A British minister said that governments, tech leaders and policymakers discussed working together to ensure the internet remains open and democratic, and to improve online safety by better regulation at a conference in London.
The two-day Future Tech Forum, which was the end of Britain's G 7 Digital and Tech Presidency, was built on a declaration in April to create a more productive and resilient global economy with digital technology at its heart, Minister for Tech and Digital Economy Chris Philp told Reuters.
In an interview on Tuesday, he said that the conference was about setting the future agenda for the way we cooperate and collaborate on technology.
It was about how we can harness technology for good, around climate change, health challenges, and around tackling global problems like the digital divide. Britain is taking a lead in stepping up the regulation of social media platforms with its proposed online safety legislation.
Philp said policy makers at the forum, who came from countries such as the United States, South Korea, and Finland, wanted to co-operate in developing tech regulation.
Most countries represented here want to make sure that the benefits of tech can be fully embraced and protected while at the same time protecting the public, he said.
We'll be going further than any other country to regulate social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and TikTok. UK Secretary of State for Digital Nadine Dorries told the conference that it was closed to media.
Big tech companies could face up to 10% of their turnover if they don't remove and limit the spread of illegal content, such as child sexual abuse.