On the sidelines of its conference for a Trusted Internet, UNESCO called for the regulation of digital platforms once and for all to counter the rise of online hatred and disinformation.
Over the past three days, the UNESCO conference “For an Internet of Trust” took place in Paris. On this occasion, the UN body for education, science and culture was able to consider regulatory solutions to the online information crisis. This world conference, the first on the subject by the way, gave birth to the first global principles for the regulation of social networks. The objective is stated: to promote human rights online and improve the reliability of information.
Regulate, because lies spread faster than facts »
Governments, universities, digital companies, independent regulators or civil society. All were gathered to take the measure of the technological evolution and the abuses that are rampant online, in a society weakened by the climatic, humanitarian, health and geopolitical crises.
” Lies spread faster than facts. For some reason, facts are really boring. Lies, especially when laced with fear, anger, hatred, tribalism – “us” against “them” – spread. They ignite the powder summed up journalist Maria Ressa, winner of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, in a speech full of lucidity.
According to her, if we continue to tolerate the algorithms of social networks as they are, tomorrow the truth will have lost all or almost all its value. ” Without facts there is no truth, without truth there is no trust, and we have no shared reality “, she warned.
Speaking during the conference, the recently elected president of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, made a parallel with the attacks carried out, with violence, against the democratic institutions in Auriverdes, on January 8th. These followed a large disinformation campaign. ” To a large extent, this campaign was nurtured, curated and delivered through digital platforms and messaging apps. The same method has been used to generate acts of violence elsewhere in the world. This must stop he called.
Push countries and digital players around the world to block harmful content for their users
The Director General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, for a time expected to succeed Jean Castex at Matignon, welcomed the efforts in this area carried out in at least 55 countries. Nevertheless, it militates for a coherent approach which would be global, considering that, carried out in isolation, regulatory initiatives “ are doomed to fail “.
Also present in Paris, the Prime Minister of Iceland, Katrin Jakobsdottir, praised ” the considerable importance » of the discussions and exchanges of the week, adding that it is « essential to define a set of common principles on the regulation of this digital space “. The Brazilian-Portuguese YouTuber with 45 million subscribers Felipe Neto denounced the algorithmic push of extremist content on the platforms. The influencer wants to raise awareness among the major digital players.
” It’s about accountability, ending impunity, bringing them to the table and saying “you have to be accountable for the mistakes you’ve made and are going to make” “, he said, quite firmly. Enough to let the patroness of UNESCO conclude by calling on all countries to join in the efforts of the organization. Its objective is to make the Internet a tool at the service of the public, which can guarantee the right to freedom of expression, and the right to seek and receive information.
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