Urgent call for international lawmakers to institute new transparency and accountability standards for Big Tech
We, the Global Coalition for Tech Justice and other signatories of this present statement, are alarmed by the escalation of Elon Musk’s war on democratic institutions, reflecting broader absence of accountability for Big Tech giants. Social media platforms are failing to protect the integrity of our democracies and rights, and escaping all accountability, particularly in the Global Majority far from corporate headquarters.
Over the past months, Elon Musk has been in a public fight against Brazilian Authorities over requests issued by the country’s Supreme Court for the suspension of hundreds of accounts and posts spreading mis- and disinformation and incitements to violence, including the organization of the Brasilia Riots following the last elections. Despite the requests being made under legally instituted inquiries, X’s CEO has not only refused to suspend accounts and provide information to the court, but he has more recently been taking this fight to a more public stage.
The casualties of Elon Musk’s actions are Brazilian democratic sovereignty and its citizens in the digital sphere. Since April this year, Musk has stated that X will no longer comply with take down orders issued by the court and in August announced the closing of X’s offices in Brazil. The effect of Musk’s decision would have meant X continuing to monetise its digital services to Brazilian online users, while escaping accountability for failures to comply with Brazil’s democratic laws and institutions. It is unsurprising that Brazil’s Supreme Court is moving to establish a temporary suspension of X in the country, resulting in users having their access to the site restricted. This is a regrettable turn of events arising from a tech CEO’s refusal to be accountable.
Unfortunately, this is part of a familiar pattern in which Elon Musk defies the law and escapes accountability. Recently, in the UK, X was one of the principal platforms involved in the spread of misinformation and hate speech that provoked the onset of racist riots. Musk fanned the flames of the highly volatile situation with inflammatory tweets to his 193 million followers on X and echoed discredited far-right claims against the UK Government. In Australia, Musk partially refused to comply with a global takedown order issued by the eSafety Commission by geoblocking contents exclusively in the country. And in the EU, the European Commission has started formal proceedings against X for breaching the Digital Services Act; Musk is now engaged in a war of words with Commissioner Thierry Breton, which has included crude insults against the EU official. We are concerned that recent regulations in the Global North do not seem to be having a dissuasive effect on Big Tech; this suggests they are not robust enough to deal with the scale and depth of the challenge.
We are deeply troubled by Elon Musk’s disdain for democratic laws and institutions; his ownership, mismanagement and misuse of a leading global social media platform, part of our collective online civic space, is reckless and dangerous. It is clearly generating harm for peace and democracy around the world.
Sadly, this is symptomatic of the wider absence of accountability for Big Tech giants and their failure to protect the integrity of our information environment and cornerstones of democracy, including free and fair elections. In each major vote during this year’s worldwide elections megacycle, we have seen a proliferation of online mis-and-disinformation, hate speech, gender-based harassment and racist violence, amongst other harms. Big Tech giants don’t seem to care, particularly across the Global Majority, furthest from corporate headquarters.
We call on international policymakers to work together to institute new rules for the transparency and accountability of Big Tech firms, wherever they offer services and influence our ability to enjoy democracy and human rights. This is our demand for global tech justice now.
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Signatories
Organisations part of the Global Coalition for Tech Justice\
- #jesuislà
- #MeRepresenta
- #ShePersisted
- 7amleh – The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media
- Africa Sans Haine
- AfroLeadership
- AI Forensics
- Al Bawsala
- Aliança Nacional Lgbti+
- ALQST for Human Rights
- Amandla.mobi
- Amnesty International, Kenya
- ARIJ
- Article 19 Eastern Africa
- Associação Alternativa Terrazul
- Avaaz
- Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication
- Bareedo Platform Somalia
- Beam Reports
- Bullyid App – NMA Foundation
- Business and Human Rights Resource Centre
- Campaign On Digital Ethics (CODE)
- Casa Hacker
- Center for AI Ethics and Governance in Africa – CAIEGA
- Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD)
- Center for Legal Support
- Centre for Media Research – Nepal
- Centro Latinoamericano de Investigaciones Sobre Internet
- Check First
- Check My Ads
- Civic Tech Field Guide
- Civil Society Advocacy Network On Climate Change and the Environment Sierra Leone (CAN-SL)
- Co – Creation Hub (CcHUB)
- Coalizão Negra por Direitos
- Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA)
- Common Cause Zambia
- Common Good Foundation
- Community Focus Foundation Ghana (CFF-Ghana)
- Conectas Direitos Humanos
- Conscious Ad Network
- Consortium of Ethiopian Human Rights Organizations (CEHRO)
- Council for Responsible Social Media in Kenya
- Dante
- Daraj Media
- Datalat Foundation
- Defend Democracy
- Democracia em Xeque
- DAWN
- Desinformante & Aláfia Lab
- Digital Access
- Digital Citizenship
- Digital Humanities Lab (Federal University of Bahia
- Digital Rights Foundation
- Digital Rights Lab – Sudan
- Digital Rights Lawyers Initiative
- Disarm Foundation
- DUKINGIRE ISI YACU
- Ekō
- Ethikai
- European Partnership for Democracy
- Fair Vote UK
- FALA
- FEMALE Organization
- Foresight Generation Club
- Friends of Democracy
- Friends of the Earth U.S.
