UN deputy chief calls for collective action to build secure digital future for all

UNITED NATIONS, April 27 (Xinhua) -- UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed on Tuesday called for collective action to build a more open, free and secure digital future for all.

"Collectively, our task is to help design digital environments that can connect everyone with a positive future. This is why we need a common effort, with collaboration among national and local governments, the private sector, civil society, academia and multilateral organizations," she told a high-level thematic debate on digital cooperation and connectivity.

"As with other technologies of the past, we can work to create 'guard rails' that ensure that digital transformation is a force for good," said Mohammed.

Digital technologies -- from artificial intelligence to blockchain -- have truly transformative potential. They augment human capacity, open new frontiers of productivity, and provide new opportunities for people and societies. But digital technologies carry risks as they can become vehicles for the spread of misinformation, hate speech, online child abuse and violent extremism. In the wrong hands, they are tools for violating human rights and engaging in terrorist activity, she said.

Digital technologies can reinforce and accelerate inequalities. As the world becomes more digitally dependent, it threatens to exclude those that remain disconnected. Almost half the world's population -- 3.7 billion people, the majority of them women, and most in developing countries -- are still offline. The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted this disparity. While confronting the pandemic, those without internet access have been unable to benefit from remote education, remote work, or remote health services. Without decisive action, the digital divide will become the new face of inequality, she warned.

Mohammed said the United Nations has a key role to play in responding to the growing fragmentation in the digital space.

Geopolitical fault lines between major powers are emerging, with technology as a leading area of tension and disagreement. Technology companies are responding in different ways to varying national approaches on issues such as privacy, data governance and freedom of expression. This is made worse by the deepening digital divide between developed and developing countries, which means that global discussions on digital issues are often less inclusive and representative of the concerns and priorities of the global South, she noted.

"Now more than ever, we need a global townhall to address these issues and to capitalize on technology's transformational potential to create new jobs, boost financial inclusion, close the gender gap, spur a green recovery and redesign our cities," the UN official said.

Since no single country or company, by itself, should steer the course of the world's digital future, there is a need to reaffirm the value of engaging with all stakeholders and convening multi-stakeholder partnerships. The task of achieving universal connectivity cannot be left solely to governments, or even to individual technology companies. The same is true for managing artificial intelligence, she said.

When faced with complex issues like online incitement to violence or the use of private data, the private sector is increasingly looking for guidance at the global level -- minimum criteria or basic norms of behavior that can help level the playing field for all stakeholders, and in so doing, provide equal protection to all users and consumers, no matter where they are, she said.

"We look forward to continuing our shared efforts to build a more open, free and secure digital future for all," she said.