- “And by doing so, it addressed the emerging fragmentation. When we presented the proposal of the internal market in this area with a purpose to increase legal certainty, lowers barrier and ultimately prevent regulatory arbitrage, promote competition and simplify a compliance effort while looking also at cost. Obviously, a fragmented regime has a big impact on administrative burden and cost. The regulation also takes into account the specific needs of small, medium sized enterprises which are subject to proportionate transparency requirement. And last but not least, it has also a data protection component and IT address targeting and. Delivery technique reinforcing the data protection standards in this area. The regulation contributes to enhanced transparency and accountability of behaviour impacting the democratic sphere. In the context of the new information environment with common EU standards. It will also foster awareness among users. I will come back to that at the very end of my presentation. Um, also, the regulation requires publishers of political art to disclose essential elements about their political art, such as who is behind a political ad. How much they paid. And this is in the form of labels and transparency. Notice, and as I mentioned, the Commission adopted very recently an implementing act to support compliance with this and in line with the requirement of the regulation and this implementing act, uh, explains the format and the template of the labels and the format of the technical specification of transparency notice accompanying political advertisements.”
Disinformation & online freedoms · Transparency requirements for interest groups
- “Let me mention also that this work establishes a careful balance between the transparency requirement, but also the admin burden and other considerations, fully in line with the provision of the regulation to prepare the implementing act in line with the regulation a comitology committee had been established, and this comitology Committee has issued a positive opinion in this context. Um. Also, the preparatory work implied a wide consultation, including with service providers, publisher of political art, civil society and European political parties, for instance. And there was also a period of public consultation between end of April and end of May. Um, and also a call for evidence was published. And we relied also on the support of an external contractor to prepare for this implementing act. There were a lot of engagement, including with national authorities, including in the context of our cooperation framework on the election, the European Cooperation Network on Election, but also the media boards and more generally with authorities, but also with other stakeholders, including publisher. I mentioned civil society organization, um, through different consultation and meetings. Now, to give you an idea of what we got from this consultation. The goal of transparency was supported by the large majority. Um, and, uh, what was very much, uh, put in the front of the discussion was also the importance of this equilibrium, um, and to reduce administrative burden as much as possible. There is an issue with the slide.”
Transparency requirements of EU institutions · Transparency requirements for interest groups
- “The first annex is on the format of labels and transparency notice uh including with common requirement um, and also specific requirements for television and radio and print and digital media. Then we have two that we see on the slide, which is on templates for these labels and transparency notice and an extreme on the technical specification for the transparency notice I can move to the slides. Yeah. So regarding annex one of the implementing act, it provides for the general requirement for labels and transparency. Notice of online and online political ad covering the broad range of physical and digital forms of publication. And then on the substance, let me mention that the label must be included in, affixed to or associated with the political ad in a clear, salient and unambiguous manner to give the reader, the viewer, or the listener adequate notice of the information set out in the annex of the political ad regulation. A label is not clear, salient, or unambiguous if it is to the average person, difficult to read, view or hear, or if it is easily overlooked, including because it does not stand out clearly from the political ad or due to the configuration of the medium of publication or dissemination. Regarding visual labels and transparency, notice they must be legible in front of adequate size and suitable shape. Adapting to the publication medium, using different contrasts as well as adequate spacing between letters, lines and paragraphs.”
Transparency and oversight of AI-generated content · Disinformation & online freedoms
- “There is also specific attention to ensure accessibility for persons with disabilities, uh, taking into account the requirement of the European Accessibility Act. And there is also, um, I'm sure you will remember that specific regime for SMEs. I'm almost at the end. I have three points left. Um, just to say that on the commission, we remain extremely committed to support the full application of the regulation. And I would like to mention that yesterday the Commission published on the website of DG justice a draft guidance to support the application of the regulation. And this draft guidance is published for feedback for one month. And so this is really the moment we expect to get additional feedback on this very important topic. We are also preparing the Making available a portal on election dates in the European Union, and a portal linking national websites with a registered legal representative of providers of political art established outside the European Union. And it is very important because you will remember that the regulation contains specific provisions applicable to ads, which are provided for outside the union. Sorry, that was a bit long.”
