European Democracy Shield

The Commission’s renewed focus on digital and AI innovation and competitiveness should not come at the expense of strong enforcement of key digital regulations like the Digital Services Act and AI Act. Disinformation—both domestic and foreign—, hate speech, and manipulation of recommendation algorithms through deceptive accounts continue to proliferate on major platforms, threatening electoral integrity, public trust in democracy, and the overall health of the information ecosystem.

The rapid deployment and scaling of generative AI systems, which facilitate the production and dissemination of harmful content, further complicates this issue. Clear regulations not only provide a framework for accountability but also reduce the legal and reputational risks for innovators. Strong enforcement is particularly crucial in the following areas to address the risks that online platforms and AI systems pose to the EU’s online discourse:

In her mission letter to the Commissioner-designate for Tech Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy, President von der Leyen emphasised the need for rapid and effective enforcement actions under the DSA. To achieve this, the Commission must support a network of experts, including CSOs, who can provide actionable insights in a complex and rapidly evolving landscape. For example, during the 2024 European Parliament elections DRI reports revealed how inauthentic accounts on TikTok amplified far-right content, enabling parties to circumvent the platform's stricter rules on political accounts. Our social media monitoring of online political discourse also examined discourse toxicity and disinformation narratives.

• The big loophole (and how to close it): How TikTok's policy and practice invites murky political accounts. (July 2024).


• Local Insights, European Trends: Case Studies on Digital Discourse in the 2024 EP Elections. (August 2024).


• Click Here for Controversy: Disinformation Narratives on YouTube During the 2024 EP Campaign. (September 2024).

We need to do a lot more of this kind of research otherwise the DSA and the AI Act will be law in the books only.

Currently, inconsistent application of this provision by major platforms hampers researchers' ability to conduct meaningful investigations and hold platforms accountable. Standardised guidelines would enhance enforcement, support research organisations, and ensure platforms uphold DSA transparency obligations effectively.

• Access granted. Why the European Commission Should Issue Guidance on Access to Publicly Available Data Now. (September 2024).


• The Data Access Problem: Limitations on Access to Public Data on Very Large Online Platforms. (March 2023).

The success of the DSA across the EU relies also on the efforts of Digital Services Coordinators (DSCs) —national authorities responsible for enforcing the DSA for non-VLOPs/VLOSEs, certifying third-party actors, and acting as a hub for user complaints. In September, DRI held three focus groups with DSCs and other stakeholders and found significant challenges hindering their work. We recommend that the European Board for Digital Services invest in targeted capacity-building initiatives for DSCs, public awareness campaigns to inform citizens of their rights under the DSA, and increased funding for trusted flaggers.

• From Policy to Practice: How are Digital Services Coordinators meeting their DSA mandates? (October 2024).


• The DSA now applies in full: What can we expect? (February 2024).

Although the AI Act took effect in August, key provisions—especially those concerning GenAI systems whether text, image or multimodal—won’t apply for another one to two years. In the meantime, the GPAI CoP will be critical for guiding GenAI governance. The Commission must ensure that the AI Act and GPAI CoP implementation addresses more than just extreme risks, such as the production of ABC weapons or cyber-attacks. Social and informational risks, such as hallucinations, hate speech, bias, and discrimination, must also be tackled, as well as the broader impact of GPAI systems on the information ecosystem before, during and after elections. Incorporating AI risk management into the Commission's AI innovation strategy is essential to create a safer, sustainable and more trustworthy AI industry.

• Ensuring AI Accountability: Auditing Methods to Mitigate the risks of Large Language Models. (October 2024)


• AI Act Comes into Force: What It Means for Elections and DRI’s Next Steps. (August 2024)


• Are Chatbots Misinforming Us About the European Elections? Yes. (April 2024)

The Union has taken significant action through the DSA, but these now need to be taken forward with effective enforcement and continuous monitoring of impact. This should cover more marginal platforms, such as Rumble, Odyssey, Truth Social and Telegram, which are often more radicalised but are not considered to be VLOPs. The implementation and monitoring of the European Media Freedom Act should also ensure that it tackles the lack of transparency of media ownership, and the lack of effective independence in the media regulators of some member states. See also:

• Monitoring media pluralism in the digital era: Application of the media pluralism monitor in the European member states and in candidate countries in 2023, European University Institute.
  

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