The Quad countries (Australia, India, Japan and the United States of America) say that the way technology is designed, developed, governed and used must be shaped by our common democratic values ​​and respect for universal human rights. Technology is expected to make the lives of our citizens safer, more prosperous and more rewarding, by addressing some of the world’s greatest common challenges, such as equitable growth, climate change, energy security and pandemics. We are committed to fostering an open, accessible and secure technological ecosystem, based on mutual trust, and we invite all nations to support the following principles:

Support universal values.

• We are committed to developing critical and emerging technologies that deliver tangible benefits to society, developed through an adaptive, dynamic, multi-stakeholder approach aligned with universal values, including respect for freedom of expression and privacy.
• We support approaches to technological design, development, governance and use that promote our common values, including autonomy, agency and the dignity of individuals.
• The design, development, governance and use of technology must be a fair and inclusive process that neither involves nor leads to unfair discriminatory action.
• Technology should not be misused for malicious activities such as authoritarian surveillance and oppression, for terrorist purposes, or to spread disinformation.

Develop trust, integrity and resilience.

• Technology ecosystems built on trust, integrity and resilience foster innovation.
• We support openness and interoperability to enable collaboration and welcome innovators who are diverse in their gender, race and ethnicity, as well as in the size, structure and age of their organizations.
• We expect technology providers, vendors and distributors to produce and maintain secure systems, and to be trustworthy, transparent and accountable in their practices. Technology developers should also incorporate safety and security approaches by design so that sound safety and security practices are part of the technology development process. Illicit transfer or theft of technology is a common challenge that undermines the very foundations of global technological development and must be addressed.
• Resilient, diverse and secure technology supply chains – for hardware, software and services – are vital to our common national interests. Close cooperation on supply chains with allies and partners who share our values ​​will enhance our security and prosperity, and strengthen our ability to respond to international disasters and emergencies.

Foster healthy competition and international collaboration to advance the frontier of science and technology.

• A fair and open market is the cornerstone of innovation and inclusive prosperity.
• We support free and fair market competition in which the best technical solutions succeed, including with the help of public incentives granted in a transparent manner.
• We encourage the development of competitive technology ecosystems that welcome new market entrants, including start-ups, and improve innovation, resilience and sustainability.
• We recognize and affirm the importance of multi-stakeholder, consensus-based, industry-led approaches to the development of international standards that promote interoperability, compatibility and inclusiveness.
• We are committed to reducing barriers to sharing data and knowledge for research projects and to greater innovation, while protecting the security of research.
• We are also committed to facilitating the exchange of researchers and the movement of highly qualified personnel in order to improve scientific and technological collaboration.
• We are committed to developing shared research and development agendas, including joint projects and joint capacity building where possible, that align with fundamental science principles, advance our common values ​​and foster diversity and workforce education.
• Together, we will continue to keep pace with changes in the global economy and innovation processes by monitoring future trends and exploiting opportunities to advance technologies to achieve many of our common goals: security and resilience, sustainability, economic inclusion, health and well-being.
• We are committed to fostering technological development that accelerates economic progress and meets the needs of all our citizens.

We invite all nations to join us in pursuing this common vision of technology, guided by these principles.

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