On Friday 20 October, the Justice Ministers of the EU Member States gave the green light to a series of conclusions on “digital empowerment” and fundamental rights. The text is based on two pillars: encouraging citizens and sectors to appropriate the digital space, on the one hand, and ensuring that this space is safe, on the other hand.
Digital emancipation
According to Eurostat, 46% of Europeans do not have basic digital skills. With the conclusions, the Member States commit themselves to promoting digital and media education and to allocating funds for this purpose. In particular, the text sets out a series of priorities by ‘category’ of target group, such as facilitating Internet access for rural areas or the equal participation of women in the digital sector.
EU countries are also invited to ensure that online public services are accessible to all and to raise awareness of the importance of preserving privacy on the Internet.
Respecting rights online
At the same time, the conclusions point to a digital environment threatened by phenomena such as disinformation and the rise in hate speech and cyber-violence. He also warns of the perverse effects of artificial intelligence if it is used without safeguards or controls.
The Council of the EU is therefore asking the EU27 to strengthen the capacity of the judicial authorities to investigate and prosecute crimes committed online. It also calls on the European Commission to ensure that the Digital Services Act (DSA) is properly applied and to regularly assess the implementation of the codes of practice on disinformation and combating online hate speech (see EUROPE 13270/27).
The adopted text: https://aeur.eu/f/96n (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)