The face of war is changing. With cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, exploding pagers and walkie talkies, and transnational spyware launched across borders, contemporary battlefields are no longer waged solely on physical territory or fought just by conventional armies. Large technology companies have become an active player in today’s conflicts, their platforms enlisted as sites of virtual conflict and their tools deployed as weapons. Meanwhile, conscripted cyber armies patrol the frontline online, and proxy trolls use AI driven synthetic media to confuse and mobilize populations. Traditional ceasefire agreements can be a vital step towards peace by halting violence, prompting negotiations, and facilitating humanitarian aid. But, they typically do not include any digital components. The Digital Ceasefire project will renew and upgrade the framework and language used to draft and negotiate ceasefires for the realities of conflict in the digital era. The project is part of a broader digital ceasefire movement, with organizations like Access Now and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, which are advocating for updated frameworks to respond to the digitalization of warfare.
