Commission puts forward declaration on digital rights and principles for everyone in the EU

Today (January 26th 2022) the European commission adopted a proposals for a European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles for the Digital Decade.

See the press release here and the actual declaration here. The published version of the declaration now has a chapter IV that is called "Participation in the digital public space”. Here is the relevant section:

Chapter IV: Participation in the digital public space

Everyone should have access to a trustworthy, diverse and multilingual online environment. Access to diverse content contributes to a pluralistic public debate and should allow everyone to participate in democracy.Everyone has the right to freedom of expression in the online environment, without fear of being censored or intimidated.

Everyone should have the means to know who owns or controls the media services they are using.

Very large online platforms should support free democratic debate online, given the role of their services in shaping public opinion and discourse. They should mitigate the risks stemming from the functioning and use of their services, including for disinformation campaigns and protect freedom of expression.

We commit to:

‌‌• supporting the development and best use of digital technologies to stimulate citizen engagement and democratic participation.
‌‌• continuing safeguarding fundamental rights online, notably the freedom of expression and information.‌‌
• taking measures to tackle all forms of illegal content in proportion to the harm they can cause, and in full respect of the right to freedom of expression and information, and without establishing any general monitoring obligations.
‌‌• creating an online environment where people are protected against disinformation and other forms of harmful content.