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Resolution 1970 (2014) Final version
Internet and politics: the impact of new information and communication technology on democracy
1. The Parliamentary Assembly notes
that the expansion of the Internet has had major consequences in terms
of the exercise of the fundamental rights which are central to the
construction of our democratic societies, such as the right to freedom
of information, expression, opinion, assembly and association, and
the protection of an individual’s privacy.
2. This expansion and the exponential acceleration of the capacity
for transmission on the network have put an end to the concentration
of informative power and changed the paradigm of communication.
The public space has been enlarged and the web has become an enormous
unbounded field, a veritable global forum where all individuals
can seek and exchange information, share knowledge, express opinions
on any subject and become committed to an idea or a cause.
3. The upheavals caused by the Internet have altered the relationship
between the political world and citizens and the balance between
representative democracy and direct democracy. They make it imperative for
us to discuss both the new prospects that are opening up for a stronger
and more dynamic form of democracy and the new dangers which may
undermine it, along with the role that legislators should play in
this process.
4. The Internet helps citizens to rally together and ensures
increased visibility for their action. It has also radically changed
institutional communication and the structure of the relationship
between voters and the political parties, as well as among citizens,
elected representatives and government departments. More broadly,
it has extended the possibilities for participation in political
life. The Internet is thus an essential part of modern democracy,
and the political institutions must take account of the plethora
of citizen participation initiatives which take shape on the web.
5. The development of communication technologies in future will
allow the use of electronic voting for the expansion of the traditional
mechanisms of democracy. This process should be gradual.
6. However, the Assembly does not think that in today’s complex
world it would be possible to replace the universal-suffrage model
of political representation with any sort of model based primarily
on processes of direct democracy through electronic channels, even
supposing that everyone had access to the consultation procedures
and voted via the Internet and that appropriate means were found
to remove all obstacles to the general use of electronic voting.
7. The definition and implementation of policies necessitate
a number of long-term choices, requiring complex negotiations and
involving conflicting interests which are difficult to balance;
such complexity is not sufficiently appreciated in the decision-making
processes on the web, which must necessarily simplify the content
of discussions. Public policies also require internal coherency
and co-ordination, to which the fragmentation of the decision-making
process on the web would set up insuperable obstacles.
8. Lastly, in such a system, those people – having more resources
and necessarily fewer in number – who would de
facto dictate the final decisions would neither be known
nor required to account for these decisions, and would therefore
wield a type of power which was both illegitimate and unaccountable.
In this case we can no longer speak of democracy.
9. Participation and representation are inseparable; this requires
representative democracy to be genuinely participative. For several
years now, the Assembly has been regularly observing the erosion
of public confidence in political institutions. In order to halt
this tendency, politicians should listen more, develop citizen participation
and promote active citizenship.
10. In this regard, the Assembly notes that the Internet and social
media are opening new doors to enlarged dialogue between citizens
and elected representatives and stimulating more dynamic participation
in democratic life. We must seize this opportunity to reconnect
the democratic institutions, via the Internet, with the citizens
who have moved away from them, and develop, particularly in our
parliaments, the capacities and competences required for exploiting
this positive potential provided by the Internet.
11. Alongside the elected representatives, the political parties
have an extremely important role to play; the Assembly invites them
to reflect on their relations with their electoral bases and on
the use of new information and communication technology in order
to develop permanent dialogue with voters and involve them in devising,
and subsequently implementing, their political programmes.
12. However, the Assembly is aware that the Internet increases
the risks of abuses and aberrations liable to jeopardise human rights,
the rule of law and democracy: it accommodates the expression of
intolerance, hatred and violence against children and women; it
fuels organised crime, international terrorism and dictatorships;
it also intensifies the risk of biased information and manipulation
of opinion, and facilitates insidious monitoring of our private
lives.
13. Control over the lawful use of data processed on the web is
difficult: national legislations on data protection differ and privacy
policies of the transnational Internet corporations – which are
the world’s largest personal data operators – are subject only to
the law of the States where the corporations are registered. It
is especially worrying that personal data have been reduced to tradeable
goods and are misused for commercial or political purposes, posing
a serious threat to the protection of private lives. In addition,
the increased use of new semantic polling techniques can lead to
the manipulation of public opinion and distort political processes.
14. The Internet belongs to everyone; therefore, it belongs to
no one and has no borders. We must preserve its openness and neutrality.
However, the Internet must not be allowed to become a gigantic prying mechanism,
operating beyond all democratic control. We must prevent the web
from becoming a de facto no-go
area, a sphere dominated by hidden powers in which no responsibility
can be clearly assigned to anyone.
15. The accountability of Internet operators is therefore a key
issue which the Assembly is currently dealing with via two reports
on the right to Internet access and on co-ordinated strategies for
effective Internet governance. At the European Union level, the
“Code of EU online rights” and the “Digital Agenda for Europe” initiatives
are also concerned with this issue.
