Marking its 20 years, the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2025 will take place in Norway from 23 to 27 June 2025, focused on the theme of ‘Building Digital Governance Together’.
The Forum is divided into following sub-themes: trust and resilience; sustainable and responsible innovation; access and rights; and digital cooperation.
This year’s IGF is crucial, as the event will be shaping the future of the internet and of the Internet Governance Forum, in the lead up to the WSIS+20 meeting in December 2025.
ARTICLE 19 will be taking part in a number of events, including:
Day 0 event #123: Making the WSIS+20 moment deliver digital rights and justice
Monday, 23 June | 9:00-10:00 CEST | Workshop Room 1
ARTICLE 19’s Senior Global Advocacy Advisor Anna Oosterlinck will contribute to the workshop assessing the impact of the World Summit on the Information Society 20 years on, and considering its future.
This session will provide a space for civil society to brainstorm on how to reclaim the WSIS vision of the ‘people-centred, inclusive, development-oriented’ information society in the contemporary conjuncture – particularly the society-wide transformations that data-driven and AI technologies have wrought, while at the same time address persistent challenges for digital inclusion. It will enable a joint reflection on what civil society organisations seek from the WSIS+20 review outcomes, with respect to furthering meaningful progress on the digital rights and structural justice agenda.
Day 0 event #255: Update required: Fixing tech sector’s role in conflict
Monday, 23 June | 14:45-15:45 CEST | Workshop Room 3
ARTICLE 19’s Senior Legal Officer Chantal Joris will take part in a workshop discussing the growing role of tech companies in conflict.
The session will explore:
- How tech companies contribute to conflict dynamics through providing infrastructure, platform governance and AI-driven surveillance;
- The challenges posed by the business relationships of tech companies with governments or other actors accused of war crimes;
- Actualising corporate responsibility of tech companies operating in conflict zones, including compliance with heightened human rights due diligence;
- The challenges of responsible disengagement and the risks of complicity when withdrawing from conflict zones;
- What accountability mechanisms exist (or should be developed) to ensure corporate compliance with international humanitarian law and requirements of heightened due diligence.
WS #395: Applying International Law Principles in the Digital Space
Tuesday 24 June | 14:45-15:45 CEST | Workshop Room 3
ARTICLE 19’s Senior Legal Officer, Chantal Joris will contribute to the workshop examining how established international legal frameworks apply to state conduct in digital spaces.
The workshop will explore the evolving interpretations of state responsibility, human rights obligations in the digital realm, and the application of international humanitarian law to information and disinformation operations in pre- and conflict situations.
The session forms part of a series of regional and global multi-stakeholder consultations, led by the Danish Institute for Human Rights and the International Commission of Jurists under the Digital Democracy Initiative, conducted in connection with a new global policy initiative to develop global legal principles on existing international law obligations and responsibilities to counter human rights harms in the digital civic space.
Open Forum #35: Addressing International Crimes Enabled by Cyber Operations
Wednesday, 25 June | 13:15-14:45 CEST | Conference Hall
ARTICLE 19’s Senior Legal Officer, Chantal Joris will take part in the forum focused on the growing use of cyber operations as tools of conflict and coercion and the challenges this poses for global security, human rights, and international justice.
This session will explore how international criminal law – within both national and international judicial systems – can strengthen global cybersecurity by addressing core international crimes (genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and aggression) enabled by conduct in cyberspace. It will spotlight the forthcoming policy on cyber-enabled crimes by the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Office of the Prosecutor (OTP), which marks a significant milestone in investigating and prosecuting such crimes at the international level. The session will also showcase key findings from Chatham House’s upcoming research paper on the prosecution of cyber-enabled international crimes before both international and national courts.
WS #152: A competition & rights approach to digital markets
Wednesday, 25 June | 15.45-17.00 CEST | Workshop Room 5
Martha Tudón, Digital Rights Officer at ARTICLE 19 Mexico and Central America and André Boselli, Head of the Program for ICTs Ecosystems at ARTICLE 19 Brazil and South America will take part in the discussion on the growing economic power of AI companies and digital platforms, and their implications for human rights and democratic processes.
The session will focus on:
- The impact of platform monopolies on human rights, examining how AI and data-centric, attention-driven business models lead to the exploitation of user data, limit consumer choice, and perpetuate a cycle of dependency while undermining democratic principles and human rights;
- Regulation of AI and platform conduct and structures, especially to promote a more diverse and competitive digital market;
- Exploration of the intersection between human rights and economic interests, with a focus on creating regulatory solutions that support both innovation and fundamental freedoms in digital spaces;
- Practical regulatory solutions that promote accountability, fairness, and transparency in the digital ecosystem.
Best Practice Forum: Securing Access to the Internet and Protecting Core Internet Resources in Contexts of Conflict and Crises
Thursday, 26 June | 14:00-15:15 CEST | Conference Hall
ARTICLE 19’s Senior Legal Officer Chantal Joris will take part in the Best Practice Forum examining the importance of securing internet access and protecting core Internet resources in contexts of conflict and crisis situations.
The session on ‘Protecting Internet Infrastructure and general access during times of crisis and conflict‘ at the IGF2024 pointed to the need for work to be done to clarify the roles and responsibilities of the multistakeholder internet community – and the institutions that are part of it – with regard to securing and protecting core Internet resources and access to the Internet for civilians in contexts of conflicts and crises.
The Best Practice Forum aims to analyse key issues, challenges and needs from the perspective of various role players and stakeholder groups. It will assess what work has been done, identify good practices and gaps and aim to set a forward-looking agenda for protecting the public core of the internet and securing access in contexts of conflict and crisis, adopting a holistic approach to crisis: preparing for crisis, prevention and protection under legal frameworks, resilience, mitigating impacts, and rebuilding/recovery.