EU policy on disability inclusion & accessibility · EU policy on accessibility of digital infrastructure
- “And second, a very important and we have heard a lot during the discussion on that. It establishes a robust framework governing the data protection part, which is the targeting and delivery of political ads, reinforcing the right to data protection in this context. I would like to mention in this context that the definition of political ad covers also messages which are designed and liable to impact the outcome of an election, but also a legislative or regulatory process, so-called issue based art in certain context. Know what this text will do. It will ensure an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability, and will provide very important tools for citizens to recognize political ads and also to take informed decisions. A reference has been made to Cambridge Analytica. Obviously, this is one of the drivers of this proposal to mention about the important transparency. I would like to mention 2 or 3 points, including that there will be information about the financial amount at stake, and they will also be information, for instance, on the use of artificial intelligence techniques, which has also been mentioned in this discussion. Also important to mention that the the part which is related to service applies to both online and offline political ads. So it's not limited to the online sphere and very important freedom of expression. Freedom of opinion is fully respected.”
Digital advertising · Transparency and oversight of AI-generated content
- “So it's for member States to appoint the competent authorities. Obviously data protection authorities will be competent for the data protection part, with a specific role for the European Data Protection Board. But there is also other authorities to be appointed, and we actively work with member States to to follow up this mechanism. And the regulation established a network of contact points. And we have organised first meetings of prospective contact points to support follow up by Member States. I would like also to mention in the context of this, how will basically stakeholders react to this, that the regulation also provides for a voluntary code of conduct? This is something which is very important. And last but not least, that the European Data Protection Board has been empowered to prepare guidelines regarding data protection. Dimension. Maybe two minor points to finish the Democracy Shield has been mentioned. Obviously, this is something on which we are very active to stop the action to support democracy. And last but not least, we have many other tools, including the European Cooperation Network on Elections, which gathers contact points of National Action Network gathering national authorities, where we discussed many of the topics which have been discussed today. We have also soft tools, a recommendation on elections, which also address different of the topics being discussed today. And last but not least, the Co-legislator is currently examining the draft directive on interest representation on behalf of third countries, which is an important tool regarding influence impacting regulatory and decision making process in the EU. Thank you very much.”
Foreign interference in Europe
- “Thank you very much. Very important discussion. And just I want to make 2 or 3 points very quickly. First there are very important points. And this is why somehow to address this point, that we know that we continue to work extremely actively with the whole ecosystem. So it's a text where we actively support the full application with the whole ecosystem. So not only with authorities, as I mentioned, and we establish different groups to really support the smooth application of the of the rules. And we will continue to accompany obviously, we will work closely with competent authorities in the Member States, especially in the framework of our network of national contact points. Also, to mention that we intend to draw insight from the application of the rule to organise an implementation dialogue already next year to really get very quickly information. And last but not least, regarding algorithm and the question on data protection. So just to be clear, the text does not prevent targeting. It's just a framing. And regarding the practicalities of how this rule will apply in practice, this is something which is within the competence of data protection authorities. And the Co-legislator decided to explicitly refer to the European Data Protection Board to provide guidance on this, and the work is ongoing. So that's just to mention that point. Thank you very much for having me here.”
Recommender systems
- “And I would like in this context to mention three points, is that, first of all, an opinion expressed in a personal capacity as other additional editorial content are a priori excluded from the scope. Second, that the message should be designed and also liable to influence an election, voting behavior, or legislative or regulatory process, and are excluded from the scope, practical information from official sources with some conditions, and also public communication that aims to provide official information also with some clarification also, and this has been mentioned in the discussion. This regulation is not about the content of any messages, it's about transparency, requirement and also a framing of targeting and ad delivery techniques. So on this basis, citizens will have better tools to recognize political messages, but also they will know more about algorithms also where the money comes from and other information. And this was very, very prominent in the discussion we just took place. I will not provide more details, but happy to come back if need be later on to this committee. Where are we with this text? This text partially entered into application and we fully enter into application in October of this year. The Commission is fully committed to support the smooth entry into application of this text, and we have many works to do so. I see I have already five minutes, so I don't know what I should do. Madam chair.”
