The internet and social media have had a transformational effect on many aspects of Europeans’ lives, not least in the field of politics and democratic engagement. But they have also thrown up a variety of new and unexpected challenges: democratic, regulatory, social, and even philosophical. From coordinated disinformation campaigns – by state and non-state actors – to filter bubbles and echo chambers, from targeted clickbait to bots and data breaches, the modern age brims with new threats to the established way of doing things.
The EPC engages in this topic by publishing analyses, organising events, and contributing to the debate in the media at both national and EU level. In doing so it seeks to provide answers to questions such as: what kind of regulatory framework can tackle disinformation while protecting freedom of speech? Does responsibility for a safer internet lie with social media companies, governments, or internet users themselves? How do populist and illiberal actors make use of online campaign tools and misleading political material, and how can more liberally-minded forces fight back?