Background

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Information integrity in the Asia-Pacific is increasingly at risk, with harmful consequences for trust and resilience within society as a whole. The World Economic Forum has identified mis/disinformation as the top global risk in the coming two years — an urgent wake-up call to the dangers posed by the unprecedented volume, velocity and virality of our information ecosystem. Current business models are centred around the provision of financial incentives and opportunities for those who peddle disinformation and hate with disproportionate impacts on migrants in vulnerable situations, minorities, Indigenous Peoples, children and other marginalized groups. Advertising funds the internet. In 2024 alone, USD $790 billion was spent on digital adervertising globally, with Asia-Pacific being the second largest market. The attention-driven dynamic of digital advertising raises human rights concerns, in the collection and use of personal data, and the monetisation of harmful narratives. Based in international human rights law and other relevant standards, the UN Global Principles for Information Integrity were launched in June 2024, offering human rights-based guidance to address the intersections between advertising and human rights for businesses including advertisers, agencies and technology companies, media, civil society, governments and the UN.

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Key Objectives

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• Unpack the business model and attention economy of digital advertising including in the context of advances in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies

• Explain the impact of hate speech and mis/disinformation on the human rights of individuals and groups in the Asia Pacific region

• Examine corporate human rights responsibilities in the context of information integrity

• Explore the possibility of building a “big tent” to uphold freedom of expression and other human rights in the regional context

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Guiding Questions

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• What are the risks to the human rights of marginalized and vulnerable groups and to societal trust and resilience in the context of weak information ecosystems?

• What tools are available to business actors in the intersections of advertising and human rights in order to enhance human rights due diligence and promote a healthy information ecosystem? 

• What is needed to build effective multistakeholder action plans and coalitions to advance the UN Guiding Principles on Information Integrity in the Asia-Pacific region?

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Format

• Panel

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Session Partners