The United States and 55 other countries launched a joint initiative on April 28 to ensure a safe and free internet. With the signing of this charter called “Declaration for the future of the internet”, the Biden administration wants to bring together as many countries as possible around a common vision of what the web of tomorrow should be.
The “Declaration for the Future of the Internet” contains more than 20 “principles”. In this charter, the signatories undertake, among other things, to strengthen online democracy by agreeing not to close access to the Internet. The more than 60 participating countries – including Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Kenya and Ukraine – promise not to use algorithms to illegally spy on citizens and not to conduct disinformation campaigns to influence elections.
Russia and China singled out
This initiative is intended as a counterweight to the worrying rise of major authoritarian powers, where access to digital information is restricted. The stakes are high, explains the White House. Since it is a question of pushing back growing digital authoritarianism “, as evidenced in particular by China and Russia. Joe Biden’s teams worked for several months to develop this charter.
Since the invasion of Ukraineon February 24, “ Russia has aggressively promoted disinformation at home and abroad, censored internet news sources, blocked or shut down legitimate sites and even physically attacked Ukraine’s internet infrastructure “, denounced a senior official of the Biden administration to journalists.
The new charter concocted by Washington already shows its limits: it is non-binding and countries like India, Indonesia or Brazil have not signed it. American defenders of a free internet expect Joe Biden above all to reverse the decision, taken under the presidency of Donald Trump, to end net neutrality. The president is committed to it. But his nominations for the positions on the Federal Communications Commission are still blocked in the Senate.