We want the digital space to be democratic, putting human rights at the fore, said DG Connect Director Roberto Viola at the UN Digital Summit – IGF 2021 in Katowice on Monday, as he presented the assumptions of the Digital Decade for Europe.
Roberto Viola, Director General of Communications Networks, Content and Technology of the European Commission (DG Connect) stated at the Digital Summit that even ten years ago there was no democracy on the Internet, and very few people defined the rules governing it. “Our goal is to ensure democracy in the Internet,” he declared.
“First of all, we must establish very clear principles that put people at the center. We must make clear that human rights must be respected absolutely, human freedoms and human rights must be at the center of attention. This is the message of the Digital Decade for Europe. Digital goals for 2030 ) ”- said Viola.
“We must strive to democratize the Internet space by 2030, so that we can use its resources as much as possible. It is not just about empty advertisements: we must introduce very specific legislative measures to make this vision a reality” – he noted, adding that before this week, a Adoption of a new European law: the Data Governance Act.
“This law, for the first time, is truly creating a public space for data management, a law that we hope will increase the use of public data, lead to greater access to data, and also allow entrepreneurs and startups to access data, and increase citizen participation in data management” – he explained Director.
He also referred to the proposed Law on Digital Markets and the Law on Digital Services, as well as the Law on Artificial Intelligence – the first such law aimed at regulating this part of the digital space.
As Viola said, the Digital Service Act concerns, among other things, platforms that provide services to residents and businesses, empowering them, providing them with all rights and holding them accountable on large platforms such as social media sites and search engines.
He emphasized that the principle should be proportionality, in line with the principle that the greater the economic weight of these platforms, the greater their responsibility. The key elements are transparency, access to data for researchers, access to data for NGOs, for organizations that will hold platforms accountable for respecting rights.
The manager emphasized that it was about ensuring that the recommended systems and algorithms would not only make money, but provide goods and services in a reliable way – to entrepreneurs as equal business partners.
He pointed out that the Artificial Intelligence Law aims to make us view artificial intelligence as a gift to humanity, providing it with various benefits. “We also want to properly analyze the risks associated with it,” Viola added.
“Music specialist. Pop culture trailblazer. Problem solver. Internet advocate.”
