“Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed”
(UNESCO Constitution, 16 November 1945)
We have decided at a later stage to include the promotion of values and accountability on the Internet in favor of securing world peace (unfortunately division seems to be the current state of affairs on the net).
Since WW2 (and in spite of the UN Charter) there have been too many wars, genocides, acts of terrorism and hate driven carnages.
Most of these – if not all – are a consequence of manipulation (“propaganda” as we used to call it) and regretfully such “propaganda” shows no sign of abating with the advent of the Internet – quite on the contrary. Among the terrifying examples of the power of hate speech we need only think of the tragedy in Rwanda.
Our work for the protection of world peace on the Internet will be based on a state accountability standard derived from the Country of Origin Principle.
A Country of Origin Principle adapted to the Internet would mean that the state in question would be accountable under public international law against other states or the world community at large for hate inciting content.
A Country of Origin accountability standard would make extraterritorial enforcement unnecessary since it would be up to the Country of Origin to enforce regulation of genocidal, radicalizing or hateful content from its territory (just like hazardous waste from nuclear power plants which are already subject to country of origin obligations). Finally, a Country of Origin standard would solve the problem of “defensive hacking” (i.e. the ability of a country in its security interest to disable a server located in another jurisdiction).
On the impact of the internet on peace and international stability please watch the interview given at the request of the French National Agency for Cyber Security (ANSSI): https://jesuisinternet.today/public/category/cyber-responsabilite/post