Participation of the PABSEC International Secretariat in the Online Meeting of the 16th Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Parliamentary Track, 7-8 December 2021
Mr. Daniel Dulca, PABSEC Deputy Secretary General, attended the online meeting of the 16th Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Parliamentary Track, jointly organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Sejm of the Polish Parliament.
Important support has also been provided by the Department of Digital Policy in the Chancellery of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland, acting as co-facilitator and overall coordinator of the IGF 2021, from the Host Country’s side.
The event was organized in a hybrid format (in Katowice and in an online format), having as a main theme “Legislative approaches for a user-centric digital space”, and it took place on 7- 8 December 2021.
The purpose of the IGF was to strengthen the parliamentary dimension of the forum by facilitating the parliamentarians’ participation in debates regarding some of the most pressing issues related to the use, evolution and governance of the Internet and related digital technologies.
The meeting was attended by parliamentarians from all over the world, members of the International Companies, Intergovernmental Organizations and Parliamentary Assemblies.
The parliamentarians exchanged views and shared good practices on several key digital policy challenges: Privacy and data protection legislation in the digital age: challenges and approaches; Legislative approaches for a user-centric digital space; Balancing freedom of speech and the fight against harmful content; AI governance: What do we regulate and how?
The meeting gave the opportunity to the Members of the Parliaments to become familiar with the IGF and the broader Internet governance ecosystem and to engage in the dialogue, by exchanging their experiences on key digital policy issues.
Therefore, they shared their views on the proposed topics, explored the questions and exchanged opinions on (existing or potential) legislative solutions. The main messages that emerge from these debates (with potential guidelines, suggestions and recommendations for parliaments) will be captured as a formal output of the IGF 2021 parliamentary track.