Event: #DigitalPlatform: Let’s get to the Crux of the Digital Services Act! (Regulating) Content Ranking and Removal (Brussels, 10 December 2019)

This lunch discussion will therefore examine how platforms’ business model impacts the dissemination and virality of content – as threats, insults, and false information act as clickbait, generating more data and more profit. This event aims at analysing the issues raised by online companies’ core businesses that are based on collecting highly refined data about their users and converting that data into microtargeted manipulations.

We will furthermore discuss core questions around liability and content moderation. What are the potential risks and benefits of regulating content ranking? And more importantly: How can the planned DSA apply to all digital services alike without creating collateral damage for individuals’ rights and smaller online companies? How could it tackle the underlying root of the problems with mega platforms?

OPP Meeting Summary: EP Plenary – Resurgence of Ebola in East Africa (13 November 2019)

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Event: Fighting terrorism propaganda online (Brussels, 13 November 2019)

Agenda: JHA Counsellors (Terrorism) (18 November 2019)

Speech by Commissioner Jourová at the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights : “Making the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights a reality for all”

Brussels, 12 November 2019.

Event: How is politics influenced by big data, micro-targeting and profiling? The case of the Five Star Movement in Italy and Brexit in the UK (Brussels, 12 November 2019)

Alexandra Geese MEP is pleased to invite you to the panel-discussion on „How is politics influenced by big data, micro-targeting and profiling? The case of the Five Star Movement in Italy and Brexit in the UK”.

Are parties using micro-targeting more successful than those refusing to do so? How should political parties behave? Do we need regulation in order safeguard our democracy? With the help of leading academic experts as well as critical journalists, we delve into the ethical and legal aspects of data use in politics by looking at two examples: the Five Star Movement in Italy and the pro-Brexit campaign in the UK, both known for the use of big data.

Press Release: Why Facebook is more revealing on nudity than on Russian disinformation

Researchers, election observers, and governments alike all struggle to measure the scope and impact of Russian disinformation campaigns. So far, sporadic press releases by online platforms constitute the bulk of first-hand evidence of these campaigns, as is the case with Facebook’s latest takedown of Russian operations targeting African countries. More systematic access to this evidence will be key to tackling disinformation and election meddling.

OPP Meeting Summary: Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council – AI in education (08 November 2019)

The summary of the debate is now available.

Event: Virtual insanity? (Brussels, 14 November 2019)

There is mounting evidence that digital political advertising – when left unregulated – opens the door to some major challenges for democracy and human rights. In view of the Code of Practice against Disinformation and the upcoming European Democracy Action Plan, the European Partnership for Democracy (EPD) invites civil society, academics, policy-makers, media, political actors and the platforms to discuss different regulatory approaches to digital political advertising.

Event: Virtual Insanity Workshop & Conference: The need to guarantee transparency in digital political advertising (Brussels, 13-14 November 2019)

Agenda: EP LIBE Committee Meeting (11 – 12 November 2019)

Event: npbbxl 5.5: Net Politics in Brussels (Brussels, 7 November 2019)

Publication: 10 Trends Shaping Democracy in a Volatile World

UPDATED – Press Release: Security Union: Significant progress and tangible results over past years but efforts must continue

Update: the Communication on the Security Union and the Recommendation have been published.

The European Commission is taking stock of the progress made in the past years towards achieving an effective and genuine Security Union. The report presented today recaps the initiatives taken by the Commission in some of the key areas of the Security Union including, the fight against terrorism, information exchange, countering radicalisation and cybersecurity, while noting that further efforts are needed, in particular on the implementation of EU security legislation. In the context of the Christchurch attack in March 2019, the Commission is also recommending the EU start negotiations with New Zealand on the exchange of personal data with Europol to fight serious crime and terrorism.

Blog: Mozilla – A Year in Review: Fighting Online Disinformation

A year ago, Mozilla signed the first ever Code of Practice on Disinformation, brokered in Europe as part of our commitment to an internet that elevates critical thinking, reasoned argument, shared knowledge, and verifiable facts. The Code set a wide range of commitments for all the signatories, from transparency in political advertising to the closure of fake accounts, to address the spread of disinformation online. And we were hopeful that the Code would help to drive change in the platform and advertising sectors.

Event: EU Combined Cyber and Hybrid Week (Helsinki, 05-08 November 2019)

European Union’s combined Cyber and Hybrid Week will be held on November 5-8th, 2019, in Helsinki. The aim of the week is to create synergies by combining three independent events. The EDA Cyber PT Meeting will be held on November 5-6th, the EDA Cyber Ranges Demonstration Event on November 6th, and the Cyber/Hybrid Symposium will be organised by the Hybrid CoE on November 7-8th. Invitations to the events will be sent by the responsible organisations.

Press Release: Code of Practice on Disinformation one year on: online platforms submit self-assessment reports

Today, the European Commission published the first annual self-assessment reports by Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Mozilla, Twitter and 7 European trade associations under the Code of Practice on Disinformation. The reports by the signatories of the Code set out the progress made over the past year in the fight against online disinformation. The self-regulatory Code of Practice was launched in October 2018 and is an important pillar of the Action Plan against Disinformation.

Agenda: EP LIBE Committee Meeting (6-7 November 2019)

Event: FT Future of News Europe 2019 (Amsterdam, 26 November 2019)

Event: GovTech Summit (Paris, 14 November 2019)

A fast emerging sector, built by innovative startups leveraging both technological advances and recent reforms to government platforms and registers, GovTech aims to build better services for citizens and better tools for public servants. The GovTech Summit will bring the GovTech community together.

In the ‘State of GovTech: Europe’s Next Opportunity’, PUBLIC and Accenture explore the scope of the GovTech market to date, the huge opportunity ahead, and the practical steps needed to realise a GovTech future.

Report: Study on media literacy and online empowerment issues raised by algorithm-driven media services

Social media platforms and the algorithms they use to shape the news that people read, as well as people’s behaviour online, all play a role in the rapid spread of disinformation. Research has shown that people tend to be unaware of their own cognitive biases and underestimate the influence of algorithms on their social media behaviour. Improving the media literacy of consumers and reducing their vulnerability to disinformation is a necessary part of the solution. This study proposes an approach based on behavioural science, which triggers people to be aware of their own online behaviour.

Event: Digital Summit: shaping the digital transformation together (Dortmund, 28-29 October 2019)

Press release: Why people’s misperceptions about climate change, vaccinations are so hard to shake

The most powerful source of misperceptions about important issues such as immigration and climate change are false beliefs rooted in people’s political or social preferences, but having people who question authority is also important for a society, according to Professor Jason Reifler, a political scientist at the University of Exeter, UK.

Column: Tiina Ferm: hybrid threats – a challenge to Europe

Event: Hybrid threats – Hybrid response in modern security environment (Helsinki, 23 October 2019)