EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 26.1.2022 COM(2022) 27 final COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Establishing a European Declaration on Digital rights and principles for the Digital Decade {SWD(2022) 14 final}



“We believe in a human-centred digital transition. This is about who we want to be, as Europeans. To capture this better, we will formulate a set of digital principles. Such as access for all to the Internet; a secure online space; the right to learn digital skills; algorithms that respect people; the protection of children online. These important principles will complement the legal rights that already protect Europeans online like the protection of personal data or the freedom of expression.” President Ursula von der Leyen, Leading the Digital Decade, Sines, 1 June 2021 1.Introduction Putting people at the centre of the digital transition is a key priority for the European Commission. The digital transformation should be shaped according to our European values and laws. Today, the Commission is proposing to define a set of principles for such a human-centred digital transformation. This European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles (hereinafter the “Declaration”) would set out shared political intentions to citizens, businesses, public administrations and policy-makers. The digital principles included in the Declaration are intended as essential concepts, based on common European values, and serving as guidance for a human-centred, secure, inclusive, and open digital environment, where no one is left behind. The aim is to ensure that the values of the Union and the rights and freedoms of individuals as guaranteed by Union law are respected and reinforced both offline and online. The Declaration will take the form of a joint solemn declaration to be signed by the European Parliament, the Council, and the Commission. The present Communication accompanies the proposed draft for such a Joint Declaration.. This Declaration responds to the calls from the European Parliament to ensure full compliance of the EU’s approach to digital transformation with fundamental rights, including data protection rules and equal treatment, principles such as technological and net neutrality, inclusiveness, as well as to enhance digital skills and competences and foster a high-performing digital education ecosystem . It also takes into account the Parliament’s invitation to protect users’ rights in the digital environment, ensure media freedom and combat disinformation . In the 2020 Berlin Declaration on Digital Society and Value-Based Digital Government, the Council stated that everyone should be able to seize the opportunities offered by the digital transformation. Through the Lisbon Declaration (Lisbon Declaration - Digital Democracy with a Purpose) presented at the June 2021 Digital Assembly, it further called for a model of digital transformation that strengthens the human dimension of the digital ecosystem, with the Digital Single Market as its core. The Council also called for a digital transition that builds bridges with the green transition towards a climate-neutral and sustainable future. Since the first announcements of this initiative in its Digital Compass Communication in March last year , the Commission has been actively engaging with citizens and interested parties to hear their views. These consultation activities have helped to shape the proposed Declaration. This Communication also outlines the way forward for monitoring the measures and action taken to put the Declaration into practice. The Declaration is closely linked to and complements the proposal for the “Path to the Digital Decade” which was adopted in September 2021 and sets out the broader digital targets and the path to achieve them. As set out in the Path to the Digital Decade proposal, an effective monitoring of the principles enshrined in the Declaration will be presented annually, together with a yearly Eurobarometer on the European citizens’ perception of the actions and measures taken. This will ensure transparency, monitor trends and performance across Member States and inform policy guidance in any possible future legislation in the areas covered by the principles enshrined in the Declaration. 2.The rationale behind the European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles Digital technologies are transforming every aspect of our lives, offering unprecedented opportunities. Working, learning, socialising, entertaining, shopping, accessing public administration, healthcare or culture increasingly happen via digital means. The COVID-19 pandemic has radically changed the role and perception of digital in our societies and economies, and has accelerated its pace. Emerging technological breakthroughs in fields such as artificial intelligence, data analytics, robotics, the Internet of Things and their integration into business models and everyday services and products have helped to transform the way the economy and society are organised. The increased pace of the digital transformation has generated major innovations, offering new tools to address global societal challenges and to improve the efficiency of private and public services. At the same time, it has facilitated access to education and training and to information resources and opened new spaces of public discourse. The widespread adoption of digital technologies has enhanced our freedom, connecting even the most remote locations, creating new opportunities for citizens, for workers and consumers; for businesses to be created and prosper; for communities to thrive; for the inclusion of disadvantaged groups; and for our society to advance as a whole. While the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the pace of this transformation, it has also increased the digital divide across the European Union, not only between well-connected urban areas and rural and remote territories, but also between those who can fully benefit from an enriched, accessible, interoperable and secure digital environment, and those who cannot. More than ever, poor access to connectivity and Internet services, but also limited opportunities to acquire digital skills and understanding of digital technologies are major risks to the cohesion of today’s society. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated how vital it is that all actors including institutions such as administrations, research, education and training institutions and healthcare facilities be ready for the digital society, in particular to ensure inclusiveness and support of vulnerable people, elderly, children and people with disabilities, so that they can benefit fully from the digital transformation. Furthermore, the burgeoning availability of new digital technologies and data also comes with undesirable risks that can have far-reaching effects for citizens, our democratic values, our security, or the fundaments of our societies. These risks have grown significantly, including with regard to privacy and personal data breaches, the spread of illegal and harmful content and unsafe products as well as disinformation, cybercrime and cyberattacks, exploitation and abuse of human beings, including of children, mass surveillance, algorithmic biases hindering fair and non-discriminatory access to information and democratic debate and even outright censorship. Such problems go to the heart of the fundamental rights and undermine the hard-fought progress made in this field both in the European Union and internationally.

