OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is telling an international audience that hate speech, disinformation and online extremism can't be allowed to prevent people from enjoying the freedom that cyberspace offers.

Trudeau is delivering that message today via video link from Ottawa to the Paris Peace Forum.

The forum bills itself as an effort to revitalize global institutions, and is focusing this year on the vast inequalities exposed by the pandemic.

Trudeau says while the digital space has become a force for good it has also given rise to disinformation about COVID-19 vaccines and extremism that pose a threat to democracy.

Trudeau was addressing a panel on the challenges of the digital domain after co-founding a new international program last year with French President Emmanuel Macron called the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence.

In-person attendees include Macron, U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris, and Canada's industry minister, Francois-Philippe Champagne, who is also attending a conference on artificial intelligence in the French capital.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 11, 2021.