FInal Conclusion

THE RESOLUTION
OF THE 10TH Russian Internet Governance Forum

Moscow
April 8, 2019

We, organizers of the 10th Russian Internet Governance Forum,

acting as representatives of the multilateral community and following the principles of mutual respect and trust,

welcoming the 10th anniversary of the National Internet Governance Forum, which is part of the UN Global Internet Governance Forum,

welcoming also the 25th anniversary of RuNet and tremendous changes that have occurred due to the impact of the Internet on all spheres of life of Russian society and the State,

underlining our commitment to high standards in the field of protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms both offline and online,

noting the importance of using new effective forms of interaction between the State, companies, the technical community and users in order to build an open, stable and secure Internet ecosystem,

have agreed to abide by the «public agreements» on the Internet with a clear distribution of roles and responsibilities among all interested parties on the basis of the following principles:

1. The Russian Internet space is an integral part of the global network which should preserve its integrity and openness, giving states equal rights to manage its critical resources.

2. The State shall guarantee their citizens protection under its jurisdiction, ensure management, strategic sustainability and security of its infrastructure, protection of the national market of IT-products, as well as guarantee its innovation and openness.

The State shall foster contacts with businesses of all countries, strengthen public-private partnerships, actively develop the Internet economy, improve the rules of trade in information space and take steps to develop international rules and standards in this area.

3. The State shall create a solid balanced legal framework in the field of Internet regulation, which, on the one hand, shall support the safe and sustainable development of the Internet ecosystem and guarantee the protection of citizens, national companies and the State as a whole, and, on the other hand, shall create an impetus for innovative development, technological breakthrough, competitive and open environment for all interested parties. The development of “soft law” tools, self-regulatory mechanisms, guidelines, ethical codes is welcomed and is an important part of the «public agreements».

4. Transnational corporations shall pay local taxes in good faith, in proportion to the number of users and the number of services rendered in this State, as well as participate equally in the infrastructure development, i.a. by means of tax payments.

Transnational corporations shall respect and comply with national laws, norms of ethics and morality, mentality of the State (including traditions, diversity of cultures, religions and languages). They shall work in a fair competitive environment, without monopolizing national markets.

5. The State shall effectively protect the personal data of its citizens on the Internet, regulating its processing at national level and during cross-border data transfer.

Transnational corporations shall not disregard human rights and public security. They shall be accountable and responsible to the State and users for the collection, storage and analysis of personal data and shall be responsible for any illegal actions in relation to such data.

The State and transnational corporations shall join their efforts to form a system of trust on the Internet that shall preserve confidentiality and personal safety of users and their information.

Users shall be entitled to manage their private space on the Internet on their own, without being subject to imposition of information and influence on their information field. A voluntary, clearly expressed, informed and unequivocal consent of the data subject shall be requested at any stage of data processing.

6. The State shall ensure equal and the widest possible access of all populated areas, institutions and citizens to the Internet resources, paying particular attention to vulnerable groups (children, women, the elderly, people with disabilities, people with special needs, etc.).

Together with the interested parties, the State shall increase the level of digital literacy of the population, develop and implement specialized programs and courses for various categories of the population (children and youth, entrepreneurs, women, people living in remote areas), assist the population in adapting to new digital technologies.

7. The State, transnational corporations and users shall form a culture of trust on the Internet, take measures to counter misinformation and usage of the network to manipulate public conscience. They shall create legal and public filters to prevent any illegal, harmful and toxic information from entering the Internet, especially for unprotected children. They shall enhance the protection of children on the Internet, take legislative and other measures needed to counteract pornography, pedophilia and violence against children, and create alliances for this purpose.

Transnational corporations, operators and other organizations shall independently identify illegal content on the Internet and promptly remove it from all resources.

8. The State shall encourage the development and introduction of cutting-edge technologies (artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things) understanding that all progressive developments will be based on an human- centric approach, ensuring the autonomy of humans and their right to modify or cancel the action of the machine at any stage.

The State, in cooperation with the scientific community and other interested parties, shall develop a comprehensive national strategy in the field of artificial intelligence, and ensure the development of certificates of «compliance with ethical principles» for every product, system or device based on artificial intelligence at national and international level». They shall include mandatory courses on ethical principles in this area in educational programs on artificial intelligence. The global community should develop global universal restricting standards in this area under the UN auspices.

9. The State shall be actively involved in international efforts and stand for the progressive development of a peaceful, safe, open, global Internet space based on trust and cooperation. This space, while preserving its integrity, should meet the interests of each state, ensuring the sustainability and security of the national information infrastructure and personal data protection of its citizens.

Global Internet governance should be based on the principles of multi- polarity, mutual trust, shared responsibility of states and fair distribution among them of the Internet systems and resources.

In order to effectively implement the abovementioned «public agreements», the State, transnational corporations, companies and users shall cooperate with each other, fulfilling their obligations responsibly and in favor of the integrity of the global network and the Russian Internet space, protection of human rights and interests of society and of the State.