The United States is committed to pushing back vigorously on authoritarian governments’ increasing use of technology to abuse human rights and undermine democracy, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken during the Summit for Democracy in Seoul, South Korea.
“That starts with shoring up our resilience against efforts by autocratic governments to sow distrust in democracy, to weaken our institutions, to reach across borders, to target people in our countries. A key part of that is countering the disinformation and misinformation that authoritarian governments spread to polarize our societies.”
The U.S. is working to help people living under repressive regimes, like Iran, get access to digital tools, including the uncensored internet, said Secretary Blinken:
“Last September, when the killing of Mahsa Amini by Iran security forces sparked months of massive protests, the regime cracked down viciously, killing hundreds of people, imprisoning tens of thousands more and routinely shutting down the internet. In response, we teamed up with companies and civil society groups to help provide the Iranian people with ongoing access to the internet and other vital communications tools so that they could continue to communicate with one another and with the outside world shine a spotlight on the regime's abuses.”
It's not just Iran where the private sector and civil society are working with democratic governments to push back against digital authoritarianism. Since Russia launched its full scale invasion of Ukraine in February of 2023, businesses and citizens from the United States and other democracies have been on the frontlines helping Ukraine defend its independence, explained Secretary Blinken:
“These volunteers have helped maintain connectivity for Ukrainian government institutions and citizens despite the relentless attacks, providing the Ukrainian government with free access to a secure cloud to store sensitive national databases, helping to counter Moscow's disinformation campaigns on social media.”
“Ultimately, we feel optimistic about democracy's ability to deliver in a period where technology is once again ... reorganizing the life of the world,” said Secretary Blinken. “For all of the challenges that these disruptive technologies present, no system of government is better equipped to drive the forces that they represent in improving our people's lives than democracy.”
