The Human Rights Centre signed The People’s Declaration. This initiative aims to create a digital space that is more respectful of human rights with a strong Digital Services Act package. That means giving national legal authorities the power to hold digital platforms accountable, making authorisation for data processing a more significant option, increasing the transparency of online advertisements, and changing the toxic design of algorithms. By now, more than 100 organisations all over Europe have signed the declaration.

The Digital Services Act package includes two legislative initiatives proposed by the European Commission to upgrade rules governing digital services in the EU: the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA). These acts are scheduled to be adopted in the first half of 2022. Their goal is to make our digital space safer and more open. Among other things, by obliging tech giants and social media platforms to take more responsibility, by making them more accountable for their actions, by increasing the transparency of the platforms, and that means stepping up the fight against hate speech and misinformation. Non-governmental organisations all over Europe see this as an opportunity to make our digital space fairer and more respectful of the fundamental rights of our citizens.