Patrick Penninckx, head of the Information Society department, has introduced the students of the European Institute of Journalism in Strasbourg to the latest Council of Europe policies on media freedom and internet governance. His presentation entitled “The digital transformation of the audio-visual media: a transformation in search of governance” outlined the key challenges facing society, such as fake news, hate speech, disinformation, abusive surveillance and theft of personal data, the rise of the artificial intelligence and the metaverse, manipulation of elections and proliferating cybercrime. It further explained the policy responses developed by the Council of Europe in the field of media governance, cooperation with internet companies, action against cybercrime, data protection and artificial intelligence.
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The fast pace of technological advancement and the cross-border nature of digital services present great opportunities but also challenges for individuals, societies and institutional frameworks.
It is the task of governments to protect human rights and the rule of law in the digital environment. However, companies play a critical role in addressing technology-related challenges because they provide and control the digital infrastructure. A constructive, open and inclusive multi-stakeholder approach is therefore required to find effective and sustainable solutions. The Council of Europe has initiated in 2017 a digital partnership with leading technology companies and their associations to enables company representatives to sit side-by-side with governments and civil society when shaping policies related to digital technologies, in the perspective of the respect of human rights and supporting democracy and the rule of law.
Protecting human rights, democracy, and the rule of law in the digital environment
