00:00Social media shapes society and has immense potential
00:29to enhance lives and to connect us.
00:31It also has demonstrated ability to fuel conflict,
00:35incite hatred and threaten safety.
00:38When at its best, social media is a place where people
00:41with divergent views can exchange, if not always agree.
00:45When we call efforts to create safe online spaces censorship,
00:50we ignore the fact that unregulated space means
00:53that some people are silenced,
00:55in particular those whose voices are often marginalized.
00:59At the same time, allowing hatred online limits free expression
01:03and may result in real-world harms.
01:07Freedom of expression thrives when diverse voices can be heard
01:10without enabling harm or disinformation.
01:14We will continue to call for accountability and governance
01:17in the digital space in line with human rights.
01:20This safeguards public discourse, builds trust
01:23and protects the dignity of all.
01:25On behalf of the UN, I think that, you know,
01:26we're constantly watching this space and evaluating it.
01:31Up till now, our posture has been that, you know,
01:34it's important for us to be present
01:36with fact-based, you know, information.
01:42And this is what we advocate for.
01:46You know, how this will evolve, right, is we don't know yet.
01:52Our role is to provide good science-based health information.
01:56And we need to provide that wherever people are looking for it.
02:01So we will, we are being across all platforms whenever possible.
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