General considerations

1. These guidelines provide a strategic framework for understanding, interpreting and implementing the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions in a digital environment where cultural goods and services are created, produced, distributed, disseminated, consumed and/or stored electronically. These goods and services transmit cultural expressions through, for example, a computer program, a network, a text, a video, an image or an audio recording and are distributed through constantly evolving digitally-encoded platforms.

2. The distinctive nature of cultural activities, goods and services as vehicles of identity, values and meaning does not change in the digital environment. Consequently, the recognition of the dual nature of cultural goods and services (cultural and economic) is also applicable to cultural expressions in the digital environment or those produced with digital tools.

3. Protecting and promoting human rights and the freedom of creation, expression, information and communication in the digital environment means supporting the principles of Internet universality that promote a Human Rights-based open Internet, which is accessible to all and characterized by multi-stakeholder participation.

4. There are significant differences in the rate at which digital technologies are adopted and accessed around the world. The resulting digital divide exists between and within countries and between women and men as well as urban and rural areas, in both developed and developing countries. This has an impact on the way in which cultural goods and services are created, produced, distributed and accessed in the digital environment.

5. The accelerated expansion of social networks and user generated content (UGC), the explosion of data, the complexity of distribution models, and the proliferation of connected multimedia devices in the hands of the users have had a huge impact on the creative sector in all parts of the world. Technological changes have also led to the emergence of new players and new logics, and will continue to provide new challenges and opportunities to promote the diversity of cultural expressions and, in particular, to design relevant public policies.

6. Recalling that technological neutrality is affirmed as a principle in the Convention, these guidelines shall be interpreted and applied in relation to the Convention as a whole, thus promoting a transversal approach to the diversity of cultural expressions in the digital environment. They complement all relevant provisions of the Convention and existing guidelines that refer to digital issues and new information and communication technologies.

7. All stakeholders are encouraged to respect and promote the Convention and these guidelines, which are interlinked with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Agenda 2030) and the United Nations Guiding Principles on businesses and human rights, as well as international human rights instruments and principles. These guidelines primarily address public authorities. Non-governmental organizations, cultural and creative industries from the public and private

sectors, including global digital platforms, Internet service providers (ISP) and other actors in the digital environment, are also encouraged to follow them.

2017 Operational guidelines on the implementation of the Convention in the digital environment.pdf