Patrick Penninckx, who joined the Council of Europe thirty years ago, has been head of the Information Society department to promote democracy, the Rule of law and human rights since 2014. In December, he is expected to succeed Frenchman Harlem Désir as representative for media freedom at the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) (Interview by Véronique Leblanc).
Agence Europe - The Covid-19 pandemic has undermined media freedom in Europe, as the Commissioner for Human Rights pointed out as early as last April. What has the Council of Europe done to address this?
Patrick Penninckx - Some states have advocated transparency during this crisis, which was fraught with uncertainty; others have done the opposite, but without greater success, because they have increased the mistrust of citizens. The effort to prevent disinformation should not be used to demonise journalists or to unduly control them, as has been the case in Hungary, Serbia, and Spain, where questions had to be submitted in advance of press conferences to be pre-selected (a practice since ended in Spain and Hungary).
We advocate clear discourse that does not infantilise and that provides reliable information. This was reiterated in the ‘Toolkit for the respect of democracy, the Rule of law, and human rights in times of pandemic’, which was first distributed in April by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.
It should also be pointed out that this crisis has not only had negative effects. It has eroded confidence in social networks and provoked a return to traditional media. This was noted in Germany and England, where there has also been much more interaction between the public and journalists.
The fight against hate speech on the Internet is also one of the Council of Europe’s main concerns...
With two major thrusts: our fight against discrimination and our defence of freedom of expression with responsibilities as enshrined in Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. It is not as simple as it sounds, because you have to consider the context. What is free speech for some may be hate speech for others. Relying on artificial intelligence automation can therefore become arbitrary, especially if - as France and Germany want - this role is transferred from the judiciary to Internet platforms, i.e. to the private sector.
Have you been approached in the context of the Digital Services Act that the European Commission is going to present in December?
We are fully involved. The Council of Europe has recognised expertise in the development of standards, and its partnership with the European Union is very important in all matters relating to the Rule of law, both in the media field and in the fields of cybercrime and constitutional law, through the Venice Commission.
As soon as the phenomenon of ‘fake news’ became more widespread four years ago, we made a distinction between ‘disinformation’ (both true and false information that is disseminated in order to harm) and ‘bad information’ (erroneous information disseminated by mistake with no intent to harm). ‘Fake news’ is false information disseminated to harm, and the European Union has been able to develop a strategy on this basis, namely: regulatory work and a site called FactCheckEU, which brings together 19 partners from 13 countries.
However, this has not stopped the phenomenon from spreading...
It’s true: ‘fake news’ has become a kind of writing, including journalistic writing, while at the same time becoming a qualifier used to disqualify an opponent. The notion of “alternate reality” was invented by Donald Trump as a political discourse rooted in a populist tradition that plays on fear, uncertainty, etc. Disinformation has become a market and can be bought on the Darknet, as confirmed by a Europol report. That’s dramatic.
How do we deal with it?
My approach, which is that of the Council of Europe, is to consider each country where it is, to move forward step by step. Without lecturing, which is what the European Union tends to do. We must find our way through what has become a jungle and hold onto our values as a compass.
Coordination of expertise and strategies within the ecosystem represented by the UN Special Representative, UNESCO, the European Union, the Council of Europe, and the OSCE - which has the political voice in this matter - will be essential. The post of OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, which has been vacant since the summer, must urgently be filled and made directly operational.