- Frontiers For Gender Advocacy, Accountability & Empowerment Initiative
- Fundación Internet Bolivia
- Global Action Plan
- Global Digital Citizenship Lab, York University
- Great Hope Foundation Malawi
- Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)
- Helen Suzman Foundation
- Hindus for Human Rights
- Hope and Courage Collective
- Human Rights Journalists Network Nigeria
- HuMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement
- Hungarian Civil Liberties Union
- IDDLAC (Contextual)
- India American Muslim Council
- India Civil Watch International
- Inform Africa
- Innovation for Change Middle East and North Africa
- INSM for Digital Rights in Iraq
- Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD)
- Instituto Vero
- International Council of Indian Muslims (ICIM)
- International Media Support
- International Press Institute
- IPANDETEC
- Itaka International
- Jordan Open Source Association (JOSA)
- Jordan Transparency Center
- Journalists for Human Rights
- Judith foundation
- Julie Reintjes (Privacy International)
- Koneta Hub
- Law and Public Policy Center
- Lawyers Hub
- Legal Dignity
- Legal Grounds Institute
- Legal Resources Centre
- LoveAid Foundation
- LOVE-Storm – Together Against Online Hate
- Me Representa
- Media Alliance of Zimbabwe
- Media Monitoring Africa
- Misbar
- Myanmar Internet Project
- National Democratic Institute
- Netlab-UFRJ
- News Literacy Lab
- NOSSAS
- Open Britain
- Open Knowledge Foundation
- Panos Institute Southern Africa
- Paradigm Initiative
- Pen to Paper
- People Vs Big Tech
- Pollicy
- Real Facebook Oversight Board
- REDE NACIONAL DE COMBATE À DESINFORMAÇÃO
- Research Tree
- Rinascimento Green
- Salamat Dz
- Samir Kassir Foundation
- Sleeping Giants Brasil
- SMEX
- Social Movement Technologies
- SocialTIC
- Society for Environment and Education
- Stitching The London Story
- Tech Global Institute
- Tech Justice
- Tech4Peace
- TEDIC
- The African Middle Eastern Leadership Project (AMEL)
- The Citizens
- The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy
- The Visual Activist
- Transparency International EU
- Ubunteam
- Verify-Sy
- Webfala Digital Skills for all Initiative
- West Africa ICT Action Network
- WITNESS
- Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET)
- YODET
- Youth and Society (YAS)
- Zambian Cyber Security Initiative Foundation
Individuals part of the Global Coalition for Tech Justice
- Aashka Raval
- Amira Galal
- Anna Grace Calhoun
- Anne Oloo
- Anriette Esterhuysen
- B.V. Alaka
- Bárbara Paes
- Bram Fudzulani
- Camilla Machuy
- Cheryl Akinyi
- Cosima Wiltshire
- Danielle Novaes
- Dima Samaro
- Dr. Michael Strautmann
- Dr. Simon Kruschinski
- Ella Shoup
- Eya Oueslati
- Fatuma Nyirenda
- Francesca Edgerton
- Guendalina Simoncini
- Idayat Hassan
- Ingrid Farias
- Karina Mendoza
- Karyn Caplan
- Keerti Rajagopalan
- Kirsten Fiedler
- Kyle Taylor
- Lotanang Marothe
- Luis Serrano
- Luise Koch
- Luiz Eugenio Scarpino Junior
- Manuel Alejandro Baron Romero
- Maria Paula Russo Riva
- Martin Kapenda
- Michaela Nakayama Shapiro
- Mostafa Fouad
- Nasiru Deen
- Natalia Albert
- Natalia Zuazo
- Nevine Ebeid
- OUSSEMA REZGUI
- Pablo Nunes
- Raymond Amumpaire
- Ricardo de Holanda Melo Montenegro
- Rima Sghaier
- Sam Phiri
- Seble G. Workneh
- Seongkyul Park
- Sev
- Tundun Folami
- Wathata Kinyua Foundation
- Yasmin Curzi
Other signatories
- Movimento Mega
- COAR Notícias
- Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH)
- MíDI – Laboratório de Mídias Digitais e Internet
- Plataforma Ocorre Diário
- EMERGE-UFF – Centro de Pesquisas e Produção em Comunicação e Emergência
- InovaCom-UFPA – Grupo de Pesquisa Inovação e Convergência na Comunicação
- Aqualtune Lab
- Instituto Nupef
- Instituto de Referência em Internet e Sociedade (IRIS)
- Oxfam Brasil
- Coletivo Digital (CODI SP/Brasil)
- Jararaca: Laboratório de Tecnopolíticas Urbanas
- LAVITS – Rede Latinoamericana de Estudos em Vigilância, Tecnologia e Sociedade
- Pimentalab – Laboratório de Tecnologia, Política e Conhecimento da Unifesp