Transparency and oversight of AI-generated content · Disinformation & online freedoms
- “I'm sorry for that. Um, no, it's the first one. So I will come to this. Yes. Sorry for that. Yeah. Sorry for that. The slides provide the specification of the act, and I'm still in the context. Apologies is not clear. Yeah. And so flexibility was also strongly embedded in the implementing act. Um, the implementing act is adapted to the different forms and means of dissemination, uh, while and the support was to enhance, uh, clarity in support of legal certainty. Um, there was particular attention being paid to ensure that viewers, readers and listeners of political actors would get the right information in a clear and salient way, but at the same time not to overburden them, particularly when we go about online format. Uh, what what I mentioned in the beginning is that very important is that this common EU standard should help citizens and other users to spot political actors and distinguish them from other content as well as to understand who is behind a political act is being made, and as to how and why they can be targeted by such message. And these should support the informed democratic choice. Now I will go to the details and the slides will be supporting this more technical part of the presentation. Now if I go to the implementing act, you will see that there are three annex. And now we have we are really going in the granularity of the implementing act.”
Disinformation & online freedoms
- “Yes, I will try to shorten it. So just to say that I will not give you all the detail, but obviously this is a bit long, it's a bit technical, but there are specific requirements for audio levels which follow the same logic. And then there are specific requirements for linear and on demand audiovisual media service and linear and non-linear radio service. I will I will not give you all the details, but you will see that the annex are very granular and they are support really based on the different media to really support compliance with the regulation. So regarding annex two, what does it does? It sets out a template of labels and transparency. Notice which may be, as I just mentioned, included in the label itself or maybe provided separately. Um, I will not go into detail regarding an. Um, Italy. Those technical specifications for transparency notice being made available online and um, just to mention that um where applicable, transparency notice will be made available in a machine readable format. Um, a transparency notice will be concerned machine readable, if it's providing a format that complies with some specification that you can see on the screen.”
Transparency requirements for interest groups
- “I would like to to go briefly on what it would be without such a proposal. What we have seen, and it's documented in our impact assessment, is that there is fragmentation and fragmentation is increasing and is likely to continue to increase, including in the context of foreign agent law. Um, also to mention that other democracies in the world are taking steps in this context. I'm sure you are very much aware about developments in UK, Canada, Australia, but not only regarding the question of the scope which has been raised. I think the rapporteur explained the centre of gravity of the proposal, which is very much reflecting also where the fragmentation is currently increasing and what has been mentioned by the rapporteur about the impact and the proportionality of the intervention, that covering a purely local situation would include a complete different setting. This being said, this proposal clearly refers to national systems and to rely on national systems to have this A registration. In other words, member states can and should if they can rely on such system. And there is no new register, for instance, being established at EU level. Um, on narrowing the definition, we just would like to highlight that looking at the development in the area of interest representation activities, it's important to keep a scope which covers what is existing currently. And what we see is that this is the line which is followed by others, including in the framework of the OECD on the um. Let me continue on data protection. I wanted to highlight that the text and data protection safeguards beyond other safeguards in the text to prevent stigmatisation, and there are many references to that.”
Foreign interference in Europe · Regulation of NGOs in Europe · Transparency requirements for interest groups
- “Um, also um contains a clear reference to data protection and in particular um. The full harmonisation defines the personal data or the data that are being processed. And also the publication of the register defines clearly what are the data at stake. And there is also a waiver in certain situations. I wanted to if I still have a bit of time to go a bit on this question of civil society. This text does not target civil society. It is about economic actors in the internal market. So the centre of gravity is the economic activity and the fact of carrying out an economic activities of interest, representation activities on behalf of third country civil society has other economic actors can in some cases carry out economic activities in the internal market. But let me remind you that the co-funding of civil society is excluded from the Commission proposal. And maybe last but not least, I would like to come back to the safeguards and the harmonisation. The text has been designed with a lot of safeguards, and I'm happy to explain, including in terms of framing, of the competence of the authorities on the type of sanctions, on the list of data that can be requested on a possible waiver in case of overriding interest. And there are many, many safeguards. No, this is embedded in the standard, and it's clearly meant to to prevent any limitation to freedom of expression, freedom of association, and also to ensure that there is no stigmatisation. So happy to continue the discussion and happy to provide more explanation as necessary along the way because we recognize that text is rather complex. Thanks a lot.”