People and businesses do not enjoy fewer rights, nor are they less protected, when interacting with the digital environment compared to the offline world. The digital transformation does not justify exceptions to the rights and freedoms that the Union citizens enjoy under EU law. Rather, it should aim at the reinforcement of those rights and freedoms. The Union is committed to empowering all Europeans to benefit fully from the opportunities brought by the digital transformation, regardless of their age, gender, abilities, condition, or geographical location and has taken both corrective and preventive actions by adopting the necessary regulations and policy measures in all of these areas in recent years. However, as technological solutions affecting our lives become increasingly intertwined, pervasive and complex, it becomes increasingly urgent to step up efforts for achieving an open, fair and equal access to digital tools, services, infrastructures and skills which can ultimately strengthen our democracies. As explained in the 2030 Digital Compass, the Union has a vision for a digitally transformed Europe of 2030 in line with European values. It embraces empowered citizens and innovative businesses in a human-centred, inclusive, prosperous and sustainable digital society. The recently adopted “Path to the Digital Decade” aims at further reinforcing our digital leadership and empowering citizens and businesses, thus making the digital transformation the engine of sustainable economic growth, and social well-being in Europe. That will be achieved in particular by extending high-performance broadband access for all citizens including in rural and remote areas, by building up digital skills and competences for the workforce to enable them to fully participate in the digital economy, by digitalising businesses and public services, and by making the latter more efficient and easy to use to the benefit of everyone in our society. Secure cyberspace also creates greater trust among people in digital tools and services. It allows to preserve freedom of expression and information, including media freedom and pluralism. Finally, in line with the twin digital and green transition, the digital transformation will also aim to harness the power of technology to take climate action, protect biodiversity and restore nature, in line with the European Green Deal, the UN Sustainable Development goals and the Paris Agreement. It is against such background that, responding to calls from the European Parliament and the Council, the European Commission is proposing to define a set of principles that will serve as a guidance for a sustainable, human-centric and value-based digital transformation. In this context, the Declaration puts forward digital principles, to serve all Europeans, along the following lines in particular: putting people at the centre of the digital transformation; solidarity and inclusion; freedom of choice; participation in the digital public space; safety, security and empowerment; and sustainability. In turn, the Declaration should also serve as a reference for both public and private actors when developing and deploying new technology. And it should guide policy makers in a joint effort to define the European way to a sustainable, human-centred, inclusive digital world, and to firmly anchor EU policy interventions to that end. The Declaration has the potential to become a global benchmark for many emerging societal and ethical questions that the digital transformation brings. The same principles will be at the core of EU actions towards its partners and in the framework of international organisations. The proposed Declaration builds on previous initiatives from Member States and from the European Parliament, and benefits from numerous contributions gathered during the public consultation. Following the consultation, a number of principles were refined as compared to the preliminary set of principles presented in the public consultation. Public consultation on a set of European digital principles Between 12 May and 6 September 2021, the Commission carried out a public consultation to gather views on the formulation of European digital principles to promote and uphold EU values in the digital space. The public consultation was promoted during the event “Leading the Digital Decade” on 1-2 June, on the digital platform of the Conference on the future of Europe as well as on social media accounts. The main objective of the consultation was to collect the views of all interested stakeholders including Member States, regional and local authorities, non-governmental and civil society organisations, business associations and companies, other interested parties, and, of course, citizens. This marked the opening of a broad consultation exercise, including participatory workshops and targeted interviews, a Eurobarometer survey to gather views across Member States, and different age groups, with a particular focus on children and young people and different social backgrounds. Overall, the consultations showed broad support for a European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles as well as on the first set of principles outlined in the open public consultation, highlighting the importance of some of them over the others and with some respondents stressing the need for additional principles. The responses to the different consultation activities have guided the design of the Declaration presented today. A more detailed summary of the consultation is presented in the Staff Working Document published alongside this Communication. 3.The political nature of the Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles The set of digital principles that should shape Europe’s digital society is proposed in the form of a joint solemn declaration of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission. The draft Declaration, as provided in the annex, is meant as a proposal to be discussed with the European Parliament and the Council, with a view to being signed by all three institutions. The Declaration notably builds on primary EU law, in particular the Treaty on the European Union (TEU), the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, as well as on secondary EU law. These principles do not affect the legal rights that already protect people online within the European Union, and for which effective remedies must exist across the Union. Nor do they affect lawful limits on the exercise of such legal rights, in order to reconcile them with the exercise of other rights, or necessary and proportionate restrictions in the public interest. When implemented through policy initiatives, such principles will be applied together with existing rights and principles and for the overall public interest. 4.Follow-up at EU and global level Endorsing the European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles The Commission proposes the European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles to be solemnly signed jointly by the three EU Institutions concerned. Together with the European Parliament and the Council, the Commission will facilitate the discussion on the basis of the draft Declaration presented today. Current and future EU legislation and actions Given the political nature of the Declaration, not all principles correspond to rights that are directly enforceable: some are already laid down in legislation, others may require further action, at the appropriate level. The Declaration must be read in conjunction with EU legal acts and instruments, and is without prejudice to them.