Civil society calls for equitable break-glass measures to protect elections and people worldwide
As we conclude the first quarter of this massive year for democracy in the age of social media and artificial intelligence, we, the undersigned organizations, voice our deep concern regarding the integrity of elections and the safety of people across the world. We call upon tech platforms to urgently adopt and apply comprehensive measures to safeguard people and elections during the 2024 election cycle and into the future, applying principles of global equity.
The Global Coalition for Tech Justice (GCTJ) has actively engaged with major tech corporations, including Meta, Google, X, and TikTok, since July 2023. The GCTJ repeatedly conveyed the demands of the Year of Democracy campaign and called upon Big Tech to develop and publicly disclose robust election plans for the 2024 elections megacycle to ensure online safeguards for over two billion voters worldwide. Despite our and many others’ engagement, tech companies have failed to implement adequate measures to protect people and democratic processes from tech harms that include disinformation, hate speech, and influence operations that ruin lives and undermine democratic integrity. In fact, tech platforms have apparently reduced their investments in platform safety and have restricted data access, even as they continue to profit from hate-filled ads and disinformation.
Tech companies wield significant and direct influence over political affairs beyond their home countries, yet they operate with minimal political or legal accountability. They have a track record of underinvesting in platform safety across global majority countries. This year, the stakes are higher than ever before. Information integrity has clearly been compromised in elections to date. In Indonesia, AI-generated content spread on tech platforms helped an alleged human rights abuser become president, while in Pakistan, female journalists and politicians were targeted in a hateful post-elections social media campaign.
Meanwhile, the world’s biggest elections kick off in India on 19 April 2024, running through 1 June 2024. Civil society groups caution that voters have never before been exposed to this volume of disinformation, while human rights experts are warning of rising tensions and the risk of violence.
Today, we are united in our appeal to tech companies to safeguard the remaining elections during this momentous year. With citizens voting in South Africa, India, Mexico, Tunisia, the European Union, the United States of America and numerous other countries in the next nine months, the GCTJ, the European Commission, and the United Nations Development Programme are among those submitting recommendations to tech platforms.
We call on tech companies immediately and urgently to implement and disclose comprehensive and transparent country-specific election plans, including the allocation of additional financial and human resources, to protect people and their democratic rights during 2024 and beyond.
Tech platforms adopted break-glass measures in the last US elections and have adhered to mandatory requirements in the EU to publicly disclose essential metrics, including the number of content moderators per country, language and dialect. Rather than reinforcing a two-tiered system, companies’ election plans and corporate disclosure worldwide must align with the minimum standards adopted in the US and EU, including break-glass measures and ensuring researchers have access to platform monitoring data.
2024 is not a drill. Tech platforms must do better to protect our online civic spaces and democratic systems. We call on tech platforms to apply all necessary measures to safeguard elections equitably worldwide.
Signatories
Organisations
- #jesuislà
- #MeRepresenta
- #ShePersisted
- 7amleh – The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media
- ACRD-Congo
- Africa Sans Haine
- AfroLeadership
- AI Forensics
- Aláfia Lab | *desinformante
- Al Bawsala
- Aliança Nacional Lgbti+
- ALQST for Human Rights
- All Out
- Amnesty International, Kenya
- ARIJ
- Article 19 Eastern Africa
- Associação Alternativa Terrazul
- Avaaz
- Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication
- Bareedo Platform Somalia
- Beam Reports
- Bram FUDZULANI
- Business and Human Rights Resource Centre
- Campaign On Digital Ethics (CODE)
- Casa Hacker
- Center for AI Ethics and Governance in Africa – CAIEGA
- Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD)
- Center for Legal Support
- Center for Media Research – Nepal
- Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions
- Check First
- Check My Ads
- Civic Tech Field Guide
- Civil Society Advocacy Network On Climate Change and the Environment Sierra Leone (CAN-SL)
- Co – Creation Hub, GoVote (CcHUB)
- Coalizão Negra por Direitos
- Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA)
- Common Cause India
- Common Cause Zambia
- Common good foundation Anna Amoomo
- Community Focus Foundation Ghana (CFF-Ghana)
- Conectas Direitos Humanos
- Conscious Ad Network
- Consortium of Ethiopian Human Rights Organizations (CEHRO)
- Council for Responsible Social Media in Kenya
- Daraj Media
- Datalat Foundation
- Defend Democracy
- Democracia em Xeque
- Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN)
- Desinformante & Aláfia Lab
- Devon Turner (Legal Resources Centre – South Africa)
- Digital Access
- Digital Citizenship
- Digital Humanities Lab (Federal University of Bahia)
- Digital Rights Foundation
- Digital Rights Lab – Sudan
- DIGITAL RIGHTS LAWYERS INITIATIVE
- Disarm Foundation
- DISARM Foundation
- DUKINGIRE ISI YACU
- DUKINGIRE ISI YACU
- Ekō
- Electronic Frontier Foundation
- European Partnership for Democracy
- Fair Vote UK
- FALA
- FEMALE organization
- Foresight Generation Club
- Friends of Democracy
- Friends of the Earth U.S.
