Safeguarding and moderating the virtual conference

Conference principles and values

The 23rd International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2020: Virtual) is hosted and organized by the International AIDS Society (IAS).

AIDS 2020: Virtual encourages debate and dialogue as key elements of participation among all conference participants, including delegates, sponsors, donors, speakers and presenters, exhibitors and the media.

All participants are expected to adhere to the following principles and values:

• Be respectful and considerate.
• Be mindful of the words chosen and how they may affect others.
• Be patient.
• Speak freely, and when in disagreement, try to understand the perspectives of others.

This list is not exhaustive but describes key principles to be taken in the spirit intended. It is a guide for mutually respectful and open participation in the AIDS 2020: Virtual community.

The conference organizers oppose:

• The disruption of interactive spaces that results in the inability for dialogue and debate to take place
• The threat of physical force or verbal harassment
• Cyberbullying or trolling.

These principles and values apply to all parts of AIDS 2020: Virtual, including conference sessions, the poster exhibition, exhibition hall, Global Village, chats and other spaces for networking. While the satellite sessions and pre-conferences at AIDS 2020: Virtual are organized independently, with their respective organizers responsible for moderation and curation of the content of those sessions, these principles and values should apply. They also apply to the COVID-19 Conference (https://covid19.aids2020.org/).

The principles guide all communication and conduct in these spaces, including emails, chats, slides, videos, posters, signs or any images displayed in these spaces and interactions. In addition, egregious violations of these principles outside these spaces may, in rare cases, affect a person’s ability to participate within them.

Terms of use

Participants must be over the age of 18 years to engage with AIDS 2020: Virtual and the COVID-19 Conference. Participants agree that they will not interfere with the proper working of AIDS 2020: Virtual, nor use the conference platform:

• For any illegal purpose and cybercrime
• In conflict with any applicable law, cybersecurity ordinance, rule or regulation of any governmental authority
• In conflict with any applicable data security and protection laws, including but not limited to the European Union General Data Protection Regulation, the California Consumer Privacy Act and any other relevant data protection regulation.

Participants further agree to adhere to the principles and values of the conference as outlined above.

In practice, this means that as a conference participant, either as a registered delegate or as a visitor to the AIDS 2020: Virtual Global Village:

• You may not threaten violence against an individual or a group of people. We also prohibit the glorification of violence.
• You may not promote violence against, threaten or harass other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, caste, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, physical or intellectual disability, profession or disease.
• You may not publish or post other people’s private information (such as HIV status or other identifying features, such as home phone number and address) without their express authorization and permission.
• You may not threaten or promote terrorism or violent extremism.
• You may not engage in the targeted harassment of someone or incite other people to do so. This includes expressing a wish or hope that someone experiences physical and/or mental harm.
• You may not impersonate any other person or entity or submit any false, defamatory, offensive, harassing material or any material that violates another party’s rights of privacy and publicity.
• You may not publish offensive, untrue or illegal material.
• You may not submit unsolicited bulk or commercial messages (“spam”) to AIDS 2020: Virtual users. Any unsolicited message must also not direct the recipient to any third- party site or other resources. This excludes communication that is in line with the AIDS 2020: Virtual – Terms & Conditions by selected conference sponsors to those delegates who at the time of registration have accepted that their contact details will be shared with these sponsors.
• You may not groom another individual and/or offer or solicit inappropriate behaviour through the AIDS 2020: Virtual platform.
• Disclaimer

The information and content displayed or communicated in the context of AIDS 2020: Virtual are for informational purposes only and are not intended as medical advice or as a substitute for the medical advice of a physician. If you have any specific questions about any medical matter, you should consult your doctor or other professional healthcare provider.

The views expressed by speakers or other third parties in the context of AIDS: 2020 Virtual are those of the speaker or third party and not necessarily of the IAS.

All reasonable efforts will be made to ensure that AIDS 2020: Virtual takes place on the advertised date and time. In the event that AIDS 2020: Virtual does not take place on the advertised date and time, an alternative date and time will be scheduled. The IAS reserves the right to substitute speakers where events beyond its reasonable control prevent speakers from appearing. You accept that there will be no right to any refund or cancellation in these circumstances.

AIDS 2020: Virtual takes place online and may be subject to limitations, delays and other problems inherent to the use of the Internet, of third parties’ online platforms and of electronic communications. The IAS shall not be responsible for any delays, delivery failures, interruptions, unavailability, viruses, hacker intrusions or any damage resulting from such issues.

Activism

Peaceful protest has always been and continues to be a key element of participation at International AIDS Conferences. The conference organizers endorse freedom of expression as an essential principle in the fight against the HIV epidemic.