16. Web surfers can help make the Internet a safer environment
which respects human rights and the operators must shoulder their
responsibilities in fighting abuses and aberrations. Self-regulation
is vital here to guarantee Internet neutrality and should be encouraged;
it would not, however, appear to be sufficient.
17. States must take concerted action and adopt common rules,
while ensuring that the supervisory mechanisms themselves do not
threaten fundamental freedoms, to protect the Internet as an area
of freedom. The revelations about the operations of intelligence
agencies which go beyond any legal framework by ordering systematic
intrusions into private life are unacceptable; this must lead us
to reflect seriously on the price we pay for our security and on
the precautions which we must take in order to avoid annihilating
the space for freedom on the Internet.
18. National parliaments provide key forums for discussing democracy
and the possible renewal of the democratic system in the Internet
age; they must, however, open up, intensively involve all stakeholders
– such as state institutions, private entities and commercial companies
– and mobilise the whole of civil society for the debate on democracy,
politics and the Internet.
19. Accordingly, the Assembly recommends that the member States,
and in particular their national parliaments:
19.1. increase the capacity of the political – and in particular
the parliamentary – institutions to use new information and communication
technology to improve the transparency of the decision-making process and
dialogue with citizens, in particular through social networks, parliamentary
Internet channels and other platforms allowing citizens to provide
feedback;
19.2. continue, in this context, developing targeted Internet
training programmes for elected representatives, modernising the
websites of parliaments and governments and improving the use of online
consultation and participation facilities;
19.3. not merely reproduce traditional tools online but reach
out to citizens in the virtual spaces they are creating and think
creatively about the Internet’s potential as a platform for engagement
and knowledge sharing;
19.4. use the Internet more effectively as a source of aggregate
data that can be used to identify citizens’ preferences and needs
so that the political agenda on all levels of government better
reflects the issues of concern to society, while bearing in mind
the long-term effects in the context of the general interest;
19.5. take advantage of the functions of the Internet to boost
co-operation between the authorities, civil society and universities
with a view to developing and implementing initiatives to promote
political and democratic engagement among citizens;
19.6. combat the socio-cultural inequalities which perpetuate
the digital divide, including by introducing educational programmes
aimed at teenagers and young students so that they acquire the necessary competences
for using the Internet as well-informed web surfers;
19.7. promote the convergence of education in the new media
and education for democratic citizenship and human rights, which
should take due account of the advantages and problems of the Internet,
and develop programmes capable of reaching the various age brackets
and social groups; these programmes should mobilise school and university
circles, social partners and the media;
19.8. invite universities to develop academic courses in the
area of data science, including ethical, technical, legal, economic
and societal aspects;
19.9. initiate, both at the national level and within the Council
of Europe, discussions on norms and mechanisms, keeping pace with
the development of the technologies, required for:
19.9.1. creating
a safe space on the web while also guaranteeing freedom of expression
as set out in Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights
(ETS No. 5) and the protection of private life as set out in Article
8;
19.9.2. preventing the risk of information distortion and manipulation
of public opinion, and consider, for instance:
19.9.2.1. devising
coherent regulations and/or incentives for self-regulation concerning
the accountability of the major Internet operators;
19.9.2.2. establishing an independent institution with sufficient
powers, technical competences and resources to give expert opinions
on the algorithms of the search engines which filter and regulate
access to information and knowledge on the web, while averting the
risk that such an institution could undermine the very nature of
freedom of expression;
19.9.2.3. developing principles and general standards for regulating
the new semantic polling practices;
19.9.2.4. devising regulations that must be applied by companies
offering Internet communication systems to prevent the abuse of
individuals’ personal or family life by trolling activities, while
maintaining a balance with freedom of expression;
19.10. ensure on the one hand respect for human rights on the
web and, on the other, freedom of the Internet, and take action
within the international bodies responsible for Internet governance
to preserve these rights and this freedom throughout the world,
especially where democracy has been weakened, threatened or abolished;
19.11. unreservedly support the proposal to launch the preparation
of a Council of Europe white paper on democracy, politics and the
Internet set out by the Assembly in its Recommendation 2033 (2014) “Internet
and politics: the impact of new information and communication technology
on democracy”.
19.12. pursue the reflection, in close co-operation with the
European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission),
with a view to elaborating a protocol to the European Convention
on Human Rights on the right to participate in the conduct of public
affairs, as stressed in Resolution 1746 (2010) and Recommendation 1928 (2010) “Democracy
in Europe: crisis and perspectives”, and pay special attention to
the role of the Internet and other digital tools of participation, such
as social networks, online discussion platforms, electronic voting
and open government initiatives.