Regulation of NGOs in Europe · Transparency requirements for interest groups
- “Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Good morning to all. I am very happy. Honourable Member of Parliament to be here to provide an overview of where we are, with the support to the full entry into application of the political regulation. As you might remember, this regulation and you mentioned it has been adopted by the Co-legislator. And I would like to update you today on what we do regarding the implementing act on the standards for Labels and Transparency Notice to start immediately with the end, and I will go to the detail just to mention that an implementing act on labels and transparency notice has just been adopted by the Commission. It was on the 9th of July and it should be published in the official journal very soon. And we are very happy to keep you informed about all these elements. Now, if you allow me, I would like to go a bit more in the details of this implementing act and to start the regulation on political that was agreed by the Co-legislator. And then it quickly entered into force with few provisions which immediately entered into application. And now we are in the next phase. This regulation will fully enter into application on the 10th of October this year. So we are very close to the full entry into application of this text. You might remember that this text established common standards in the internal market on transparency and accountability of political advertising or political advertising services.”
Disinformation & online freedoms · Transparency requirements of EU institutions
- “Good afternoon. Everybody. Thank you for Giving us the floor. First of all, I would like to say that on the side of the Commission, we very much welcome the presentation of this working document. As you know very well, we are working on a European Democracy shield, which has been announced by the president of the Commission. The shield will framework providing a strategic approach to safeguard and strengthen democracy in the European Union. Most likely it will be a political communication and it's currently being prepared under the leadership of Commissioner Marggraff. You might be aware that we have launched a public consultation on the shield, which will close very soon on the 26th of May. We are also extensively consulting stakeholders to get all kinds of Contribution. And more important, I would like to say that we welcome very much the work of this committee and look with great interest to the working document. The contribution of the European Parliament will be extremely important in our work, and we would like to continue to work in close cooperation with you. I would like also to, to say that, um, the shield will support democracy and our work is strongly anchored in our key values, fundamental rights and democratic values. Regarding the content of the topics we are looking at in the context of the public consultation. First, I would mention foreign information manipulation and interference and disinformation. Second, fairness and integrity of elections and strengthening of democratic framework and process. Third, social resilience and preparedness, and fourth, citizens participation and engagement in democracy.”
Disinformation & online freedoms · Foreign interference in Europe
- “I would like to mention some of the topics. Obviously, I cannot be exhaustive. For the rest, I would take too much time. So on the first point, which is the social resilience and preparedness, the importance of citizens democratic engagement, we are looking at ways to further empower citizens in democracies with the right skills. It is important to work on digital and media literacy, to foster critical thinking and build resilience from an early stage, but also lifelong. Um. We would like also to to foster active democratic participation in elections, democratic debate and policy making. We have already many tools and innovative tools. You may certainly be aware of Citizens Panel youth dialogue and they are very interesting practice developing in the member States, including at local level, to promote democratic engagement and inclusive participation. Also to mention the importance to communicate effectively on the importance of democracy. Regarding the second block, just to mention that civil society organization has media and other players are key to democratic checks and balance. And you may be aware that the Commission has announced a civil society strategy on the third block regarding the election. We will continue to support the work regarding free and fair elections. There were a point on competence, and to remind that the conduct and the organisation of elections are indeed the competence and responsibility of Member States, while doing so, They need to respect international law, but also EU law, and many pieces of important legislation have been mentioned in the discussion, including the Digital Service Act or the Regulation on Political Act.”
EU engagement with civil society · EU engagement with citizens
- “We have established cooperation framework like the European Cooperation Network on Elections, and member states have engaged actively in this context, and we will continue to stand ready to support Member States in their work. Safety of political candidates and elected representatives is also a very important topic, including for women. Um, equal opportunities in the new information system, including online, is a topic which is also on our agenda. You may have seen that in the new ecosystem, the traditional rules for equality and equal opportunities are very much being challenged. Transparency and accountability in online environment is also important. A lot has been said on algorithms. I will not expand on that. Um. Last but not least, we also look at disinformation and information manipulation and interference. Uh, we need to pursue our efforts on Fimi. A foreign information manipulation, interference. Um, the Commission has announced a European network of fact checkers. Um, and globally, we need to reinforce our collective capacity to prevent, detect, analyze and respond to new phenomena. Um, we look at ways to strengthen our cooperation on prevention, detection, information sharing, including on response. And to conclude, I would like to come back to my first point, to underline the importance of the work of your committee and to see that it's something which is extremely important for the preparation of the sheet. Thank you very much for giving me the floor.”