- FRONTIERS FOR GENDER ADVOCACY, ACCOUNTABILITY & EMPOWERMENT INITIATIVE
- Fundación Internet Bolivia
- Global Action Plan
- Global Digital Citizenship Lab, York University
- Global Project Against Hate and Extremism
- Global Witness
- Great Hope Foundation Malawi
- Greek Helsinki Monitor
- Guendalina Simoncini
- Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)
- Helen Suzman Foundation
- Hindus for Human Rights
- Hope and Courage Collective
- Human Rights Journalists Network Nigeria
- Human Rights Watch
- HuMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement
- Hungarian Civil Liberties Union
- Idayat Hassan
- IDDLAC (Contextual)
- IFEX
- India American Muslim Council
- India American Muslim Council
- India Civil Watch International
- Inform Africa
- Inform Africa
- Innovation for Change Middle East and North Africa
- INSM for Digital Rights in Iraq
- Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD)
- Instituto Vero
- International Council of Indian Muslims (ICIM)
- International Media Support
- International Press Institute
- IPANDETEC
- ITAKA INTERNATIONAL
- Jordan Open Source Association (JOSA)
- Jordan Transparency Center
- Journalists for Human Rights
- Judith foundation
- Koneta Hub
- Law and Public Policy Center
- Lawyers Hub
- Legal Dignity
- Legal Grounds Institute
- Legal Resources Centre
- LOVE-Storm – Together Against Online Hate
- LoveAid Foundation
- Me Representa
- Media Alliance of Zimbabwe
- Media Monitoring Africa
- Misbar
- Myanmar Internet Project
- National Democratic Institute
- Netlab-UFRJ
- News Literacy Lab
- NOSSAS
- Open Britain
- Open Knowledge Foundation
- OpenWatch
- Panos Institute Southern Africa
- Paradigm Initiative
- Paradigm Initiative
- Pen to Paper (https://www.pentopaper.org/)
- People Vs Big Tech
- Pollicy
- REDE NACIONAL DE COMBATE À DESINFORMAÇÃO
- Research Tree
- Rinascimento Green
- Salamat Dz
- Samir Kassir Foundation
- Sleeping Giants Brasil
- SMEX
- Social Movement Technologies
- SocialTIC
- Society for Environment and Education
- Stichting The London Story
- Tech Global Institute
- Tech Justice
- Tech4Peace
- TEDIC
- The African Middle Eastern Leadership Project (AMEL)
- The Center for Freedom of Information
- The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy
- The Visual Activist
- Transparency International EU
- Ubunteam
- Verify-Sy
- Wathata Kinyua Foundation
- Webfala Digital Skills for all Initiative
- West Africa ICT Action Network
- WITNESS
- Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET)
- YODET
- Youth and Society (YAS)
- Zambian Cyber Security Initiative Foundation
Individuals
- Aashka Raval
- amandla.mobi
- Amira Galal
- Anna Grace Calhoun
- Anne Oloo
- Anriette Esterhuysen
- Bárbara Paes
- Camilla Machuy
- Cheryl Akinyi
- Cosima Wiltshire
- Danielle novaes
- Dima Samaro
- Dr. Michael Strautmann
- Dr. Simon Kruschinski
- Ella Shoup
- Eya Oueslati
- Fatuma Nyirenda
- Francesca Edgerton
- Hiba Monzer
- Ingrid Farias
- James
- Karina Mendoza
- Karyn Caplan
- Keerti Rajagopalan
- Kirsten Fiedler
- Kyle Taylor
- Lotanang Marothe
- Luis Serrano
- Luise Koch
- Luiz Eugenio Scarpino Junior
- Manuel Alejandro Baron Romero
- Maria Paula Russo Riva
- Martin Kapenda
- Michaela Nakayama Shapiro
- Mostafa Fouad
- Nasiru Deen
- Natalia Albert
- Natalia Zuazo
- Nevine Ebeid
- OUSSEMA REZGUI
- Pablo Nunes
- Paola Cantarini Guerra
- Raymond Amumpaire
- Ricardo de Holanda Melo Montenegro
- Rima Sghaier
- Sam Phiri
- Seble G. Workneh
- Seongkyul Park
- Tundun Folami
- Yasmin Curzi