Iniciativa Portuguesa do FGI 2023 — In-Depth Report: Minutes Digest & 3-Line Summary

The 3-Line Summary

On 12 July 2023 the 10th Portuguese FGI initiative met at ANACOM headquarters in Lisbon, organising its agenda around the UN Global Digital Compact (GDC).
Four sessions — connecting everyone, data governance and misleading content, internet fragmentation and the digital commons, and AI regulation — fed the Mensagens de Lisboa 2023.
It is a clear example of a national IGF pre-negotiating positions on a global instrument: the GDC would be adopted at the UN the following year.

Welcome — this is the Japan IGF Support Organization. This in-depth report on Iniciativa Portuguesa do FGI 2023 draws on official outputs, session records and on-site reporting. In a hurry? The three lines above and the diagrams carry the gist.

Conference at a Glance (from official records)

Item	Detail
Official name	Iniciativa Portuguesa do FGI 2023
Edition	10th edition ('10ª edição' per the official page)
Dates	12 July 2023
Venue	ANACOM headquarters, Lisbon; online participation available
Theme	The UN Global Digital Compact (GDC)
Outcome	'Mensagens de Lisboa 2023' outcome document

(See the source list at the end of this article.)

Discussion Digest — from the Session Records

Key exchanges extracted from session records and transcripts.

1. Connecting Everyone — Schools and the Last Mile

Sessions: Session 1 (connectivity and digital inclusion)

'Connectivity is an essential vector for online inclusion' (Mensagens 2023, translated from Portuguese) [1][2]
Territorial coverage, affordability and digital literacy were discussed alongside pro-competitive spectrum and fibre policy [1][2]

2. Data Governance and Trust — The Growing 'Digital Asymmetry'

Sessions: Session 2 (data, trust and misleading content)

'Digital asymmetry is an increasingly worrying fact' — dark patterns and AI-driven manipulation widen the power gap around consumers (Mensagens 2023, translated from Portuguese) [2]
Regulators across EU member states were urged to balance protection with innovation [2]

3. Internet Fragmentation and the Digital Commons — Messages for the GDC

Sessions: Session 3 (fragmentation and the digital commons)

Preserving the open Internet against censorship, surveillance and commercial enclosure was set as the baseline position for the GDC (then due September 2024) [1][2]
Lise Fuhr of the IGF Leadership Panel discussed linking the global process to national dialogue [1][2]

4. AI Regulation — Regulate Uses, Not the Technology

Sessions: Session 4 (AI regulation; Kilian Gross of DG CONNECT presented the EU AI Act)

Regulation should target applications rather than AI technology itself — 'intelligent regulation' (Mensagens 2023, translated from Portuguese) [1][2][3]
Technology-neutral rules balancing innovation and fundamental rights were endorsed, with the then-in-negotiation EU AI Act as the reference [1][2][3]

Three-Minute Short Talk — Your Questions Answered

Q. What was this?

A. The 10th edition of Portugal's national IGF, held 12 July 2023 at regulator ANACOM's headquarters, devoted to shaping national input to the UN's Global Digital Compact.

Q. What was the headline debate?

A. AI regulation. A European Commission official walked through the EU AI Act, and the forum endorsed regulating uses of AI rather than the technology itself.

Q. Why care?

A. The GDC was adopted at the UN in 2024 and binds the debate worldwide, and use-based AI regulation has become the dominant model far beyond Europe.

What Is Portugal IGF? (for first-time readers)

Portugal IGF is a National or Regional IGF Initiative (NRI), aligning local internet governance discussion with global IGF principles.

Why It Matters to You

What was discussed here becomes the baseline for national digital policy, platform rules and AI regulation worldwide within a few years. The principles confirmed at the 2023 meeting are the foundation of the "next rules" for the phones, social platforms and AI services you use every day.