EU Tech Policy Brief: February 2022 Recap

This is the February 2022 recap issue of the Centre for Democracy & Technology Europe‘s monthly Tech Policy Brief. It highlights some of the most pressing technology and internet policy issues under debate in Europe, the U.S., and internationally, and gives CDT’s perspective on them. Our aim is to help shape policies that advance our rights in a digital world. Please do not hesitate to contact our team in Brussels: Iverna McGowan, Asha Allen, and Ophélie Stockhem.

CDT Europe Addresses Event on Safeguarding Fundamental Rights in the Digital Age

On 11 February, Asha Allen, CDT Advocacy Director for Europe, Online Expression & Civic Space, joined a conference organised by the European Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee to discuss the annual report on safeguarding fundamental rights in the digital age. 

Speaking at an expert panel on the fundamental rights impacts of online content moderation, Allen emphasised the role of the Union’s foundational values, upon which any legislative framework about content moderation must be based, and the vital role of the EU in setting such a protective precedent through the Digital Services Act.

Allen insisted that current interinstitutional negotiations are the best opportunity, for EU institutions, to back the human rights-protective amendments made by the European Parliament. Lawmakers can go further in establishing human rights impact assessments within the framework of the DSA, using the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and international human rights norms as a guide.

CDT Europe Partners to Host Multi-Stakeholder Consultation on Applying UN Business and Human Rights Principles to Regulating the Technology Sector

On 15 February, Asha Allen joined a multi-stakeholder consultation, along with business, academia, civil society, and state representatives, to discuss the gaps and ways forward in applying the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) to regulate business conduct in the technology sector.

Co-organised by CDT Europe and the United Nations Human Rights B-Tech Project, the consultation allowed participants to explore how existing regulatory and legislative processes targeting technology companies’ conduct on human rights do or do not align with the UNGPs. Participants also commented on a draft guidance tool for policymakers, proposed by the B-Tech Project team, on how to best align the UNGPs with regulatory efforts on technology company conduct.

As Allen underlined at the event, “It is essential to facilitate spaces for stakeholder exchange, with a view to develop pathways for better implementation of the UNGPS in the technology sector. The UNGPs provide a critical reference framework that will help shape effective implementation of the due diligence obligations outlined in the EU’s Digital Services Act.”

CDT Europe Holds Working Group Session on the EU Digital Services Act

On 24 February, CDT Europe held a Working Group session on the EU Digital Services Act, where we aimed to identify challenges that negotiations on the legislation must still address and provide an informative session for our U.S. colleagues. Advocacy Director for Europe, Asha Allen, and Director of CDT’s Free Expression Project, Emma Llanso, set the scene with an update of the state of the EU’s legislative process, identifying key elements of the proposal that are high on the political agenda and presenting specific areas of discussion that have also arisen in the U.S. context.

Aimilia Givropoulou, Senior Policy Advisor to MEP Patrick Breyer, who was the rapporteur of the Civil Liberties Committee of the European Parliament for the DSA, presented the committee’s perspective and priority areas for the ongoing negotiations. Eliska Pirkova, Europe Policy Analyst and Global Freedom of Expression Lead for Access Now, outlined areas where improvements could still be made to the due diligence chapter of the draft regulation, and made recommendations for how EU institutions can ensure that the enforcement regime provides judicial independence and effective oversight. 

The session functioned as a launch of the CDT European Working Group, which will act as a space for dedicated, multi-stakeholder discussion on present and upcoming European political and legislative proposals. CDT’s Working Groups as a whole provide space for companies, trade associations, public interest groups, technologists, and academics to discuss pressing internet policy challenges.

CDT Europe Attends Exchange with UN Deputy High Commissioner to Discuss Human Rights in EU Internal Policy

On 24 February, Ophélie Stockhem, Advocacy & Communications Assistant, participated in an exchange on key human rights developments in EU internal policy with UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif and civil society organisations at the UN House in Brussels.

Representing CDT Europe alongside other civil organisations working in the field of social justice, Stockhem highlighted the global emergency of shrinking civic space, the rise in harassment and discrimination, and the erosion of the credibility of media fuelled by disinformation techniques. She spoke of the need to answer to these challenges without unduly using surveillance and restricting civic space, especially as online freedom, anonymity, and end-to-end encrypted services have become vital tools for journalists.

Stockhem insisted that recent EU legislative proposals that will have crucial digital rights implications, such as the future Digital Services Act and Regulation on the Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising, should be strengthened and clearly aligned to ensure a coherent framework that does not inadvertently chill the speech of civil society, journalists, and activists. 

Digital Services Act Snapshot

More than one month has passed since the European Parliament voted on its long-awaited Digital Services Act Report. Under the leadership of the French Presidency of the European Council, the inter-institutional ‘trilogue’ negotiations began in earnest on January 31, with top officials of the three institutions coming together to set the agenda for the next six months of negotiation. 

Since then, negotiations have taken place at a particularly rapid pace, despite differences in the institutions’ approach to regulating online services. The European Commission, European Parliament, and Council could reportedly reach an agreement on the legislative proposal by the end of June. 

As EU institutions work to bridge the text, it is vital that Parliamentary amendments, which contain crucial modifications centering fundamental rights and reflecting the inclusion of civil society perspectives in the negotiation process, be upheld. CDT urges the negotiators to maintain these important additions all whilst reflecting holistically on the concrete implications, and the compliance with the Rule of Law, of enforcement mechanisms and the practical implementation of the proposal.