In the past years, governments have been increasingly handing over state responsibilities to private actors (for instance for the purpose of fighting against alleged copyright infringements, hate speech or terrorism).
What does the predominance of a few powerful platforms mean for the enforcement of public policy goals? How are state responsibilities transferred to online platforms and what is the impact on society and human rights? How can we address this trend and ensure respect of the rule of law?
The goal of the session is to establish in which ways voluntary actions by private companies challenge core democratic principles.
The session will conclude with a constructive discussion of solutions that are respectful of fundamental rights and the rule of law.
Moderator: Kirsten Fiedler, Senior Policy and Campaigns Manager at EDRi
Speakers:
- Owen Benett, Internet Policy Manager at Mozilla
- Jan Ellermann, Senior Specialist at Europol
- Joe McNamee, EDRi volunteer
- Aleksandra Kuczerawy, Postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for IT & IP Law at KU Leuven