G20 Osaka Leaders’ statement on preventing exploitation of the internet for terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism (VECT)

July 10, 2019

On June 29, 2019, G20 Osaka Leaders made a joint statement on preventing exploitation of the internet for terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism (VECT). The leaders of G20 reaffirmed their strongest condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and called for the full implementation of relevant UN resolutions, the UN Global Counter Terrorism Strategy and other instruments, including the 2017 Hamburg G20 Leaders’ Statement on Countering Terrorism. The Leaders once again stated their commitment to create an open, free and secure internet, where terrorists will not be able to recruit, incite or prepare terrorist acts.

Referring to the provisions of G20 Hamburg Leaders’ Statement that the rule of law applies both online and offline, the heads of the G20 states urged the online platforms to step up the ambition and pace of their efforts to prevent terrorist and VECT content from being streamed, uploaded or re-uploaded. At the same time, the online platforms should act in accordance with national and international law and with respect to human rights and fundamental freedoms such as freedom of expression and access to information.

Among the other measures to tackle the exploitation of the internet and VECT, the Leaders of G20 states mentioned the rapid development of technologies and underlined the importance of online platforms addressing the terrorist content to prevent its proliferation. The G20 Osaka Leaders welcomed online platforms’ commitment to provide regular and transparent public reporting and encouraged them to collaborate with industry, media outlets, researchers and civil society to strengthen Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT) and expand its membership to be more inclusive.

Press Service of the Embassy

of the Russian Federation