Antonio Guterres, the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations has recently established a committee of digital cooperation to address issues of cybersecurity and hate speech and assigned an Indian diplomat, Amandeep Singh Gill to be executive director.
As reported by the Financial Express, UN Secretary-General Guterres said at a press conference on July 12, “Digital technology is changing economies and societies at warp speed. At the same time, the world is only beginning to address the dark side of innovation – such as cybersecurity threats, the risks of cyberwarfare, the magnification of hate speech, and violations of privacy. As a global community, we face questions about security, equity, ethics, and human rights in a digital age.”
Secretary-General Guterres created an association consisting of 20 members, many of whom are leaders in their fields, and chaired by US philanthropist Melinda Gates and China-based Alibaba founder Jack Ma.
The initiative was established to address the dark side of innovation, while at the same time mapping the trends of technology and identifying the risks and opportunities to strengthen society. The panel will focus on cyber-bullying, cybercrime and security.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is also a member of WLA-CdM — a close partner of MDI in developing The Next Generation Democracy.
