Throughout the course of 2023, auDA has been working with a group of internet governance stakeholders (including the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC), Internet Australia, the Internet Association of Australia and more) to deepen community collaboration and interaction in this important area of work.
A first output of this collaboration has been the development of a community submission to the Global Digital Compact (GDC).
The aim of the GDC is to outline shared principles for an open, free and secure digital future for all. Key issues to be covered include digital connectivity, avoiding internet fragmentation, data protection, human rights online, accountability criteria for discrimination and misleading content, AI regulation and the digital commons as a global public good. It is expected to be agreed at the United Nations (UN) Summit of the Future in September 2024.
Development of the GDC will be led by the UN Secretary General’s Envoy on Technology, Mr Amandeep Singh, and the public call for submissions is open until 30 April.
We encourage anyone with an interest in these issues to make a submission.
auDA and others in the Australian internet governance community recognise that digital technologies provide unprecedented opportunities for sustainable economic growth and social wellbeing globally. However, they have also presented complex challenges and risks including privacy, security and keeping people safe online.
We believe these challenges are best resolved via multi-stakeholder collaboration. Drawing on the expertise of a diverse range of government, industry, civil society, academic and technical stakeholders will ensure that outcomes consider a range of perspectives and have input from affected parties. Such an approach puts people first and is vital to maximising the benefits and minimising the harms associated with the digital world.
auDA and the signatories to the submission urge those developing the GDC to commit to and implement a multi-stakeholder approach and the highest standards of inclusivity, transparency and openness in progressing its work.
The multi-stakeholder approach that we argue for in the GDC was actively applied by Australian internet governance participants to develop our shared submission to the GDC. We will share that submission on the auDA submissions page, once it has been lodged with the UN.