Online platforms must do better, says tech policy chief, but education and regulation are also key to keeping democracy alive in the age of AI.

At this week’s special Euranet Plus summit, Commission EVP Henna Virkkunen, who holds responsibility for technological sovereignty, security and democracy, speaks to our member stations about a range of topics within her portfolio.

Down with disinformation

Our colleague Annick from RTBF launches proceedings by highlighting recently published, and rather alarming, data from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. Data suggesting that, in 2024, disinformation affected at least four in five of the national elections monitored by the Global Election Monitor – including some in EU member states.

Yes, says the executive vice-president, but the picture is not homogeneous.

Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission (in English):

“During the Romanian elections, 20 times more disinformation was flagged by the trusted flaggers now during the presidential elections than one year ago in the European elections in the whole of the European Union. So, 20 times more in Romania. But at the same time, in Portugal they also had elections, and there was [hardly any of that kind of disinformation reported]. So it's also a very different situation in different countries.”

The report also shows that foreign interference is becoming increasingly sophisticated, involving a mixture of cyberattacks, financial influence and online manipulation. So, Annick asks, when it comes to the digital regulation of platforms and keeping up with these fast-moving threats, do the tools we have at our disposal in the EU fall short?

Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission (in English):

“I think that we have very robust rules in the European Union when it comes to digital services, because we have the Digital Services Act and now we are fully enforcing these rules. And it's very clearly said in our rules that online platforms have to all the time assess and mitigate the systematic risks they are posing, for example, to our civic discourse or electoral processes, and especially when it comes to elections.”

But, she continues, Brussels is not resting on its laurels and simply relying on the rules. They are taking a more active approach than this.

Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission (in English):

“When there are elections coming in different member states, together with the national digital coordinator, the Commission has been also having roundtables with online platforms and really checking that they have all the practices in place and they are making sure that they are not manipulated or misused during the electoral process.”

The European Democracy Shield is another new policy initiative by the European Commission, one that was proposed last summer and is currently under development. It brings together a number of proposals intended to protect the EU's democratic processes and institutions from various threats, particularly those related to foreign information manipulation and interference, and to enhance the resilience of its democratic systems. 

Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission (in English):

“When we are preparing our democracy shield, of course, the integrity of our electoral processes and the disinformation and foreign interference part will be a crucial part of that.”

The Commission expects to release its communication on the Democracy Shield in the third quarter of 2025.

Safeguarding citizens

Katy at The Europeans asks the EVP for her take on the suggestion that it is within the EU's existing powers – and interests – to force social media companies to switch off their so-called ‘recommender algorithms’, which can be used to bombard citizens with content that makes them fearful, angry and open to political manipulation.

Virkkunen does not directly answer the question, but does raise the important issue of transparency.

Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission (in English):

“It's also one part of our Digital Services Act that we want to make sure that online platforms are transparent. And that's why they also have to inform users why certain content is recommended for them. And users also have the possibility to change the recommender system. We know that nearly all online platforms are not transparent enough in their actions.”

They know this as, last year, a number of large online platforms and search engines were audited to assess their compliance with their Digital Services Act obligations regarding the management of illegal content, disinformation and the protection of fundamental rights.

X and Meta fared worst with the Commission, with many breaches noted in the fields of content moderation, fact checking, data access, advertising transparency, and misleading or dangerous practices affecting minors.

So, asks Claudia at German broadcaster AMS, what more could the EU be doing to raise everyone’s awareness of online manipulation?

Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission (in English):

“I want to underline the importance of media literacy and digital skills and digital literacy. It's very important that we are also educating our citizens [about the] digital world, that everybody has the tools to think and critically analyse the content that they see. […] And we see that when we are looking at digital skills, we are not where we should be. So this is certainly an area, in the coming months and years, where we have to focus. And also look at the best examples, at those member states who has been successful in this field. Because at a general level, we are lagging very much behind on digital skills.”

Artjoms, our moderator from Latvijas Radio, asks EVP Virkkunen about the social media age-restriction proposal that a number of politicians across the EU are now vocally backing.

Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission (in English):

“In our Digital Services Act, we have a very clear obligation for online service providers that when minors are using those services, a very high level of safety, privacy and security should be ensured for these minors. And we know that this is not the case now. That's why the Commission has opened several investigations against very large online platforms. But we are also now finalising our guidelines for online platforms, where we are really showing them what kind of practices we are expecting from the online platforms to make it more safe and secure for our minors to use these services. I understand also the discussion about the age limit, but at the same time we also have to think that we have to educate citizens for the digital world. So I think it's important also to learn to use digital tools. But I understand that in many families, it's a major concern, especially about screen time.”

The new guidelines Virkkunen mentions recommend that those platforms most likely to pose risks to minors implement measures to mitigate those risks: by blocking access to problematic content, ensuring account confidentiality, and reducing the risk of cyberbullying. The consultation period for these guidelines has just closed.

Meanwhile, built-in age verification solutions and parental control software are strongly supported by many member states, including Cyprus, Denmark, France, Greece, Slovenia and Spain. And the Commission is working on an age-verification app that is intended to provide a stopgap until the EU Digital Identity Wallet becomes available, supposedly by the end of 2026.

Standing on our own 27 feet

Gigi, our colleague from Radio 24 in Milan, brings the conversation back around to the much-debated question of technological sovereignty. Yes, says Virkkunen, of course we want sovereignty… but not at the expense of cooperation.

Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission (in English):

“It's important that we have our own capacity in all our critical sectors, that we are not dependent on one company or one third country when it comes to very critical services. And we have specified that especially AI and quantum technology and semiconductors, these are three very critical technologies in which we have to invest, ourselves, to make sure that we also have capabilities ourselves, here. But at the same time, this doesn't mean that we are closing our borders, that we are not cooperating with others. We see that it's an important part of competitiveness [to also work] very closely with like-minded partners when it comes to technologies and digital. But at the same time, it’s also important to have our own capacity, that we are not dependent.”

And what about when it comes to artificial intelligence, presses Aušra at Žinių Radijas. Isn't it time to admit that the EU is falling behind in the AI race, with its continuing focus on adopting already-overdue regulations when all the major players are based elsewhere in the world anyway?

The executive vice-president begs to differ, insisting that the regulatory exercise is vital.

Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission (in English):

“We know that AI will change many things in our society and industry and workplaces in the coming years. So it's important that people can trust this technology. For example, when AI is used in a hospital, it's important that our citizens know that it meets certain standards and has been tested before being applied on the markets.”

She also disagrees that Europe has lost the global AI race.

Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission (in English):

“We also have many strengths in the European Union when it comes to AI. We have the [most] researchers on AI in the European Union. And we also have about 6,000 start-ups that are working to deploy AI. But the main obstacle for them has been that they haven't have the computing capacity to train their AI systems. And that's why we are now investing in AI factories, together with our member states, to make sure that our start-ups and researchers have access to computing capacity. Then they can also develop AI in the European Union.”

These 15 or so ‘AI factories’, stemming from the AI Continent action plan presented in early April, will bring together computing power, data and talent from multiple member states to create cutting-edge AI models and applications. But the ‘GigaFactories’ concept will take this to the next level, with a new EU fund of 20 billion euros set aside to create up to five top-spec, large-scale AI facilities to support European researchers and industry.

But with private-sector funding accounting for just two-thirds of R&D funds in the EU – significantly less than in the US or China – one key priority for Virkkunen is to harness more private investment to help the bloc meet its AI ambitions going forwards.