Youth advocates back CARICOM plan for online safety law

WESTERN BUREAU:

The Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network (JYAN) has thrown its support behind CARICOM’s move to create a regional model law on digital safety, while calling for urgent action, stiffer penalties for offenders, and the creation of a national cyber safety authority.

“We welcome the announcement about the development of a model law around digital safety,” said Shannique Bowden, executive director of JYAN. “As our society evolves, our laws and programmes must evolve with it; and with our current digital age, and most of our young people spending hours a day online, this law is a step in the right direction. We hope that it is treated with the utmost urgency.”

Speaking at the close of the 49th Regular Meeting of the CARICOM Heads of Government in Montego Bay, CARICOM Chairman and Jamaica Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness announced that the regional bloc was moving towards a legal framework to protect citizens in the digital space.

“We also had exchanges on legislation for online safety and protection of young people from online abuse, cyberbullying and exploitation. In recognition of the importance of this issue, we have mandated the legal affairs committee to look at a proposal for a model law for the digital safety of Caribbean people,” Holness said.

Bowden said the proposed model law must be robust and multifaceted, and have built in components to make it viable.

“This model law must be backed by strong sanctions for offenders and proper programmes for those who are victims of cyberbullying and online exploitation, and which promotes proper use of online platforms and how to stay safe online,” she said.

GO FURTHER

In seeking to shape the proposed law, Bowden is urging CARICOM to go further and address harmful content and misinformation in the online space.

“Beyond cyberbullying and exploitation, we hope the law will also look at general protection from harmful content and ensure safeguards are in place to protect young users from inappropriate content,” Bowden said. “We also must seriously consider looking into laws that combat misinformation. The reality is that young people are increasingly relying on the digital space as their main news source.”

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley also raised similar concerns, revealing that her administration had been targeted.

“We live in a world now where fake news, regrettably, is a key part of all that we have, and where the improper use of AI (artificial intelligence) can sometimes spark great fear and panic among our citizens,” she said.

To counter the growing threat, Mottley proposed a regional truth-verification initiative.

“It is about time, therefore, that we as a region come up with a CARICOM validation mechanism, in the absence of the providers of those platforms not taking the action to validate truth any further,” said Mottley. “If we fail to do so, we put seriously at risk the stability of our democracies.

“In the last two weeks alone, my government in Barbados has had to [expose] as clear fake news, one that sought to ban President Trump from our country, one that sought to impose on Barbados travel advisories that didn’t exist,” she said.

CARICOM BLUE TICK

Mottley also stressed the need for a “CARICOM blue tick” to authenticate truth within the region, much like digital verification symbols used on social media.

“We need our own CARICOM blue tick to validate truth in this community,” she told fellow regional leaders. “We in Barbados have seen the effects of fake news firsthand. There have been concerted efforts to distort facts and mislead the public, which not only endangers our democracy, but also undermines trust in institutions.”

In supporting the direction in which Mottley wants the region to go, Bowden said there is a need for “strong and timely action to protect citizens, particularly the vulnerable, from unregulated digital spaces with fast-evolving technology that has the potential to produce great harm”.

She noted that the right to seek and distribute information should be grounded in frameworks that protect citizens from information presented as facts, with no basis in actual truths.

“As citizens, our right to know must be protected from flagrant misinformation and any attempts to cause disorder, division and distrust. Therefore, fact-checking mandates must be swiftly implemented,” she stated.

JYAN is also proposing the speedy introduction of a national cyber safety authority to respond to the rapidly changing digital space, and to work with experts to ensure policymaking is in line with the rapid pace of digital innovation.

“The authority should be given the powers and the resources to be an effective vanguard for the country’s digital security, citizens’ interest and online safety,” Bowden noted.

Brian Anderson, president of the National Secondary Student Council, said the proposed law is a positive step for student protection.

“I think it is a good initiative, especially now that more of our students are required to be online doing schoolwork or just surfing,” Anderson said. “There are many of us who are unaware of issues such as deepfake, cyberbullying, and cybercrimes. So overall, it will be a good initiative, especially for the protection of their rights and well-being in general.”

editorial@gleanerjm.com