UNESCO Launches Multistakeholder Action Plan to Empower Users on Digital Platforms

erving as a Companion Document to the “Guidelines for the Governance of Digital Platforms,” the Action Plan places user empowerment at the heart of human-rights-based digital governance. It supports the operationalization of the Guidelines, providing clear direction for how different stakeholder groups can put its core principles into practice through MIL strategies.

The launch took place at the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) High-Level Event 2025 in Geneva, during a UNESCO-led session titled “Action Line C9: Media – Towards a Resilient Information Ecosystem.” Speakers from regulatory authorities, international organizations, and the private sector discussed the challenges of digital platforms’ governance, in particular crisis-driven information flows and disinformation, limited platform transparency, and the need for strong user empowerment efforts.

UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, Tawfik Jelassi, stated:

Media and Information Literacy is one of the most powerful tools we have to ensure users are not only protected but actively empowered in the digital environment. This Action Plan provides a bridge between our global “Guidelines for Governance of Digital Platforms” and the everyday realities users face online. It is a cornerstone in our broader strategy for fostering inclusive, rights-based digital spaces.

The Action Plan sets out four priority areas for user empowerment:

• Advancing users’ understanding of digital platforms,

• Increasing users’ control and agency,

• Enhancing their effective engagement in reporting and redress mechanisms,

• Facilitating access to discoverable, reliable information.

The Action Plan mobilizes a wide range of stakeholders—including regulators, platforms, civil society, media, educational institutions, and digital content creators—to adopt concrete actions, from embedding MIL into platform design and governance, to strengthening user rights and capacities at all levels.

Frédéric Bokobza, Deputy Director General at ARCOM (French Regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication), emphasizing the role of regulators as key actors in leading national governance systems and strategies to ensure platforms respect and compliance with the relevant standards, said: 

As France’s communication regulator, Arcom underscores the critical role of user empowerment through MIL, not only by actively implementing its own MIL initiatives, but also by recognizing UNESCO’s Action Plan as a pivotal framework for shaping inclusive and forward-looking strategies that foster informed, resilient digital citizens.

The Action Plan is part of UNESCO’s ongoing commitment to supporting the implementation of the Roadmap of the Global Forum of Networks of Regulators, which recognizes user empowerment through MIL as a key priority. Its development was partially supported through UNESCO’s ‘Social Media 4 Peace’ project, funded by the European Union, which aims to strengthen societal resilience to online harmful content, in particular hate speech and disinformation, while promoting freedom of expression.