DIGITAL FREEDOM SUMMIT 2022

While digital space is expanding with enormous opportunities for free expression, it also presents multiple threats to independent voices and diversity due to the ‘poorest’ digital understanding amongst users mainly in protecting the informed choices and plural voices so to defend democracy.

Although it has a visible influence on democracy, diversity and plural voices, criticisms overflow  for manipulating public discourse, inciting hate speech through disinformation and propaganda. This has resulted into destructive impacts on rule of law, political freedoms, free speech and critical thoughts.

In this context, this session aims to discuss the connection between democracy and digital space focusing on the issues such as plural voice, democratic values, enabling environment including legal frameworks & calls for actions to ensure free digital space.  Furthermore, it provides insights in tackling challenges of democratic values, including countering extremist & anti-democratic voices, approaches to free & fair elections including countering gendered violence, ensuring cyber security, promoting digital literacy, preventing authorities from enforced internet shutdowns and protection of privacy.

This session aims to initiate discussions on how to improve the accessibility of infrastructure. The session will further dig into the challenges of equitable supply of suitable infrastructure to avail basic human rights and benefits modern technology provides. The issues of inclusion and digital divide will be discussed.

With the motto of leaving no one behind, the session will explore the challenges of equitable supply of infrastructure, devices and contents. Freedom to connect has been a pivotal tool to enhance not only our democratic rights like freedom of expression but also our basic human rights like the right to education. However, various communities like PWDs, marginalized communities are still deprived from meaningful connectivity that is widening the socio-economic and political divide. The session will shed light on these issues through a multi stakeholder discussion between government, CSOs and telco.

Social media platforms offer many democratic benefits — connecting citizens with each other (and their representatives), encouraging voter turnout, even supporting virtual town halls. They have given voice to diverse and minority viewpoints, whose access to broad-scale distribution was previously badly constrained. Concern over online interference in elections is now widespread. Yet regulatory and monitoring efforts have lagged behind in addressing the challenges of how public opinion can be manipulated online, and its impact on elections. This issue of enabling the environment v. restrictive regulatory regime is in much debate now. This session will discuss the Nepali experience of use of social media during the recent election from its both perspectives.

The Development of Technology has significant contribution in Nepali economy as well. Post COVID-19 pandemic, Nepali society also jumped in the digital space at large scale. Especially, when there was a rise in the use of digital tools in ecommerce, digital payment and also in government delivery, the space of the digital economy has also widened. Creating a digital transaction ecosystem that consists of infrastructure, literacy, data security, legislation and other enablers are significant for expanding the horizon of the digital economy. For this we need better infrastructure, literacy, data security and growing acceptance of the digital payment platforms and products. Government has recently proposed several legislations like the Information Technology Bill, E-Commerce bill and Cybersecurity Bill to promote the digital economy. This session will be discussing current trends of the digital economy and freedom to do this.