On 3 December 2021, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, took part in the Conference of the Freedom Online Coalition at the ministerial level dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the coalition.
In his remarks, the Latvian Foreign Minister underlined Latvia’s input to the activities of the coalition in the fight against disinformation and the strengthening of media literacy and independent media while also actively contributing to international organisations such as the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development and the United Nations Technology Facilitation Mechanism.
Edgars Rinkēvičs reaffirmed that the Internet should be a safe platform accessible to all. He underlined that not only is freedom online a human rights issue, it is also a prerequisite for societal security. The coalition will have to make further effort to achieve a greater responsibility and transparency of both online platforms and governments.
The Freedom Online Coalition was established in 2011, and Latvia joined it in 2012. Finland is chairing the work of the coalition in 2021.