Colombian organizations form alliance to protect digital public space

Within the framework of UNESCO’s Social Media 4 Peace project, various civil society organizations in Colombia agreed to form a network to protect digital public space, counteract the impact of disinformation and hate speech, and strengthen the governance of large digital Internet platforms

On October 10 and 11, an alliance was consolidated between various civil society organizations in Colombia seeking to strengthen democratic governance of large digital platforms that guarantee freedom of expression. The main objective of the alliance is to “influence public institutions, large social media companies and other technological platforms to advance the protection of digital public space with a guarantee of human rights”.

Its grew out of the Social Media 4 Peace project in Colombia, developed by UNESCO with the support of the European Union, to build coordinated actions seeking to counteract the impact of disinformation and hate speech on the Internet.

The organizations that make up the alliance are: Colombian Association of Legal Tech; Association of Indigenous Councils of Northern Cauca; Atlantic Council; Colombiacheck; Caribe Afirmativo Corporation; Polimorfas Corporation; Minuto de Dios University Corporation; Dejusticia; El Veinte; CIVIX Foundation; Colombia 2050 Foundation; Gabo Foundation; Karisma Foundation; Foundation for Press Freedom; University Foundation for Human Development; iRadia; Green Lantern; Electoral Observation Mission; Racial Discrimination Observatory; Pontifical Javeriana University; Huellas Caloto Reservation; EAFIT University and ICESI University. Two regional organizations (ARTICLE 19 and OBSERVACOM) supported the process of forming the alliance and will continue to collaborate with its work, as will UNESCO.

Gustavo Gómez, executive director at OBSERVACOM, presented a draft with 25 regulatory standards developed in conjunction with the Colombian organization El Veinte, which are aimed at large digital Internet platforms, to guarantee their transparency and accountability.

Among the recommendations, algorithmic transparency measures, clear rules for content moderation, notification requirements for decisions that platforms make about content and accounts, and the creation of effective appeal mechanisms for users, among others, are proposed.