GRIDS convenes 5th international meeting with Public-Private Partners for prevention of dangerous substance trafficking through the Internet
Vienna, 30 March 2022 - The Global Rapid Interdiction of Dangerous Substances (GRIDS) Programme of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) held a three-day Inter-regional Stakeholder Consultation on Public-Private Partnerships for Prevention of Dangerous Substance Trafficking through the Internet, on 21, 23, and 24 March 2022.
The meeting aimed to build on the achievements of four previous expert group meetings, stakeholder consultations, and inter-regional workshops organized by the SINCB operational projects on new psychoactive substances (NPS) and non-medical synthetic opioids to promote voluntary cooperation between Governments and their private sector partners from the Internet-related service industry. It followed up, especially on the workshops held in Bangkok, Thailand in January 2019 and in Hanoi, Viet Nam in December 2019; the online workshop held in July 2021; and the hybrid expert group meeting in July 2020, which focused on cooperation between Governments and various types of legitimate Internet-related service providers (including social media companies, Internet registries/registrars, and search engines) to prevent illicit trafficking of NPS and non-medical synthetic opioids online.
Nearly 90 representatives and experts from 20 Governments, six international organisations, non-profit organizations, and academic institutions along with nine Internet-related service providers (including regional Internet registries (RIRs), domain name registries and registrars, search engines, messaging service platforms, Internet service providers, and industry associations) were brought together in this meeting to share their respective experiences in preventing misuse of legitimate Internet-related services. The participants highlighted the problems of content abuse, web spam, the misuse of messaging services for dangerous substance trafficking, and also discussed next steps for promoting voluntary cooperation between Governments and their private sector partners, as well as facilitating networking among the relevant experts and practitioners from the two sectors.
On Day 1, the meeting participants provided a detailed overview of how the Internet ecosystem is organized; the individual roles and responsibilities of registries and registrars; their cooperation with international organizations and law enforcement agencies; and the policies and regulations concerning the illicit sale of dangerous substances online, as well as the potential liability of actors involved in their trafficking. The participants also highlighted the positive role of establishing "trusted notifier" relationships under the "Framework to Address Abuse".
On Day 2, the participants focused on web spam and the various strategies and tools they use to monitor and mitigate the misuse of their platforms for trafficking of dangerous substances online. They also shared the successes achieved by voluntarily establishing public-private partnerships in keeping the online space clean in compliance with mutual agreements and the local laws and regulations on the illicit sale of dangerous substances online.
The GRIDS Programme is the International Narcotics Control Board´s global initiative addressing the international trafficking aspects of emerging dangerous substances.
Operationally launched in February 2020, the INCB Global Rapid Interdiction of Dangerous Substances (GRIDS) Programme contributes to implementation of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 73/192 and CND Resolution 62/8, which calls for international cooperation to address and counter the world drug problem, by responding to requests by Member States to enhance their law enforcement capacity to detect and identify new psychoactive substances and promote intelligence-sharing and cross-border cooperation. Offered under the GRIDS Programme, Project ION, the OPIOIDS Project, and the IONICS platform are practical tools to help Member States prevent and address illicit manufacture, marketing, movement, and monetization of dangerous new psychoactive substances (NPS), fentanyl-related substances, and their precursors, through the exchange of information and intelligence, operational cooperation as well as public-private partnerships.
The GRIDS Programme receives generous support from the Governments Canada, Japan, and the United States. In particular, the present event was made possible through the support of the Government of Japan.
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