“Internet For Trust” Side event: Applying Internet Universality ROAM principles in regulating digital platforms

On the occasion of the UNESCO Global Conference "Internet for Trust: Towards Guidelines for Regulating Digital Platforms for Information as a Public Good", a side event "Applying Internet Universality ROAM principles in regulating digital platforms: West Africa and Global perspectives" was co-organized by the Information For All Programme (IFAP) and the UNESCO Dakar Office on 21 February 2023. The session brought together 18 guest speakers and over 50 stakeholders from government, academia, and media from 30 countries.

Since the launching of the Internet Universality Indicators ROAM-X Framework, UNESCO has supported national assessments in 44 countries around the world, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, Gambia, Niger and Senegal in West Africa.

According to Ms Fetou Dinetou Ndiaye, Secretary General of Senegal's Ministry of Digital Economy, a new law linking rights and the Internet was enacted following the implementation of the ROAM-X indicators assessment. Senegal's national Internet strategy for 2025 calls for universal access, child protection, and increased use of ICTs in education. Furthermore, the data issues encountered during the assessment's implementation prompted Senegal to establish an Observatory of Internet Activity. Ms Ndeye Maimouna Diop of Senegal stated that the use of ROAM-X indicators in Senegal contributed to the country's ongoing reflection on the regulation of digital platforms.

Prof. Alain Kiyindou, UNESCO Chair for emerging practices in technologies and communication for development, University of Bordeaux-Montaigne, stressed that the universal access remains a major issue in Africa and is central to platform regulation. He emphasized the importance of involving various stakeholders in the process:

Mr Abdou Malam Garba of Niger shared that as a result of the ROAM-X indicators assessment, Niger put in place a universal access strategy, but there is a significant need for capacity building of training institutions. "Much remains to be learned about platform regulation and how content can be regulated while preserving the right to open public data" he said.

The Republic of Cabo Verde has launched the ROAM-X indicators assessment in July 2022, according to Ms Jandira Sanches, from a multi-sectoral regulation agency. With ten very mountainous islands, access to the country remains a major issue. The government is establishing a development fund that will be used to create a "social tariff" to help disadvantaged communities gain access to the Internet.

Mr Kossi Amessinou, Regional Director Fondation Africaine des TIC, and a member of West Africa Internet Governance Forum (WAIGF) from Benin, reminded participants that state security is a critical issue that must be addressed, particularly in fragile countries in West Africa, when discussing the Guidelines for regulating digital platforms.

Ms Dorothy Gordon, the Chair of IFAP and Mr Yves Poullet, the Chair of IFAP Working Group of Information Ethics flagged the importance of using ROAM, to address the diverse challenges of regulating digital platforms and mitigate the risks of disinformation proliferation, polarization of the society and danger for our democracy.

UNESCO will take the discussion and individual characteristics of each country into account as it continues to support West Africa countries and all continents with the Internet Universality Indicators ROAM-X Framework's national assessment, which provides a set of principles and 303 indicators for the regulation of digital platforms, ensuring that they operate in a way that respects human rights, openness, accessibility, and multistakeholder participation.