IGF 2023 Open Forum #139 Non-regulatory approaches to the digital public debate

The lack of compliance of private tech companies and states with human rights obligations online propels effects of online violence, discrimination, and disinformation on democratic institutions, human rights and the rule of law. There is increasing evidence of the configuration of a more hostile communicative environment towards traditionally discriminated groups and a more polarized and distorted debate towards voices of reference to democracy (academia, journalism, public health, among others). In this context, regulatory proposals emerge globally. While there are complex systems that try to address issues of competition, data protection, interoperability, transparency and due diligence in the public sphere among them, are concerns around fragmentation of the internet, side effects on freedom of expression and privacy and effectiveness of relying solely on regulatory practices arise. Furthermore, in many jurisdictions in Latin America and the Caribbean region and around the world, the regulatory debate is still incipient or even absent. In view of this, soft law principles and rules of international human rights law have been especially relevant to guide alternative frameworks to protect human rights in the online public debate. Responses to the deterioration of the public debate on the internet presented in Europe, in the Americas and in the UN system include digital and information literacy and counter-speech incentives, self-regulatory measures of social media councils and judicial decisions to hold political leaders liable for their speech. However, the discussion on international, regional and national standards in this theme needs to advance in order to fill in the gaps left by the regulatory debate. In this session, the experiences of the inter-American human rights system and the UN Digital compact on the protection of freedom of expression, privacy, dignity, equality and non-discrimination will be explored as part of the contents of IACHR Report on Digital Inclusion and Appropriation and Content Governance, which is in the final comments phase to be published. Moreover, a comparative law approach from different regions will be put in place, including decisions from the European Court of Human Rights and the Colombian Constitutional Court, as representative of an approach from the Americas. This topic promises to integrate the legal, technological and social considerations that are intimately embedded in human rights and freedoms in the Internet. The IACHR Report on Digital Inclusion and Appropriation and Content Governance will be sent later as the proposed paper since it is in the final review stage and it is not public yet.

Interaction between attendees and speakers will be facilitated by both an onsite moderator and an online moderator who will be coordinated to allow the dialogue between both spaces. During the public 15-minute Q&A section, the digital moderator will take the questions via chat from the online attendees and will formulate them for the panelists, while the onsite moderator will do the same with the questions from the onsite attendees. Initially, 5 minutes will be reserved for the online audience, as they will be participating via chat, and the last 10 minutes for the onsite audience. The timing will be calibrated according to the level of participation of each attendee modality.