We, the undersigned,
believe that freedom of expression is fundamental,
that social responsibility is equally important and that a balance has to be
struck between these two principles;
note that hate speech and incitement to hatred on the Internet is increasing,
that uncountable instances of hate speech and incitement to hatred, of cyber
bullying and stalking undermine the online atmosphere and are harmful to
everyone, that online hate contributes to, and feeds extremism, radicalisation
and violence in real life, while cyber bullying and stalking further erode the
environment and safety of citizens;
agree that harmful online behaviour concerns us all and we have the power to
stop it or at least curb it and that we, representatives of the Internet
industry, NGOs, private users, members of the media, politicians and others
accept our responsibility for creating a better online environment for all
Internet users;
In order to achieve this, we have agreed
a set of common values and goals, as follows:
1. We pledge to use, uphold and enforce online
language and behaviour that is respectful of others, whatever their age,
descent, nationality, creed, religion, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation
and to use language that unites rather than divides;
2. We commit to use language and behaviour in accordance with international
human rights standards as laid down in the United Nations Universal Declaration
of Human Rights and to conduct ourselves with civility and with respect for
others;
3. We will not allow the singling-out or scapegoating of individuals or groups
because of their descent, nationality, creed, religion, ethnicity, gender or sexual
orientation;
4. While using the Internet in our professional and private lives, we will strive to create Rules of Behaviour, Terms of Service, Codes of Conduct and such that are in line, and will promote, the principles laid out in this charter;
5. We, different Internet stakeholders, will strive to work closer together in finding and applying methods to curb the propagation of hate speech and incitement to violence on the Internet, including by adhering to our own Terms of Service;
6. We pledge to empower victims of cyber hate, and in particular to aid them in justifiable complaints to Internet service providers and social media platforms who fail to provide accessible complaints mechanisms or fail to remove hate messages that breach terms of service;
7. We pledge to work on media responsibility and to educate users, to raise awareness and to establish and enforce strong guidelines for media use, to emphasize editorial responsibility and to pursue efficient and objective moderation.
