Debate: Democratic scrutiny of social media and the protection of fundamental rights
Date: WEDNESDAY, 10 FEBRUARY 2021
Speaker: Ana Paula Zacarias
Language: EN

These events have also shed light on the increased importance of online platforms and social media companies in shaping public debate. They have highlighted the growing interconnection that exists between digital transformation and democracy, which is one of the priorities of the Portuguese Presidency. It is unquestionable that social media companies have the status of public squares, which means they should have responsibilities when it comes to enhancing citizens’ participation and ensuring freedom of expression. Nevertheless, freedom of expression is not absolute. It should be balanced with the goal of combating illegal hate speech, incitement to violence and radicalisation, both online and offline. What is illegal? What is illegal offline must be illegal online. Online platforms have repeatedly been criticised for the lack of transparency in the use of algorithms, on content moderation and for targeting users on the basis of a vast amount of personal data generated from online activity. The digital space has also become a breeding ground for conspiracies and fake news. Disinformation spreads faster than any virus. Education, media and digital literacy are the best vaccines against that.  We expect online platforms to play their part in this common fight, but it is up to the democratic institutions – our laws, our courts – to set the rules of the game, to define what is illegal and what is not, what must be removed and what should not be. Without democratic scrutiny and a level playing field, there is a risk to users’ rights, information flows and public participation.  The protection of fundamental rights requires transparent and consistent rules for all of us, including social media outlets. The recently proposed European Democracy Action Plan, the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act are important steps forward and will make the digital environment more transparent and actors like social media companies more accountable. The Council has already started the discussions on these important instruments. These initiatives must also be considered in conjunction with the upcoming Media and Audiovisual Action Plan, which will be the subject of the Council conclusions that we intend to adopt during our Presidency.  In addition, we are expecting, for the third quarter of the year, a Commission legislative proposal to ensure greater transparency in the area of sponsored content in a public context, complementing the Digital Services Act. The Council is ready to cooperate with this Parliament to ensure adoption sufficiently ahead of the 2024 European elections. Moreover, the Presidency will host the Digital Assembly in Lisbon in June, where the concepts of digital democracy and digital rights will be discussed.  The Presidency intends to consolidate the idea that Europe is a reference in the digital era and that our values and way of doing business are a competitive advantage. We want to place this idea at the heart of the European Digital Strategy for the next digital decade. The Presidency will also hold a high—level conference on the future of journalism and its interconnection with artificial intelligence, with a special focus on the robotisation of news production.  The current times have brought into sharp relief the unavoidable reality that what is happening online shapes our lives, beliefs and choices. It deeply influences what we buy or who we vote for, who we listen to, and even our opinion on vaccines. In its recent conclusions, the Council stressed the need to foster a well—functioning digital public sphere, greater accountability and improved transparency in addressing disinformation. Countering this scourge is crucial to preserve open political debate and the effective participation of citizens. We need to prevent social media functioning as an echo chamber which suppresses different points of view, and we need to make sure our citizens are equipped to manage the flood of information they are exposed to every day. In times such as this, believing in unreliable information may be lethal. We welcome, therefore, the work on the Rapid Alert System and other monitoring instruments. We encourage support for media and digital literacy, media pluralism, media independence and fact checking.  Let me reassure you that the Presidency is committed to working with the European Parliament, the Commission and the European External Action Service on these crucial issues in order to promote and protect our fundamental rights and our democracy.