Platforms’ Accountability to Strengthen the Digital Public Sphere – MT 04 2026

From EuroDIG Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

27 May 2026 | 16:00 - 17:30 CEST | Alcide De Gasperi
Consolidated programme 2026

Proposals: #6, (#8), #12, #13, #20, #25c, #29, #32, (#33), #35, #36, #38, #39, #41, #56, #59

Get involved!

You are invited to become a member of the Session Org Team by simply subscribing to the mailing list. By doing so, you agree that your name and affiliation will be published at the relevant session wiki page. Please reply to the email send to you to confirm your subscription.

Kindly note that it may take a while until the Org Team is formed and starts working.

Check the discussion tab and the mailing list archive for information on the development of the session.

Session teaser

Digital platforms wield unprecedented power in shaping public debate. The way they are designed and operated significantly affects the digital public sphere.

The EU Digital Services Act (DSA) recognises platforms’ systemic risks to democratic processes, civic discourse, and fundamental rights. More recently the Council of Europe Recommendation on online safety and the empowerment of users and content creators lays a common ground for human-rights based platform accountability frameworks, featuring prominently promotion and protection of user agency.

Yet engagement-driven architectures, further amplified by generative AI and synthetic media, continue to fuel disinformation, hate speech and crime, and other online harms, eroding the conditions for civic agency and reducing users to consumers of algorithmically curated content. Moreover, algorithms and AI are reshaping human cognition and autonomy. These challenges are addresses in foundational texts like the Rome Declaration on Media Ecology and Technology Diplomacy, the Cannes Declaration on the Sovereignty of Mind, and the Declaration Universelle des Droits de l’Esprit Humain.

Against this backdrop, this session brings together civil society, academia, public authorities, and platform actors, to explore what conditions are needed for users to participate in the digital public sphere as citizens rather than as audiences. The discussion will address the legal, governance, and practical dimensions of safeguarding democratic debate in platform-mediated environments, against the background of European regulatory frameworks.

Session description

Guiding Questions

  1. From Consumers to Citizens: How can we redesign platform architectures to prioritize civic agency over engagement metrics?
    The DSA and Council of Europe frameworks emphasize user empowerment, but how can we move beyond regulatory compliance to ensure platforms actively foster democratic debate—not just consumption? What concrete mechanisms (e.g., algorithmic transparency, participatory design, or civic moderation) could shift users from passive audiences to active citizens?
  2. Algorithms and Autonomy: What safeguards are needed to protect cognitive sovereignty in an AI-driven public sphere?
    Generative AI and synthetic media are reshaping how we think, debate, and form opinions. Drawing from the Rome Declaration on Media Ecology and Cannes Declaration on the Sovereignty of Mind, how can we ensure that digital environments respect human autonomy, critical thinking, and pluralism—rather than exploiting cognitive vulnerabilities for profit or manipulation?
  3. Governance in Action: How can multi-stakeholder collaboration turn regulatory ideals into platform realities?
    The DSA and Council of Europe provide legal foundations, but implementation requires cooperation between civil society, platforms, and public authorities. What role should each actor play in co-creating accountability frameworks that balance innovation with fundamental rights? How can we bridge the gap between high-level principles (e.g., user empowerment, transparency) and the technical, day-to-day operations of platforms?

Format

Please try out new interactive formats. EuroDIG is about dialogue not about statements, presentations and speeches.

Further reading

People

Please provide the name and affiliation/institution of all people you list here like this:

  • First Name Last Name, Affiliation/institution

Programme Committee member(s)

  • Milica Vesović, Programme Manager in the Digital Development Unit, Directorate of Security, Integrity and Rule of Law at the Council of Europe
  • Minda Moreira, Internet Rights and Principles Coalition (IRPC)
  • Yrjö Länsipuro, ISOC Finland

The Programme Committee (PC) supports the programme planning process throughout the year and works closely with the Secretariat. Members of the PC give advice on the topics, cluster the proposals and assist session organisers in their work. They also ensure that session principles are followed and monitor the complete programme to avoid repetition. 1-2 PC members have signed up to each session and will compile the messages.

Co Focal Points

  • Dorijn Boogaard, Netherlands IGF Coordinator
  • Evangelia Vasalou, Division for cooperation on freedom of expression - Democratic Institutions and Freedoms Department, Council of Europe
  • Francesco Vecchi, Civic AI Coordinator - Eumans, YOUthDIG 2024

Focal Points take over the responsibility and lead of the session organisation. They work in close cooperation with the Programme Committee and the EuroDIG Secretariat and are kindly requested to follow EuroDIG’s session principles

Organising Team (Org Team)

List Org Team members here as they sign up.

  • Pascal Schneiders
  • Argyro Karanasiou, Assistant Professor in Law and Innovation at the University of Birmingham, UK
  • Murillo Salvador, University of Geneva, Swiss Youth IGF, Geneva chapter of the ITU's AI for Good youth community
  • Cesare Pitea, Legal Adviser at the Council of Europe
  • Milica Vesović, Programme Manager in the Digital Development Unit, Directorate of Security, Integrity and Rule of Law at the Council of Europe
  • Juan Miguel Aguado, Professor of Media and Journalism at the University of Murcia, Spain
  • Teresa García de Alcaraz Ruiz
  • Marta Pérez-Escolar, Associate Professor of Journalism at the University of Murcia, Spain
  • Ilkka Räsänen, Sitra, Finnish innovation fund
  • Chloe McDowell, Reimagine Europa

The Org Team is a group of people shaping the session. Org Teams are open and every interested individual can become a member by subscribing to the mailing list.

Key Participants

  • Moderator / Co-Moderators
    • Chloe McDowell - Re-Imagine Europa
  • Speakers
    • Asha Allen - Centre for Democracy and Technology
    • Ilkka Rasanen - SITRA
    • Cesare Pitea - Council of Europe
  • Key Participants from the audience
    • Francesco Vecchi - Eumans
    • Peter Mechels - Fedivariety

Key Participants are experts willing to provide their knowledge during a session – not necessarily on stage. Key Participants should contribute to the session planning process and keep statements short and punchy during the session. They will be selected and assigned by the Org Team, ensuring a stakeholder balanced dialogue also considering gender and geographical balance. Please provide short CV’s of the Key Participants involved in your session at the Wiki or link to another source.

Messages

The Programme Committee is responsible for taking notes during the session and to formulate 3 (max. 5) bullet points that are presented at the end of each session. The audience shall agree on the messages in (rough) consensus.

Messages should:

  • reflect the discussion in the particular session
  • relate to European Internet governance policy
  • be forward looking and propose goals and activities

Video record

Will be provided here after the event.

Transcript

Will be provided here after the event.

Retrieved from "https://eurodigwiki.org/mw04/index.php?title=Platforms’_Accountability_to_Strengthen_the_Digital_Public_Sphere_–_MT_04_2026&oldid=28189"