Recommendations for states.

States shoulder an indispensable responsibility for fortifying the Global Principles for Information Integrity. This begins with State obligations to respect, protect and promote human rights, in particular the right to freedom of expression, including the right to seek, receive and impart information. States play a central role in shaping information spaces owing to their legal and regulatory authority, control over public resources and ability to build domestic and international coalitions, among other factors. As part of their human rights obligations, States must protect against human rights abuses within their territory and/or jurisdiction by businesses, taking appropriate steps to prevent, investigate, punish and redress such abuse through effective policies, legislation, regulations and adjudication. States have different technical and financial capacities when engaging with the information ecosystem. Gaps in infrastructure and in access to technology and financial resources have contributed to a digital divide. At the same time, many large technology companies, while achieving near global market penetration and dominance, are based in a small number of countries in the global North. To ensure that all States can contribute to and benefit from the information ecosystem, urgent and sustained initiatives are needed to increase the ability of States to expand digital connectivity, proactively head off the potential emergence of an “AI divide” and strengthen their capacities to adequately address risks in information spaces, while respecting human rights. Ultimately, these efforts will strengthen information integrity, promote human rights and contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

RECOMMENDATIONS

a. Respect, protect and promote human rights. Respect, protect and promote human rights, in particular the right to freedom of expression and opinion, including the right to information, based on international human rights standards and norms. Ensure that regulation or other measures implemented to address the various elements of information integrity comply with applicable international law, including international human rights law, with the full participation of civil society, forming part of a broader effort to strengthen human rights and build trust. Ensure that restrictions on the right to freedom of expression are exceptional, and, where restrictions are imposed, they must comply with the requirements under international human rights law, i.e. be provided by law, and be necessary for the protection of the rights or reputations of others, or of national security, public order, or public health or morals, and comply with the  principles of proportionality. Ensure that restrictions do not serve in practice to stifle freedom of expression. Adopt and effectively enforce protections for personal data privacy that are consistent with international law, including international human rights law.

b. Safeguard integrity. Abstain from conducting or sponsoring information operations, domestically or transnationally, that wilfully spread disinformation or harness hate speech. Refrain from any form of Internet shutdowns or throttling. Uphold and implement relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, including those relating to the protection of United Nations peace operations from risks to information ecosystem integrity impacting mandate implementation.

c. Protect populations. Reaffirm and redouble efforts to ensure in law and in practice the protection and empowerment of groups in situations of vulnerability and marginalization which are often targeted in online and offline information spaces, such as women or LGBTIQ+ individuals or minority ethnic or religious groups, while addressing the particular needs and rights of children. Comply with the obligation under international human rights law to prohibit by law propaganda for war or advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence. 

d. Provide access to information. Provide timely access to publicly held information, without discrimination—including for news media—in all languages and formats that are understandable and usable for all, while promoting access for underserved communities. Ensure access to reliable and accurate information in crisis situations. Adopt ethical trustworthy communications practices to proactively engage communities and build trust in public institutions. 

e. Ensure media freedom. Ensure, protect and promote a free, viable, independent and pluralistic media environment, taking robust measures to safeguard journalists, media workers and fact checkers, with particular attention to women and members of groups in vulnerable and marginalized situations, from all forms of discrimination, abuse, harassment and threats of violence. Respect and protect in law and in policy the rights of digital content creators and citizen journalists. 

f. Protect researchers and civil society. Protect academics and civil society from intimidation, harassment or retaliatory action, respecting academic freedom.

g. Provide transparency. Provide full transparency regarding requirements and data requests placed on technology companies and media organizations. Take measures to address non-transparent and deceptive lobbying tactics and conflicts of interest between technology companies and policymakers that undermine information integrity, such as unethical hiring practices and financial incentives. 

h. Strengthen global solidarity, capacity-building and development assistance. Engage in collaborations and partnerships between countries to support capacity-building to strengthen information integrity and increase resilience to risks to information spaces, in particular in developing countries. Allocate financial resources, with full transparency, for training and capacity-building in digital, information and media literacy and awareness programmes, including in AI technologies, in all languages. Support developing countries in nationally led efforts to build societal resilience to risks to the integrity of the information ecosystem, undertake robust media and information literacy training and bolster public interest media, including through dedicated and adequate development assistance. Support the work of public institutions, including libraries, in improving access to literacy training and resources.

 i. Promote political participation. Protect the access of all electoral stakeholders to accurate and timely information throughout electoral processes. Take measures to promote inclusive political participation and leadership and to uphold the rights of women in public life, including protection from all forms of discrimination, abuse, harassment and threats of violence.

 j. Prioritize inclusive, public-interest research. Prioritize, invest in and support independent research that abides by ethical standards and review across disciplines related to information integrity, including in light of the emergent and the as-yet unknown capabilities and impacts of AI technologies. Support research conducted across geographies, languages and thematic areas, including the potential impact of risks to information ecosystem integrity on the Sustainable Development Goals, focusing particularly on underserved, underresearched and atrisk contexts and communities. Promote and publicize open access to research findings to enable the equitable sharing of information within and between countries. 

k. Foster literacy. Foster a critical and informed public discourse through targeted media and information literacy drives, seamlessly integrating digital skills into formal and informal education curricula from an early age. Actively improve public understanding and awareness, including among children, of online rights, how digital information environments work and how personal data are used, taking into account specific social, cultural and linguistic needs of people of all ages and backgrounds. Prioritize the literacy needs of individuals and groups in vulnerable and marginalized situations, including women, children, youth, older persons, persons with disabilities and the billions about to come online. Undertake literacy efforts around specific problems related to AI technologies and continually update literacy efforts to reflect new and emerging technologies and challenges.

 l. Empower children, parents, guardians and educators. Provide sustained resources for children, parents, guardians and educators on safe and responsible digital behaviour, on navigating online media and on understanding children’s rights to freedom of expression and information. Involve all parties in developing media and digital literacy guidelines and initiatives for safer online experiences, while harnessing the digital fluency of youth.