May 12, 2022 Results of G7 Digital Affairs Ministers Meeting

On May 10 and 11, 2022, the G7 Digital Affairs Ministers Meeting was held in Dusseldorf, Germany, and Mr. SASAKI Yuji, Vice-Minister for Policy Coordination, attended the meeting. Digital ministers and other high-level representatives of the G7 member countries and region as well as the invited country and relevant international organizations attended the meeting and discussed topics, including data, eSafety, and standardization. As the outcomes of the meeting, the digital ministers adopted the Ministerial Declaration and also adopted the Annex on promotion of data free flow with trust (DFFT) and the Joint Declaration by the G7 Digital Ministers on cyber resilience of digital infrastructure.

1. Date

Tuesday, May 10 and Wednesday, May 11, 2022 (JST)

2. Participating countries and international organizations

G7 member countries and region: Japan, Germany (presidency), France, Italy, United Kingdom, United States, European Union
Invited country: Ukraine
International organizations: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Business 7 (B7)

3. Overview

On May 10 and 11, 2022, the G7 Digital Affairs Ministers Meeting was held in Dusseldorf, Germany.
From the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), Mr. SASAKI Yuji, Vice-Minister for Policy Coordination, attended the meeting. At the session on cyber resilience, he mentioned the importance of cyber resilience against global cyberattacks, and the necessity to take initiatives to ensure physical resilience, governance and cybersecurity for digital infrastructure, including telecommunications infrastructure. At the discussion on the ministerial declaration, he commented that in order to address issues such as disinformation and illegal and harmful content, it is necessary to maintain a free, open, reliable and undivided Internet and promote governance of the Internet through the multi-stakeholder approach.
As the outcome of this meeting, the digital ministers adopted the Ministerial Declaration. The major points of the Ministerial Declaration are as follows.

4. Major points of the Ministerial Declaration

Under the overall theme of "Stronger Together," the digital ministers first mentioned the “Joint Declaration by the G7 Digital Ministers on cyber resilience of digital infrastructure in response to the Russian war against Ukraine” and the efforts to maintain a free, global (undivided), open, interoperable, reliable and secure Internet, and then discussed and shared understanding on the following topics.

(1) Digitalisation and the Environment

• We reaffirm our commitment in the 2021 G7 Leaders’ Summit in Carbis Bay to the objective of protecting our planet and emphasise the contribution that digital solutions can make to enhancing environmental protection and reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, we recognise the rising energy and resource demands of the increasing use of digital technologies and services, such as data centres and telecommunications networks, and the environmental impacts of production, use and disposal of digital equipment and devices.
• In dialogue with stakeholders from the private sector, civil society and academia, we will seek ways to better harness digital technologies for a net zero, nature positive, and resource-efficient economy and digital ecosystem, recognising the importance of more holistic measurement of all impacts of digitalisation on the environment and climate.

(2) Standardisation

• We affirm our support for international cooperation within the G7 and with like-minded partners to support the development of open private sector-led, voluntary and consensus-based standards based on inclusive multi-stakeholder approaches in line with our open, democratic values and principles. We state again our opposition to any government-imposed approaches that fundamentally seek to reshape how technical standards are developed and further strengthen efficient and continued G7 coordination, without duplicating existing processes.
• In this context, we reiterate the need for technical standards development to continue to be underpinned by transparency, openness of process and participation, relevance, and consensus-based decision-making in line with the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Code of Good Practice and the TBT Committee Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards.

(3) Data

• We recognise that “Data Free Flow with Trust” (DFFT) underpins innovation, prosperity and democratic values. We adopt a “G7 Action Plan Promoting Data Free Flow with Trust" to continue work on this topic.
• We reaffirm our shared democratic values, our determination to realise the benefits of DFFT, and our opposition to digital protectionism. While recognising our varied approaches to data governance, we will continue to cooperate on addressing challenges raised in particular in relation to this.
• With the adoption of the G7 Action Plan for Promoting Data Free Flow with Trust, we express our commitment to strengthening the evidence base for DFFT, based on commonalities in order to foster future interoperability, continuing regulatory cooperation, promoting DFFT in the context of digital trade, and sharing knowledge about the prospects for international data spaces.

(4) Competition

• Competitive digital markets have demonstrated potential for innovation and strong, sustainable, inclusive growth of the global economy. We also recognise the need for effective competition policy instruments in view of dynamic developments in digital technologies and markets, and that new or updated regulatory and competition frameworks that address competition concerns raised by online platforms may be required to complement or adjust the existing competition policy instruments. This may be particularly important in connection with safeguarding contestability and fairness.
• Building on the recent work of the French and the UK G7 Presidencies, we decided to further deepen cooperation, in particular through existing international and multilateral fora, on digital competition issues including with regards to platforms regulation and its implementation.

(5) eSafety

• We reaffirm our commitment to improve online safety and reduce illegal and harmful content and activity on the Internet, and will continue the cooperation initiated under the UK G7 Presidency in 2021, incorporating relevant stakeholders.
• We should protect our citizens online, especially those most affected and vulnerable, in particular women and children. We call on platform providers and other relevant companies to comply with the existing rules and strengthen their voluntary measures to foster a safe online environment, in addition to their legal obligations. Their decisions and measures to combat illegal and harmful online content and activity should be transparent at global, national and regional levels, easily understood, applied consistently and in line with their Terms of Service, and respect human rights and fundamental freedoms online, such as freedom of expression.

(6) Electronic Transferable Records and Other Digital Information Related to the Transport of Goods

• Building on the Framework for G7 Collaboration on Electronic Transferable Records decided under the UK G7 Presidency in 2021, our experts from both government and industry continue to engage in dialogue on the design and implementation of appropriate legal frameworks consistent with the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records to facilitate the use and acceptance of electronic transferable records, as well as on best practices and solutions for the exchange of freight transport information and documents using electronic platforms.
• We endorse the “Principles for domestic legal frameworks to promote the use of electronic transferable records.”
• In addition, we recognize the importance of promoting legal frameworks that enable the use of electronic transferable records across borders as well as the use of digital communication by businesses with authorities to facilitate freight transport, including by supporting technical interoperability.