Institute for Electronic Participation participated in a Code of Conduct consultation on Information Integrity on Digital Platforms. Our director, Simon Delakorda, contributed to the consultation topic addressing digital platforms user empowerment. He highlighted the alarming trend of declining of the on-line public sphere as a result of business models of digital platforms. Digital platforms are monetizing content creation and interactions among its users, favouring those which are attracting higher degree of attention, often in a negative or harmful way, or having resources to pay for a greater visibility of particular topics resulting in an unbalanced set of issues distributed across the public sphere.
Mag. Simon Delakorda suggested changing the balance of power between digital platforms and its users. Digital platforms can not exist without users, therefore an informed and sensible users gradually shifting towards a more responsible and self-restraining digital behaviour could transform the current scope of digital communication. Digital media literacy is pivotal in this transition.
On-line consultation was organized by the United Nations Information Service Vienna to contribute to a proposal for a United Nations Code of Conduct for Information Integrity on Digital Platforms. The discussion brought together experts from UNIS Vienna client countries Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia.
The aim of the consultation was to provide feedback and suggestions on the proposed content of the principles and recommendations outlined in the policy brief (pdf), as well as to make suggestions on methodologies for implementing the principles. New principles and/or recommendations were also submitted by the experts.