Korea, OECD to launch digital society initiative, with plans to introduce ‘Digital Bill of Rights’

A digital society initiative, jointly led by the Republic of Korea and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), will officially kick off this week to discuss global governance on artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The initiative, set to open Monday, will function as a global policy platform aimed at helping OECD members form a digital society for shared prosperity, according to the country’s Ministry of Science and ICT.

In a statement carried by Yonhap, the ministry said it plans to introduce the “Digital Bill of Rights”, which revolves around the five principles of freedom, fairness, safety, innovation and solidarity for the establishment of a new digital order, to OECD members of the initiative. The digital bill of rights was proposed by the Korean government last year as part of efforts to build an appropriate regulatory system to respond to possible risks deriving from the evolution of AI and digital technologies.

“President Yoon Suk Yeol has led the international society’s discussion on digital regulations through his New York Initiative, Paris Initiative and the New York Digital Vision Forum,” said Song Sang-hoon, deputy minister of the office of ICT policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT. “The OECD Digital Society Initiative will expand the discussion on the OECD level.”