Democracy Summit ends with talks on online and media freedom

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says nations are working to 'make our democracies a little bit healthier'

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken addresses the Summit for Democracy on March 30 in Washington. AFP

The second Summit for Democracy wrapped up on Thursday, focusing mainly on internet freedom and media protection.

US President Joe Biden signed an executive order this week restricting his government's use of commercial spyware tools that have been employed to watch human rights activists, journalists and dissidents around the world.

"We are focused on using technology to try to make our democracies a little bit healthier, more prosperous, a little bit more inclusive," US Secretary Antony Blinken said at the Advancing Technology for Democracy event.

The White House also announced plans for the US Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency to link up with nine countries to work on protecting human rights and other groups at risk of transnational cyber attacks.

The summit, which opened on Wednesday, was held virtually and was followed by gatherings in each of the co-host countries on Thursday.

The Netherlands tackled discussions on media freedom, using Russia's detention of an American journalist as the most recent example.

"Around the world, democracy, human rights and rule of law are under severe threat," Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said.

"But so is media freedom. And the troubling reports on detainment of Wall Street Journal reporter, Evan Gershkovich, in Russia today is just one on a very, very long list of many."

Shocked by events after Russia's attacks on Ukraine, USAid administrator Samantha Power discussed the importance of global internet access.

Ms Power described how Internews in Ukraine, an NGO, produced a documentary that showed what happened to an eastern Ukrainian community after Russia invaded and cut off access to the internet and TV.

"This was like a throwback because the community had almost no access to any media for weeks — and they were at the centre of the biggest story in the world," she said.

Ms Power said later that the Ukrainian community found "news you can use" using radio.

The US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, represented the American delegation in Costa Rica, which focused on the role of youth in democratic systems.

South Korea hosted an event on corruption, law and justice, while Zambia took a look at ensuring free and fair elections.

The annual summits, which Mr Joe Biden promised as a candidate in 2020, have become an important piece of his administration's efforts to try to bolster democratic principles.

America saw its own democracy teeter in 2020 when former president Donald Trump refused to admit he lost the election and fuelled populist anger that erupted in the January 6, 2021 mob attack on the US Capitol.

Rights advocates say there is little evidence that the countries joining the summit have made progress on improving their democracies, and that there is no formal way to hold participants to their commitments.

Agencies contributed to this report