Gov't hopes 'Digital Bill of Rights' will set global standard

The Ministry of Science and ICT hopes the new digital charter unveiled last month will act as a protocol for companies and even other countries to follow in a digital era that AI is rapidly upending.

Science Ministry’s Vice Minister Park Yun-kyu[ speaks at a press event held in Jung District, central Seoul, on Friday. MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND ICT]

The Ministry of Science and ICT hopes the new digital charter unveiled last month will act as a protocol for companies and even other countries to follow in a digital era that AI is rapidly upending.

Dubbed “The Digital Bill of Rights,” the Science Ministry says the new charter serves as a framework for private companies and regulators to discuss further measures or policies related to digital technology such as AI.

The charter itself, however, is legally nonbinding.

“We hope the new charter will set the groundwork principle for digital rights for lawmakers and companies to follow, similar to the role that the country’s constitution plays in the judicial processes,” Science Ministry’s Vice Minister Park Yun-kyu said at a press event in central Seoul on Friday. “The purpose of formulating the ‘digital bill of rights’ aligns with the government’s aim to spearhead a digital society of mutual prosperity.”

The charter emphasizes five criteria that President Yoon Suk Yeol made in his keynote speech at the New York Digital Vision Forum on Sept. 21 — to ensure freedom and rights in the digital space; provide equal digital access and opportunity; build a safe, secure and trustworthy digital society; promote autonomous, creative digital innovation and promote the well-being of all humanity.

As global companies, including Korean ones, participate in the worldwide race for AI supremacy, the Science Ministry plans to form a separate governmental team to propose bills related to AI regulations and ethics.

The new charter will be introduced at the United Nations’ Global Digital Compact forum to be hosted in Seoul this month and at the AI Safety Summit and OECD Digital Rights Workshop in November.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]