Representatives from the U.S. Department of State, including Jennifer Bachus, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy; and Allison Peters, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; as well as Jaisha Wray, Assistant Administrator for the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, will travel to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the UN's 19th annual Internet Governance Forum (IGF) from December 15-19, 2024. IGF is the preeminent venue for bringing together stakeholders from around the world to discuss Internet-related public policy issues.
The United States has long advanced a multi-stakeholder process for Internet governance and digital policy processes that builds capacity for meaningful global connectivity and facilitates interoperability, inclusiveness, and a rights-respecting approach. Consistent with these goals and its strong support for human rights and fundamental freedoms both online and offline, the United States will use its participation at the IGF to continue urging governments in the region and globally to ensure all persons can express themselves freely and without fear of prosecution, surveillance, censorship, or other reprisal, consistent with governments' obligations under international law. This year's IGF is an opportunity to listen to the views and priorities of diverse stakeholders from around the world and advance U.S. priorities and values on a broad range of digital policy issues such as rights-respecting approaches to technology governance, countering ransomware, digital solidarity, multilingualism, and child online safety.
