The Global Digital Compact (GDC), to be agreed on at the Summit of the Future in September 2024, is expected to “outline shared principles for an open, free, and secure digital future for all”. As we have addressed in previous open communications and review documents to GDC drafts, that the core principles of the GDC of openness, freedom, and security must be infused with an intersectional gender perspective to ensure that the ongoing digital transformation of our economies and societies can usher in a gender-just world that is affirming to all individuals and their path to self-actualisation.
We have provided comments on the GDC Zero Draft and ensuing versions – these comments have been the result of a collective process and seek to advance the centrality of gender issues in the GDC, ensuring that the governance, development, and use of technology is inclusive and benefits women and girls, in all their diversity, around the world. This approach seeks to prevent the deepening of gender inequality and promote equitable access and participation in the digital context.
As the negotiations on the Global Digital Compact reach their concluding phase, we, the undersigned civil society organisations, wish to reiterate key points from our previous feedback and make a final, definitive call regarding the critical importance of adequately reflecting gender equality in the final version of this crucial document that shall become a cornerstone in defining international commitment regarding the advance of digital rights.
We commend the progress made thus far, including stronger language on human rights, environmental protection, and mitigating negative impacts on workers. However, we emphatically urge for the maintenance and strengthening of a gender-justice focus and gender-related concerns throughout the document. We hereby recount the main points of the feedback we have so far provided and the demands we have expressed in representation of diverse civil society organisations around the globe:
a. Gender equality as a core principle
It is imperative to retain the hard-fought principle on gender equality and empowerment as a standalone framing principle for the GDC. This must be complemented by mainstreaming gender perspectives effectively across all sections, commitments, and actions, in the form of the specific text reviews we have collaboratively proposed. The current version of the GDC has not complied with this, leaving whole sections completely destitute of references to gender. Additionally, critical references to gender equality have been removed. For instance, the only mention of “gender equality” in the IA Objective has been eliminated, along with the reference to preventing technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV). Following the feminist principles emphasised by various civil society organisations at the beginning of this process, it is essential to include a gender perspective to prevent the exacerbation of gender inequalities.
b. Human rights approach
It remains necessary to replace references to "responsible" technology and "human oversight" with clear language on protecting human rights, in line with existing human rights international law. Due diligence regarding human rights should explicitly include mandated integrated human rights impact assessments with gender perspective and considering and intersectional gender-justice approach.
C. Intersectional gender mainstreaming
The GDC must adopt and apply an intersectional gender perspective throughout all its sections, recognizing the differential impacts of multilayered forms of oppression. This must be reflected in language on rights, agency, participation, inclusion, and addressing harms and risks to women and girls in all their diversity, that should not be limited to the section on human rights.
D. Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV)
We have called, and continue to call, on the GDC to maintain and strengthen provisions on preventing and addressing technology-facilitated gender-based violence, ensuring a comprehensive approach that includes both legal and non-legal measures across contexts and considering inclusivity in its widest forms. International law and obligations concerning the elimination of gender-based violence are multilayered and require multi-faceted strategies that can be supported by multistakeholder engagement which, in the digital context, should explicitly refer to the responsibility and obligations of technology companies, including internet and social media platforms. This includes technology company obligations to comply with international human rights standards to rights-based approaches to design (including safety, security and privacy by design) and deployment including transparency standards (including availability of data on TFGBV). These obligations, which must be iterated in the GDC, should also include effective redress and remedies easily available to those at risk and to survivors.
e. Informed consent
We call for the GDC definitive version to extend the concept of informed consent beyond social media platforms to cover all uses of personal data by both private and public entities, applying a gender-informed lens and prioritising dignity, agency, and overall human rights. Consent should not be treated as a carte blanche; it must be integrated with other essential data protection principles, such as purpose limitation and data minimization, which should be seen as non-negotiable standards that cannot be waived or revoked upon giving consent. Public and private data controllers must adhere to obligations of loyalty, care, and confidentiality, including prohibiting the use of personal data for purposes unknown or different from those initially stated without prior notification and meaningful consent from the data subjects. This is particularly crucial for biometric data, given its inalienable nature and its potential to enable mass surveillance. Informed consent must also be recognised as an affirmative action that can be withdrawn at any time and without denial of access to goods, services and information.
f. Multistakeholder governance
We insist that the GDC must guarantee effective and accessible participation of civil society organizations in the governance of emerging technologies - particularly with a view to expand perspectives on gender equality and contextually grounded views on the development needs of the Global South. Towards this, it must adequately operationalize the WSIS model of multistakeholder governance in the future mechanisms of digital cooperation being set up, particularly in relation to the proposed International Scientific Panel on AI and Emerging Tech.
g. Follow-up and review mechanisms
We have highlighted, and strongly insist on addressing, the need to establish a more comprehensive and constant reporting mechanism that extends beyond 2030, building on existing mechanisms such as the Universal Periodic Review process and that have gender considerations among its core bases.
h. Data governance
The GDC must include provisions on gender-disaggregated data collection, gender-responsive standards, and the meaningful participation of women and girls in data governance fora, the reasons for which we have underscored in our previous feedback documents.
i. Emerging technologies and AI
To effectively address gender equality and gender justice, the GDC must, as we have pointed out in our reviews to every version of the GDC, incorporate structural levers for governance that can help deliver on the promises of AI for humanity, including enhanced gender-disaggregated data collection, gender-responsive standards, and gender-responsive public procurement policies. Impact assessments should be made compulsory and mitigation measures a requirement, including with the assessment of gendered impacts. It is crucial that the reference to gender equality in this section be reinstated.
j. Gender-digital divide
We call for an explicit commitment in the GDC to addressing the gender digital divide, not only as a general goal, but as a specific commitment, recognizing that women across their diversity are disproportionately impacted by connectivity gaps and preparing to bridge the consequent gap. The references to community networks must be retained.
We regret to observe that several crucial points included in our feedback and demands are yet to be included or corrected in the GDC; this letter is a call to action, to take into consideration the impact that everything included in – and excluded from – this document will come to have in the opportunities and lives of people in present and future generations, particularly women and girls in all their diversity and persons facing compounded vulnerabilities.
We urge all decision-making parties to seriously review these points in finalising the GDC. A strong commitment to gender equality and women's empowerment in the digital space is essential for creating an inclusive, equitable, and sustainable digital future for all and we have the opportunity to effectively contribute to this reality through this GDC.
Sincerely,
Association for Progressive Communications (APC)
Women at the Table
<A+> Alliance for Inclusive Algorithms
Women's Rights Online
World Wide Web Foundation
Derechos Digitales
Equality Now
Alliance for Universal Digital Rights
Pollicy
IT for Change