Peaceful protest is encouraged at AIDS 2020: Virtual. A designated activist lounge has been enabled for activists to plan actions, share ideas and review calls to action. A direct link to activism from a high-traffic area of the virtual conference platform will provide the space for activists to bring issues to the attention of AIDS 2020: Virtual delegates.

The activist lounge is not moderated by the moderation committee, but by the community activist liaison who liaises with the conference organizers. This community activist will facilitate conversations, including the process for selecting content to be profiled from a high-traffic area

of the virtual conference platform. The community activist will liaise with the moderation committee if any violation of the terms of use is perceived.

Safeguarding measures

The AIDS 2020: Virtual organizers may take any action deemed necessary or appropriate if it is believed that a user: violates the present terms of use; infringes any intellectual property right, privacy right or confidentiality principles; threatens anybody’s personal safety; or uses language that contravenes the principles and values of the conference (see above).

The Conference Secretariat will actively moderate all scheduled interactive sessions in the official conference programme, including the Global Village. Any content deemed in contravention of the present terms of use will be removed.

Reporting

If you believe someone is violating the present terms of use of AIDS 2020: Virtual, report it to the AIDS 2020: Virtual organizers by emailing [email protected]. All reports will be kept confidential.

The helpdesk in the delegate lobby area of the virtual platform is available to respond to questions in relation to accessing AIDS 2020: Virtual and will be advised to forward any reports of inappropriate behaviour to the moderation committee. To facilitate the quickest possible response, please do not contact the helpdesk to report an incident; directly email [email protected].

If you believe anyone – yourself or others – is in physical danger, please notify the appropriate law enforcement agency.

Reports can be as formal or informal as needed for the situation at hand. Please include as much information as you can. If you feel comfortable, please consider including:

• Names (real names, nicknames or pseudonyms) of any individuals involved. If there were other witnesses besides you, please try to include them as well.
• When and where the incident occurred. Please be as specific as possible (title of session, networking space, etc.).
• Your account of what occurred. Please include a link or screenshot if you can.
• Any extra context you believe existed for the incident
• Whether you believe this incident is ongoing
• Your contact phone number (so we can get in touch with you if we need to follow up)
• Any other relevant information.

You will receive an email from the AIDS 2020: Virtual moderation committee acknowledging receipt within two hours (we will aim to respond much quicker than that).

Implementation

The AIDS 2020: Virtual moderation committee will include a rotating group of senior Conference Secretariat staff and partners and will be online at all times for the duration of the pre- conferences, AIDS 2020: Virtual and the COVID-19 Conference. The satellite sessions, pre- conferences and exhibitor spaces at AIDS 2020: Virtual are organized independently, and their respective organizers have moderator access and responsibility for moderation and curation of the content of those sessions and spaces. Organizers are encouraged to inform the moderation committee by emailing [email protected] if they are experiencing challenges or behaviour contravening the present terms of use.

On receipt of a report, the moderation committee will review the incident to determine:

•  What happened and who was involved
• Whether this event constitutes a violation of the present terms of use
• Whether this is an ongoing situation and/or whether there is a threat to anyone’s physical safety.

The moderation committee may contact others involved to verify what happened and understand any different perspectives. Based on the available information about the event, the moderation committee will make a decision on how to respond.

If it is determined to be an ongoing incident or a threat to physical safety, the immediate priority will be to protect everyone involved by contacting the relevant local law enforcement agency.
Other responses include:

• Nothing, if it is determined that no violation occurred or the incident has already been appropriately resolved
• A private caution to the individual/s involved, with the intention of preventing similar action by that individual in the future
• A removal of access to AIDS 2020: Virtual
• An anonymized public reprimand, with the intention of deterring similar actions by others in the future, such as a tweet that an incident occurred in violation of the present terms of use and the organizers reserve the right to remove conference access
• Involvement of relevant law enforcement if appropriate.

After every 24-hour period, the moderation committee will make a report on the situation to the conference co-chairs. They will do so sooner or as needed if a serious incident arises.

Sanctions

The conference organizers reserve the right to deny access to participants who do not adhere to the present terms of use. If a conference participant feels that his or her access has been wrongly withdrawn, the participant will have 24 hours to appeal the decision with the conference organizers. Appeals will be considered on a case-by-case basis. In the event that cyberattack or gross breach of the present terms of use is threatened or used by a participant, the conference organizers may issue a statement about the action.

Appeals process

To appeal a decision of the moderation committee, contact the [email protected] with the details of your appeal. The matter will be raised with the moderation committee for further consideration. Decisions regarding appeals will be made within 24 hours of receiving the appeal, and the final decision will be made by the AIDS 2020 conference co-chairs.

It is not appropriate to appeal a particular decision in a public forum.

If you have a question in relation to the AIDS 2020: Virtual principles and values or the present terms of use, contact the moderation committee by emailing [email protected]