The original article by Karen Allen was published by the Institute for Security Studies on 14 November 2019
“Without sufficient safeguards, norms provide a middle ground between rigid treaties and taking no action at all.”
“Mistrust of the big powers, questions of sovereignty and global uncertainty about the direction of mass digitisation lie at the heart of why most states across sub-Saharan Africa appear to be resisting multilateral rules and ‘big ticket’ treaties for solving the world’s problems.”
GCSC Co-Chair Michael Chertoff believes norms are the way forward. “They can exist in parallel with laws. Norms grounded in common values are dynamic, which is useful given the rapid evolution of technology and the polarised position of some states on questions of balancing freedom of speech and state security.” During this year’s Paris Peace Forum, the GCSC called for “more private sector and civil society involvement in both setting those global standards of behaviour online, and acting as whistleblowers when those norms are violated.”
Read the full article here.
