Yesterday, 15 December, the closing event of Estonia’s year‑long chairmanship of the Freedom Online Coalition (FOC) was held in New York.
Estonia’s chairmanship continues until the end of December, after which Switzerland will assume the lead at the start of the new year. Estonia will meanwhile continue contributing actively as a member of the coalition.
Throughout its chairmanship, Estonia consistently defended the preservation of a free and secure digital environment – promoting internet accessibility, respect for human rights online, and drawing attention to the deepening global digital divide. “Restrictions on internet use and freedom of expression, manipulation of information, and surveillance in the digital space are on the rise globally, especially in authoritarian states such as Russia,” Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna emphasised. “As our daily lives move increasingly into the digital world, like‑minded countries share a responsibility to ensure that democratic values and human rights are upheld in the digital environment. This has been the guiding principle of Estonia’s chairmanship.”
One of the central objectives was to share Estonia’s experience in building a secure and citizen‑friendly e‑state. Under Estonia’s leadership, the coalition developed human‑rights‑based principles for digital public infrastructure (DPI), designed to ensure that digital infrastructure is inclusive, secure, resilient, transparent and human‑centred.
“This is the world’s first framework of its kind, placing democracy and human rights at the heart of public digital infrastructure and encouraging cooperation between the public and private sectors in creating the best digital solutions,” Tsahkna noted. “We hope these principles will guide the development of e‑governance across all member states in the future.”
During its chairmanship, Estonia organised or coordinated over 60 events and joint statements. Two high‑level meetings took place – one during the UN General Assembly High‑Level Week, focusing on the link between human rights and the digital sphere, and another as a side event of the Tallinn Digital Summit, where the DPI principles were presented. In addition, three regional dialogues were held.
The Freedom Online Coalition was established in 2011 with the aim of protecting and promoting internet freedom worldwide and shaping international decisions based on this principle. Estonia is one of the coalition’s 15 founding members; today, the group includes 42 countries committed to safeguarding human rights in the online environment.
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