At the 2017 Internet Governance Forum (@intgovforum, 17-21 December in Geneva), the Council of Europe contributes to a high-level panel tackling the effects of digitized information on politics, public trust and democracy – and will stress the importance of sustained digital literacy to counter any negative effects.
While digitization can promote transparency and increase public awareness of events, Europe’s premier human rights organisation – the Council of Europe – raises human rights concerns, including privacy rights, media freedom, and the damaging impact of information disorder on democracy.
On Tuesday 19 December, from 11 am to 1 pm, in Room 17, Building E of the of the United Nations Office, Claudia Luciani – director of the Council of Europe’s Democratic Governance and Anti-discrimination directorate – joins panellists representing private companies, governments, NGOs and relevant research institutes to assess both benefits and challenges of digitization in a two-part session. Themes include tensions between WikiLeaks-style transparency versus government and institutional concerns for security and facing the challenge of bots used to influence elections.
