27 June 2023

Task Force for a Trustworthy Future Web


The Task Force for a Trustworthy Future Web will chart a clear and action-oriented roadmap for future online ecosystems to protect users’ rights, support innovation, and center trust and safety principles.

The underpinnings of our digital future are currently being molded by the decisions of technology companies, service providers, and governments across the globe. At the same time, a dedicated multistakeholder community has been working tirelessly for decades to understand and mitigate the known harms of our digital age, and illuminate paths forward. To build a digital future designed to scale human dignity and societal progress, it is essential that we facilitate collaboration now between the expanding community dedicated to understanding and protecting trust and safety, the trailblazers envisioning the next frontier of digital tools and systems, and the wider range of rights holders whose futures are at stake.

The Atlantic Council’s Democracy + Tech Initiative at the Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) has launched a multi-sector Task Force for a Trustworthy Future Web specifically to support such collaboration in 2023 and beyond. Designed to lay the groundwork for stronger cross-sectoral ideation and action in the years to come, the Task Force will set a clear and action-oriented agenda for future online ecosystems that can protect users’ rights, support innovation, and incorporate trust and safety principles.

The Task Force’s leadership comprises a diverse cohort of experts, who bring not only a wealth of subject matter expertise, but also a rare gift for perceiving broad-reaching themes and forecasting future advancements in the dynamic arenas of trust and safety, the evolution of the web, and the interconnected nature of our digital future with societal health and human progress. Reflecting a focus on broad ecosystems, the Task Force will also collaborate with key expert organizations to feed their work and organizational knowledge into the Task Force’s analysis, findings, and recommendations, as well as creating pathways for engagement on targeted areas of inquiry.

The Task Force will produce a culminating report no later than June 2023 and host a series of public and private convenings throughout that month to launch the report and to bring a wide range of stakeholders together in dialogue to envision future possibilities for collaboration. More information about the structure and timeline of the Task Force’s work can be found here. The intended outcomes and overarching principles of the Task Force can be found here.

With generous support from Schmidt Futures and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Task Force is housed at the Democracy + Tech Initiative at the Digital Forensic Research Lab; an action-oriented center producing timely research, driving policy change, and building a global coalition dedicated to ensuring human rights, transparency, and accountability in our global information ecosystem.

For further information about the Task Force, please contact futureweb@atlanticcouncil.org and stay tuned here for updates in the coming month.

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