Following the fifth EU-U.S. Cyber Dialogue last month in Brussels, the United States and the European Union today released a statement reaffirming their “strong partnership in favour of a global, open, stable and secure cyberspace where the rule of law fully applies, where the same rights that individuals have offline are protected online, and where the security, economic growth, prosperity, and integrity of free and democratic societies is promoted and preserved.”
A key topic of discussion was human rights, as well as freedoms online. During the meeting, the EU and U.S. reaffirmed their commitment to human rights and “fundamental” freedoms online, as well as “condemned undue restrictions on freedom of expression and censorship in violation of international human rights law.” They also promoted the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach to internet governance, and promoted the Internet Governance Forum as the “premier multi-stakeholder venue for dialogue on Internet-related public policy issues.”
The digital divide, a frequent topic of conversation in the United States, was also discussed. Both the EU and U.S. agreed that closing the digital divide is essential to enabling “economic growth, social development, and increasing cyber resilience towards cyber threats.”
The issue of cyber warfare was also discussed and both entities recommitted to adhering to “certain voluntary, non-binding norms of responsible State behaviour in cyberspace during peacetime.” Additionally, both sides were open to the “the development and implementation of cyber confidence building measures to reduce misperceptions and the risk of escalation stemming from the use of information and communications technologies.” Both the U.S. and EU stressed their commitment to holding nations accountable for any actions that run contrary to “the growing consensus” on how states should behave in cyberspace.
The next EU-U.S. Cyber Dialogue will take place in 2019 in Washington, D.C.
