Open letter to President von der Leyen: Defend digital rights

Europe’s digital rights laws were written to protect people, not powerful digital platforms.

That’s why more than 50 civil society and advocacy groups — including Lie Detectors — have written to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, urging the EU to stand firm against renewed US attempts to undermine digital regulations.

The letter calls on the EU to ensure that all corporations, including US tech giants such as Meta and Google, comply with Europe’s digital rulebook: the Digital Markets Act, the Digital Services Act and the AI Act.

Together, these regulations aim to:

• Protect democratic debate and elections from foreign information manipulation and interference online;

• Guarantee individual rights and freedoms, including privacy;

• Safeguard fair competition in digital marketplaces.
  
  When corporations break these rules, there must be consequences. The letter urges use of the EU’s Anti-Coercion Instrument and other tools to deter further political pressure from Washington DC.
  
  At stake is not only Europe’s regulatory sovereignty, but the values we pass on in classrooms every day: critical thinking, verification of information and safe online spaces.
  
  Together with our colleagues, we urge the Commission to stand against US coercion. Protecting Europe’s rulebook means protecting citizens’ ability to tell fact from fake and ensuring the next generation can grow up with fair, informed debate.
  
  Lie Detectors has added its voice to this important initiative because we see a need to tackle disinformation and polarisation from all relevant angles. We may be best known for our media literacy work in classrooms. But it cannot all be up to citizens and consumers. The proliferation of disinformation and polarisation must also be tackled at its source, and for us, that lies in the business model of the large online platforms.
  
  Let’s hold them to account.