The European Commission is aiming to set global standards for online platforms through the dual package of the Digital Services Act and the European Democracy Action Plan. These will both affect people’s ability to exercise their rights and freedoms online.
DRI gathered expert civil society organisations to a two-day roundtable in March 2020 to discuss the European Commission’s regulatory plans for tech companies to address challenges posed by online platforms to public and democratic discourse.
Their input included recommendations to tackle online disinformation, illegal and harmful content, online political finance, and to promote transparency and accountability. Overarching issues that should be addressed by the EU’s regulatory plans were also addressed, such as the need to recognise the relevance of the online sphere, the equality of member states, the question of liability for content, obligations of monitoring and the role of a regulator.
The compilation of this report is part of a project funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.