Disinformation & online freedoms · Transparency and oversight of AI-generated content · Foreign interference in Europe
- “So one of the things which is very important is that, for instance, and it's in our guidelines, if there is an information campaign to prevent health, this is not a political ad. This is something which is not designed and liable to impact an election. So if this comes from a specific entity like a CSO, this is not liable and designed to influence electoral regulatory process. The same for get to Vote campaign organised by member states. There is a specific vote in the text. This is not covered by the text. A public information about free movement rights is also not covered by the text. The presentation of candidates in public space or in the media based on equality is also not covered by the text. And then maybe that's a bit the be the complexity. The rapporteur at that time was mentioning there are sometimes a bit more granularity. So for instance, if there is a political message posted by a political party on social media, there is no need for any labelling and transparency notice. But there might be, for instance, a bit of accountability requirement that could apply if there are economic providers involved. Now, you had a specific question about the fact how do we go about simplification, etc.. So the text entered in full application last week. What we did on the commission side, we really tried to accompany as much as we could upstream based on a very transparent process. So with prospective authorities, with stakeholders, with the whole community, including sponsors, and all the work we have done is based on this conversation with the different stakeholders, obviously within the legal boundaries.”
Disinformation & online freedoms · Transparency requirements for interest groups
- “So we have a very, very strong commitment to work with authorities and the whole chain to support the full entry into application. In this context, what I wanted to mention is that we are about to establish a group, a new expert group, which is more to look at other stakeholders that the authorities that's in the process and will continue to engage also strongly with sponsors, representative of sponsor, different groups, because obviously a lot of obligations in terms of defining what is a political act comes from the sponsor themselves. And that's important because the responsibility of economic actors is not basically to define what is a political act. It's something which is for the sponsor. And so that's part of the conversation we have with actors. I hope I covered your important point regarding the choice of some companies. I think the representative is in the best position to explain why they did that. We understand it's a commercial choice. What we can say on our side is that this commercial choice, we don't see completely the connection all the time because they go clearly beyond. So they cover activities which are just outside the scope of the regulation. And I'm happy to to continue the conversation on that. Obviously, we believe it's important that all parties have the possibility to communicate in a democratic society and all the tools should be made available. So and that's what I mentioned in the beginning regarding the level playing field between the offline and online world, it's important that access in a democracy to the offline and online channels exist. Thanks a lot.”
Disinformation & online freedoms · EU rules on digital competition · EU restrictions on unfair commercial practices
- “Good morning everybody. Thank you very much for inviting us. I think the intro has already been done. The context to come directly to the to the question of Mr. Godsey, member of the Parliament, just to say that what I would like to do is to remind a few points. And from the outset, I want to say that we work, obviously with competent national authorities to foster common interpretation, which is something we see in many legal acts in the internal market. But and simplification is obviously something very important, whatever we can do to help compliance, we are doing it. I would like to take two three points, which are in the guidelines, just to remind what this regulation does and what it does not do. So first of all, it creates a level playing field within the union and also for providers from outside the union. Also it provides a level playing field for offline and online ads. That's very important. It was very important in the context of the preparation of the regulation, because there were discrepancies between the offline world and the online world. Now, what the regulation does not do, and you said it does not ban political ads. It also does not regulate the content of a message. So freedom of expression is perfectly respected. And it just gives some transparency and accountability requirements for activities impacting our key democratic process, elections and regulatory process. Um, we did all the homework, so I will not go to all the homework, but I will just give additional examples about things, what the regulation does and does not do, because I hear all kinds of misunderstanding.”
