submission relates to debates surrounding the need for strengthening our democratic institutions and Elections in light of the online harms and manipulation facilitated by social media platforms. At the same time, through a particular focus on the Global Majority, the discussion allows space for the voices from the countries in the global south to be the actual leaders of the conversation about making online platforms safe for us all and helping provide a global and collective narrative against the abuses practised by these companies.