Holness urges Commonwealth shield against threat to democracy

OCHO RIOS, St Ann — Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has urged parliamentarians across the Commonwealth to craft a regional response to what he has described as a serious threat to democracy by those who use technology to spread misinformation and deliberately destroy reputations. “No longer can we treat this epidemic as merely the cost of doing political business. It is a threat to the democracy of our countries,” he warned Monday night.

Holness was addressed the opening ceremony for the 48th Regional Conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s (CPA) Caribbean, Americas and Atlantic (CAA) Region. The event was held at Moon Palace Jamaica in Ocho Rios. The week-long conference is being held under the theme “Strengthening Parliaments in the Digital Age”.

Holness told participants that the speed and reach of digital information are creating a new challenge for democratic societies, making it increasingly difficult for citizens to distinguish falsehoods from material that has been manufactured or deliberately manipulated. “We are entering an age in which seeing is no longer believing, and that means that you are entering an age where the public trust is far more difficult to garner, which means that it is far more difficult to manage democracy. And that represents a profound challenge for democratic societies, because democracy ultimately requires a shared basis of fact.

If citizens can no longer confidently distinguish authentic information from manufactured information, trust becomes harder to sustain,” the prime minister said. Against that background, he called for the issue to receive attention at the regional parliamentary level. “I urge the CPA to deliberate on this matter,” Holness charged.

“We may have different populations, resources, and constitutional arrangements, but we face the same challenges: cyber threats across borders, digital platforms across borders as well, artificial intelligence that crosses borders as well, and disinformation crosses borders as well,” he added. Holness acknowledged the tension between tackling harmful online content and protecting freedom of expression. “For many Caribbean countries, we consider ourselves liberal democracy, and nothing should ever be done to fetter free speech.

But we do take note of some of our European countries — and some of our North American colleagues — [that] have long come to the…