Bilderberg Conference
Ref. Ares(2023)4784486 - 10/07/2023
Washington, 04/06/2022
Bilderberg Conference – Session: Disinformation
Scene setter:
LTTs
• Democracies have encountered many challenges in recent years, including citizen
disengagement, foreign interference and disinformation, the need to adapt to the
pandemic and lately to the prospect of war looming over Europe after the Russian
invasion of Ukraine.
• The digital revolution has also brought, along with its opportunities, new challenges for
our democracies. More and more citizens are getting their information and engaging in
the democratic process online.
• Our latest Eurobarometer shows that 51% of respondents report having been exposed to
disinformation.
• Citizens need to be able to form and express their political views freely. Fundamental
rights must be respected and free media and civil society must be able to participate in
an open debate, free from malign interference. New technologies should be tools for
emancipation, not for manipulation.
• These challenges are affecting each of us, in all aspects of our lives. The European
Union has a strong story to tell about our response to these global challenges. I will
present the most recent of our actions on democracy.
• The EU response to these important challenges is taking place in the framework of the
European Democracy Action Plan, adopted in December 2020.
• The Action Plan includes measures to strengthen media freedom and pluralism,
alongside measures targeted to fight disinformation and ensure free and fair elections.
• We are also enhancing the EU’s and Member States’ capacity to address disinformation.
• In May 2021, the Commission issued guidance to strengthen the Code of Practice on
Disinformation. We set up a robust framework for monitoring its implementation.
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• At the same time, the EU has been articulating and implementing a vision for the digital
transformation that is re-shaping our world, one that is human-centred and that
empowers citizens and fosters innovative businesses.
• On 25 November 2021, delivering on its commitments in the Action Plan, the
Commission adopted a package of legislative and other measures to reinforce
democracy and protect the integrity of elections. It includes specific measures to support
cooperation on resilient elections and legislative proposals on transparency and
targeting of political advertising.
• Political ads play an important role in informed decision-making in European
democracies in the digital age. People must know why they are seeing a political ad,
who is being it including when it comes from abroad, who paid for it how much and
what targeting criteria were used.
• By providing for a high standard of transparency and strengthening the protection of
individuals’ personal data when it is used in the targeting and amplification of political
advertising, on the basis of a broad, common definition applicable to all media, the
Commission aims to support accountability in politics, to empower citizens, support
journalists, researchers, authorities and other interested actors in playing their vital roles
in democracy.
• Delivering on the Commission’s European Democracy Action Plan, a joint mechanism
on election resilience was established this year in the framework of the European
Cooperation Network on Elections to support Member States as a capacity-building tool
to support the exchange of expertise in areas such as disinformation, cybersecurity, and
online forensics.
• The Commission also intends to deliver in the coming year a compendium on e-voting
practices, which should also address elements of disinformation.
• In addition, responding to the growing phenomenon of Strategic Lawsuits against
Public Participation – so-called SLAPPs, on 27 April the Commission presented an
initiative to protect journalists and human rights defenders against SLAPPs. For the EU
action against SLAPPs to be efficient, both legislative and non-legislative measures are
needed.
• This is an important and exciting period in the Union’s efforts to shape how we adapt
our democracies to overcome new challenges.
• The challenge for the EU, and for all of us, is to enable the best of the tremendous
opportunities that new technology offers us, through our world-leading tech regulation,
by making sure we safeguard our values and our democracy.
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Defensives
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CVs
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Contact(s) – briefing contribution:
(JUST-D3)
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