Debate began on the first topic of the semester, Internet Freedom and Censorship. In their opening speeches countries laid out their priorities, recognizing the need for international cooperation on internet regulations. Still, many countries, such as the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Republic of Iran, the Russian Federation, and India have reaffirmed their right to control their domestic internet and use it to amplify state propaganda. Others, such as the United Kingdom and the French Republic stood up for freedom of the internet and against the human rights violations arising from state control of online content.
Discussion quickly proceeded to a moderated caucus proposed by the Federative Republic of Brazil on the topic of Illegal Content Endangering Minors. There was broad agreement among delegates about protecting children, but a lot of disagreement over ‘from what’. The Russian Federation and the Arab Republic of Egypt spoke out against LBGTQ+ matters, the Republic of Iran and India argued for the protection of religious ideas. India proposed mandatory verification by their guardians for minors to access certain websites, while the Republic of Iran spoke out against foreign propaganda campaigns online.
Discussion of child protection online continued on the internet, only being interrupted by an unmoderated caucus. The United States argued against regulations for tech companies, while the PRC defended them. The Republic of Uzbekistan called the US hypocrites for calling for regulation of the dark web, despite pardoning a criminal in large part responsible for the dangers posed by it. The UK and the Federative Republic of Brazil have argued for liberal regulations and age verification for children, while the Republic of Iran, India and the PRC reaffirmed their need for sovereignty over the net for example by tighter controls on VPNs.