European Democracy Shield

Address the monopolistic business models of large online platforms by tackling their dominance over data accumulation and advertising revenue. This is essential to protect democracy and promote fair innovation.

• Strengthen support for media literacy initiatives, emphasizing critical digital literacy to equip citizens with the skills to identify and resist misinformation.


• Expand pre-bunking and debunking mechanisms to proactively counter disinformation and empower citizens to critically assess content.


• Implement robust mechanisms for citizen engagement in the development and enforcement of the Digital Fairness Act. Ensure transparency through regular, accessible reporting on how citizen feedback informs policy and protects consumer rights.

• Mandate rights-based ethical guidelines for the use of Machine Learning and Generative AI in public services, ensuring direct oversight and coherence across the EU.


• Establish democratic oversight and robust algorithmic accountability through independent audits, accessible transparency measures, and democratic representation in AI governance.


• Promote Democracy-in-the-Loop (DITL) frameworks for AI development and deployment in public services. DITL integrates public deliberation, societal inputs, and evolving democratic principles to ensure AI systems remain transparent, accountable, and aligned with community values.


• Experience discussed at recent OIDP meetings on the issue have shown that people appreciate AI in democratic practices, especially when they are a central tool - but in hybrid contexts were inputs and outputs are elaborated and carefully controlled by humans, rather than under the control of a “black box”.

• Address the underrepresentation of democracy in the AI Office’s work areas by ensuring democracy-focused civil society is aptly represented in its Advisory Board.


• Fund the participation of civil society organizations in the Advisory Board and support the establishment of a Civil Society Network to enable inclusive and meaningful contributions.

Add your comments, research evidence, project outcomes and reports in the comments section.