Statement on information delivered by Mungo Woodifield,
UK Spokesperson to the UN, at the UN Fourth Committee.
I would like to start, like others, by thanking the Department of
Global Communications for their engagement with Member States and
for their work on the development of the Code of Conduct for
Information Integrity on Digital Platforms.
Digital platforms have become crucial tools that have transformed
the way in which we access information. Each year, the number of
people online increases. And each year, we see developments and
changes in digital platforms, from the growth of new social media
to the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence, which brings
with it both immense opportunities, but also serious risks.
We all see the increased spread of mis and disinformation online.
It is a pervasive threat. Mis and disinformation, and attempts to
artificially manipulate the information environment have the
ability to impact billions. It can threaten our freedoms, and
cause harm to individuals and society, and as we have seen in
recent weeks, it misleads people in times of crisis.
Artificial intelligence has the ability to increase the volume,
sophistication and spread of misinformation and disinformation
online.
Access to trusted information is the antidote and the UN has a
vital role to play in providing accurate, impartial reporting
based on facts. But the job is getting harder each year.
The UK has four points on what we would like to see.
First, Member States have a responsibility to protect the
integrity of the UN as a source of trusted information. This is a
Member-State led body and of course, we will have political
disagreements and differing views on a range of issues, but when
we do agree, we rely on the UN to communicate and implement those
decisions. It cannot do that effectively if it is being
undermined.
Unfortunately, some Member States are spreading harmful
disinformation at and about the UN. We remain very concerned by
disinformation about UN Peacekeeping operations in the field. UN
Blue Helmets are asked to do difficult work in the most
challenging environments, and the spread of false allegations
about their work poses real threats to UN staff and severely
impedes their missions. We support plans by the DGC to develop an
information integrity lab that can support UN operations in the
field and quickly rebut these false allegations.
Since their illegal invasion of Ukraine, Russia has been
exploiting the Security Council as a platform for disinformation.
This goes beyond the disagreements and contested debates between
Council members. Without any precedent in Security Council
history, Russia has invited dozens of individuals as briefers to
spread conspiracy theories about what has happened in Ukraine,
which has been proven demonstrably false time and time again by
UN experts.
Russia’s disinformation campaign distracts from the awful reality
of its crimes on the ground and has degraded the level of
discussion at the Security Council. The UK is committed to
preventing that. We all need a UN that is trusted and taken
seriously, so we will continue to expose disinformation when we
see it, and hold Russia accountable for what it is doing.
Second, Member States and platforms alike have a responsibility
to keep pace with rapid developments in technology, to understand
them and govern them, in order to keep the billions who use them
safe. Platforms should take steps to improve transparency
regarding algorithms and content moderation. For our part, the UK
passed our Online Safety Bill this year, which we hope will make
the UK the safest place in the world to be online. It places new
duties on social media companies, improves child protection and
increases user empowerment.
In this vein, the UK strongly supports the development of the UN
Code of Conduct for Information Integrity on Digital Platforms as
a tool to support similar national efforts around the world. We
encourage all Member States to work constructively with the DGC
to keep up the momentum on its development.
Third, the UK supports taking a human-rights-based approach to
meeting the information challenge. While it is essential to
counter mis and disinformation, we must ensure, as we do this,
that we protect the right to freedom of expression. It is
important the UN’s Code of Conduct respects the careful balance
in international human rights law on the kinds of speech which
must be prohibited, and those which must not be restricted.
Finally, Chair, we must do more to tackle the widening digital
divide which exacerbates information inequality. To ensure
everyone has access to quality information means equipping users
with the digital literacy skills to recognise and challenge mis
and disinformation. Digital technologies are a crosscutting
accelerator of development and a key enabler to achieve the
Sustainable Development Goals. The UK is playing our part to
support an inclusive, responsible digital transformation.
