Information Ethics

Information ethics cover the ethical, legal and societal aspects of the applications of ICT and are derived from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

One of the most challenging ethical issues is the inequity of access to ICT between countries, and between urban and rural communities within countries. Along with the benefits of a digitally connected world come the threats of misuse and abuse. Countries are already building mechanisms to protect their people against these risks, for example to ensure the safety of children on the internet, but clearly a lot more needs to be done to address the ethical implications of the information society. In collaboration with its partner institutions, IFAP seeks to do so.

In 2015, within the framework of IFAP, UNESCO led the first-ever international conference on ‘Youth and the Internet: Fighting Radicalization and Extremism’, which brought together experts and decision-makers to share policy intervention experiences, projects and processes for reducing the use of the internet as a tool for attracting young people to extremist ideologies and radicalism. The conference sensitized Member States and partners about the risks of this threat, and indicated the urgent need for sustained international attention and global action in support of Member States. At this conference, UNESCO also launched its cross-sectoral initiative ‘A New Integrated Framework of Action - Empowering Youth to Build Peace: Youth 2.0 – Building Skills, Bolstering Peace’.

This was followed in 2016 by the international conference ‘Internet and the Radicalization of Youth: Preventing, Acting and Living Together’, co-organized by UNESCO, IFAP and the Government of Quebec, with the support of the Canadian Government. The resulting ‘Quebec’s Call for Action’ (Appel de Québec) called upon the international community to take multidimensional action to combat violent extremism. In this respect, Canada has provided support for the UNESCO intersectoral project ‘Preventing Violent Extremism through Youth Empowerment in Jordan, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia’.

As a part of continuous efforts to confront this problem, the international conference on ‘Youth and Information and Communication Technologies: Preventing Violent Extremism in Cyberspace’, was organized by UNESCO, IFAP and the authorities of Lebanon in May 2017 in Beirut. The Final Statement of the Conference calls for effective measures to prevent and combat the online propagation of violence, as well as for using the internet to promote a culture of peace.

New societal, technological and ethical challenges of the DarkNet were discussed at an expert meeting in Paris on 14 September 2017. Organized by IFAP, the meeting provided an opportunity for representatives of Permanent Delegations to UNESCO, as well as external participants, to discuss the challenges of cyber threats and ways to improve national strategies through innovative and global solutions.