Disinformation & online freedoms · Recommender systems
- “Thank you, Madam Chair. Just on on the few points we have been raised. Um, just, um, on on the first point regarding, uh, the importance of having something which is simple and flexible, that's something which is strongly embedded in the design of this, um, uh, requirement. And also to mention that something we will continue to carefully monitor. Obviously, we continue as a commission to actively support the application of this text and will continue to carefully monitor the situation along the way. Uh, regarding the reference to the European Democracy Shield, I'm sure you are aware that there have been broad consultation and the importance of helping people with the necessary skills in terms of navigating the new ecosystem is something which came frequently as part of of the feedback, and we obviously carefully took note of the point which has been made, um, on the, um, the points regarding, um, what the text does and what it does not do. Just to clarify that, um, the text, it's about common transparency and accountability standards in the internal market and a specific part on data protection. But what it does not do, it does not cover what information is allowed in political advertisement. Um, in line with specific laws that could apply. Uh, it also does not consent the content of the message. So whether the message are factually correct or not factually correct, it provides for transparency and accountability, which could impact basically, uh, the basically the possibility to know where does it come from, etc., but it does not take any position on, um, the content of message as such. And it does not impact the rules on the conduct and funding of political campaign.”
Disinformation & online freedoms
- “Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Honorable members and esteemed panelists. Very important discussion today. And maybe before explaining what we do on the regulation, on targeting and transparency on political ads, I would like from the outset to remind the importance of a healthy information space where citizens could form their own opinion, where they have access to reliable information from a plurality of sources, and where different views can be expressed. Also, where citizens have the right to cast free and fair votes. This is the essence of our democracy. Let me turn now to the regulation on transparency and targeting of political ads. And I would like to remind the basic element of this these texts and also highlight where we are now. So this text has been adopted by the co-legislators in 24 and is established common standards in the internal market on transparency of political acts. By doing so, and that's very important. It addresses fragmentation in the internal market and also enhanced legal certainty, lowers barriers to the free movement of this service and simplify the regulatory framework. At the same time preventing regulatory arbitrage. Also to mention that it takes into account the needs of SMEs, which are subject to specific transparency requirements. There are specific provisions for SMEs in the text. Now what does this text do? There are basically two different parts. One part, which is about a service which requires clear labelling and transparency. Notice with different details to be provided, including the details of the sponsor of a political act in the context of the provision of services.”
Disinformation & online freedoms · Transparency requirements for interest groups
- “Maybe to come back on on a few points. So about what would have changed? I describe in in broad terms what is this regulation? I can also mention something you mentioned yourself, Madam Chair, which is this the fact that the regulation also requires service providers to only provide service to clients from the EU in the three months prior to an election or a referendum. So there is also a requirement there. Then maybe regarding a thought on what do we do to support, do the stakeholders know very well about this text? So obviously this is part of the preparatory work from from the commission side. We actively support the full entry into application of the regulation. We have many work strands. Um, there is a comitology committee which has been established, which is competent to provide an opinion on an implementing act on the format and template of labels and transparency notices. You may have seen that the draft implementing Act has been published by the Commission until last week. And on the basis of the feedback, will continue to prepare for its adoption. We also work on guidance to ease compliance, and in order to do so, we have obviously contacted many consultations. We have a call for evidence currently being published to also gather additional feedback and fine tune our support. And last but not least, we have to prepare for a repository. That's something which is ongoing, and we prepare for a portal on election dates in the EU, and also a portal linking national website on registered legal representative. Maybe very shortly the governance has been mentioned. Also, how do we work? How do we go about it.”
Disinformation & online freedoms · EU rules on digital competition
- “Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Good afternoon, everybody, and thank you very much for this very important discussion on the side of the Commission. I would like to to start from the outset to say we are happy to to further explain the proposal, because from the discussion, I have the feeling that there is scope for further explaining some of the points of the Commission proposal, maybe taking in the order the key points which have been made and without prejudice to our availability, to further explain the commission proposal. I would like first to say that, um, what we speak about is interest representation activities. What is interest representation activities to the activities impacting regulatory process and decision making process in the European Union. So we speak about the core of our democracies. And when these activities are being carried out on behalf of third countries. And the proposal is about a common standard in the internal market about these activities. So just to mention, those are extremely central activities to our democracy. Um, we have heard different views during this discussion. Um, I welcome the fact that many have said that the transparency purpose in the public life and the democratic accountability, something being welcomed. Um, this is the first time that EU standards are being proposed in this area. And I would like to highlight that in the proposal of the Commission, there is a review clause, and the review clause refers explicitly to the scope. And that's a point which has been made, and I'm happy to go further on that. And also to mention that on this general point, you can count on our support. There was a call from some group to withdraw the proposal.”
Foreign interference in Europe · Transparency requirements of EU institutions · Transparency requirements for interest groups