A/HRC/42/58 60. During the interactive discussions which followed, the representative of Ghana noted that the countries could use artificial intelligence to track abuse. Social media platforms needed to update their engagement and ensure that abusive material was taken down. International social media companies should also partner with countries and report online abusers to the respective authorities. 61. The representative of Ethiopia commended the presenter on her presentation and said that there was more online than offline abuse. Direct social interaction was regulated by “social norms and “disciplines” but the anonymity of the Internet disinhibited people. Consequently, abuse had increased. The challenge for African countries was the lack of control over the platforms and a problem of jurisdiction. Abusers were often located in other jurisdictions. The dangers of suppressing freedom of speech or controlling the media were often misrepresented. An instrument that would discipline the platforms and social media would be useful. Those platforms were also lucrative businesses. Followers were key to the success of online personalities, abuse might be one of the factors that actually encouraged people to follow a person online. 62. The representative of Venezuela asked how abuse could be countered, if that abuse came via Internet “Bots.” Venezuela also welcomed Ethiopia’s statement on managing social networks, as the major problem of social networks was the fact that they were based outside the national jurisdiction. 63. Ms. Akiwowo agreed that “Bots” were a major problem. In particular, Bots run by foreign governments were problematic. Such foreign-run “Bots” had been used during the Black Lives Matters” campaign and the Brexit referendum, aiming at creating unrest and disagreement. 64. The representative of Niger noted that one of the most important issues when it came to online abuse was how to track it. Once cyber-crime could be tracked, such crimes could be dealt with as strict liability offences. Cybercrime was a question of security and should be dealt with as such Niger noted that the Australian experience of an official esecurity Commissioner could be replicated by other countries. The delegate also encouraged the Committee to support a UN convention on cyber security. 65. The representative of the Russian Federation agreed with representatives of Ghana, Ethiopia and other delegations, as they had identified some issues that were at the core of the problem. The Russian Federation had already introduced legislation regarding the abuse of ICT in the 1990s. She underlined that due to the multi-ethnicity of the Russian population, hate crimes were treated seriously. Other countries, such as the UK or Germany had also passed legislation on online abuse. Internet self-regulation was however, not effective. The representative pointed to recent efforts to draft resolution A/C.1/73/L.27/Rev.1 on “Developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the context of international security” and referred in its para 1.5 to “the right to privacy in the digital age, to guarantee full respect for human rights, including the right to freedom of expression.” He noted that the resolution underlined “the importance of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in the use of ICTs.” As of September, discussions on the issue would be taken up again during the 74th General Assembly and in an openended working group acting on a consensus basis that would further develop the “rules, norms and principles of responsible behaviour of States.” 66. The representative of Gabon was concerned about the issue of online abuse, in particular by the fact that it was hard to identify the perpetrator of online abuse. Anonymity in the Internet was a major problem as it made it impossible to punish the perpetrator. The delegate asked how that problem could be resolved. 67. Ms. Akiwowo replied that for civil society groups in many countries anonymity was essential, as many individuals might not be able to speak up without the protection of anonymity. She was therefore critical of the idea to limit anonymity. However, she noted that there were many cases when the perpetrator was indeed known, but not brought to justice. That was the case when it came to the issue of foreign meddling in the Brexit referendum. The perpetrators were known, but no action had been taken to persecute them. Another example involved abuse by public figures. Those people were not reprimanded for their behaviour. 29