National Cybersecurity Strategy Establishes U.S. Position in Global AI Governance Discussions

Line of Effort 5: Advance a Common, Rights-Respecting Vision for the Digital Future

Digital solidarity is built on a shared commitment to human-rights based technology governance. The Advancing Digital Democracy (ADD) initiative, launched by USAID at the Summit for Democracy in 2021, fosters an open, secure, and inclusive digital ecosystem through programs such as partnerships with governments, private sector and civil society to strengthen legal and regulatory frameworks for data and digital technologies, and increased support for software engineers, tech companies, and researchers working to embed respect for human rights and democratic values across the tech lifecycle. In April 2022, the United States and 60 countries launched the Declaration for the Future of the Internet (DFI), bringing together a broad, diverse coalition of partners around a common, rights-respecting vision for an open, interoperable, reliable, and secure digital future. As chair of the Freedom Online Coalition in 2023, the United States prioritized protecting fundamental freedoms online; countering and building resilience to the misuse of digital technologies; advancing norms, principles, and safeguards regarding the development and use of artificial intelligence; and strengthening digital inclusion. Similarly, the United States, working with 13 other countries, launched the Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse. This partnership, which emerged from the first Summit for Democracy, is a response to the need to address technology-facilitated gender-based violence as part of a shared global agenda to promote peace, security, and stability.

The United States will continue working with allies and partners to ensure digital technologies are used in a responsible and rights-respecting manner. Along with 45 partners, the United States endorsed in March 2023 Guiding Principles on Government Use of Surveillance Technologies, which are intended to prevent the misuse of surveillance technologies by governments. In addition, the Department of State will continue to advance programs that enable at-risk, vulnerable, and marginalized populations, or those who protect them, to prepare for, prevent, identify, investigate, and obtain remedy for digital abuses or other types of digital repression.

The United States supports several multistakeholder efforts working to address a range of online challenges while respecting freedoms of opinion and expression, including the Christchurch Call to Action in 2019, the French-led Child Online Protection Laboratory, Freedom Online Coalition, and the Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse. The United States will continue to advocate for a rights-respecting approach consistent with protecting freedoms of opinion and expression and promoting gender equity and equality as governments around the world propose increased regulation of online platforms.

Further strengthening domestic policy will enable deeper coordination with international partners on a range of digital issues. The Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence, for example, has reinforced the position of the United States in international discussions on the governance of AI. The National Cybersecurity Strategy supports legislative efforts to impose robust, clear limits on the ability to collect, use, transfer, and maintain personal data and provide strong protections for sensitive data like geolocation and health information. The NCS specifically calls for this legislation to mitigate privacy risks arising from data processing and set national requirements to secure personal data.