IGF2018 – Information disorders: towards digital citizenship

Information disorders have been rising with the emergence of social media and big data analytics and Artificial Intelligence. Their scope ranges from rumor to propaganda to cyber hybrid threats. They encompass issues of radicalization, hate speech and other forms of intimidation of populations. They potentially present risks for democratic processes and national sovereignty while presenting other societal costs that can undermine trust in the “information society”. Information disorders are varied and they don’t have a single root cause. Some of them have been enabled by the development of social media but this does not exonerate some political actors, and extremist groups in the civil society actors. They have caused disruption in elections and referenda, they have undermined confidence in the news and information sector, they have sought, directly or indirectly, to take control over media images and representations.

No single solution can be applied to help mitigate such risks. Many responses have been proposed and/or applied pro-actively. They aim at stifling threats in the short-term and at increasing long-term resilience of citizens and member states. Most of the responses have been of an non-regulatory nature, with different stakeholders, trying to minimize legal intervention. Others have been of a regulatory nature with interference of public authorities in issues of elections and foreign intervention, raising issues of censorship. While targeting and countering specific information disorders, they need to be formulated to ensure that their design does not bring with them restrictions to civil liberties, ensuring due process and proportionality. To ensure that the responses to information disorders are valid and up-dated, the evolving nature of the problems needs to be monitored. The best responses may be in focusing on new smart initiatives, driven by multi-stakeholder collaborations, that avoid disengagement of the state in policing but minimize regulatory intervention and keep the private sector accountable. Governments, media and social media enterprises as well as individuals have to think and learn how to live in what some call « the post-truth era ». Other initiatives involve building on the strength of the networks and the online communities and strengthen digital citizenship via Media and Information literacies and digital debates that try to mitigate the distortions and asymmetries revealed by information disorders.

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