Participants from EU Member States and third states came together in Brussels for the fully residential cyber course 'Cybersecurity and International Law' co-organized by the European Security and Defence College (ESDC) with the Łódź Cyber Hub, from January 23-25, 2023.
With over 30 participants from different fields and backgrounds, the course offered an opportunity to exchange views and share best practices on cyber-related topics while improving knowledge, skills, and competencies.
Ajith Francis, Director of Policy Programs of the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network, was invited to speak about jurisdictional challenges in addressing online abuses at the course, and its relation to I&JPN work (Cross-border Access to Electronic Evidence, Cross-border Content Moderation, and DNS Level Action to Address Online Abuses).
Mr. Francis presented the I&JPN Toolkits and addressed some questions in those domains, including the topics of intermediary liability and when it is appropriate to act at the DNS level to address abuses. Mr. Francis provided learnings from I&JPN on how to address the tension between the global accessibility of online content and the extent of moderation decisions and identified applicable due-process guarantees for cross-border access to electronic evidence.
"The question of addressing abuses on the internet needs to be looked at from a systemic perspective including the clarification of the roles and responsibilities of the different actors across the internet stack while also balancing proportionality challenges", states Ajith Francis.
The program offered a practical approach to the application of international law in cyberspace. It was focused on current geopolitical challenges and pragmatic solutions.
