On March 31 Netopia launched its report Citizens’ Internet – The Many Threats to Neutrality at the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels.
As the media sphere is shifting towards digital services, commercial organizations, many of them based outside the EU, are more and more able to decide upon which kind of content and which sort of communication constitute the public sphere. These developments, together with their implications for us in terms of press plurality and individual rights, are discussed in the report.
> How will we guarantee that future communication infrastructure will still meet our demands for democratic opinion formation?
> How can we ensure that all services and contents which are relevant for the well-functioning of the public sphere are available online?
> What should be the role of the EU in sustaining a public sphere online?
> Should the EU impose new rules for companies which operate within the EU while residing elsewhere?
In the midst of the complex and often exciting technical changes, we should ensure that our needs as citizens are not left out of the equation. The Netopia event allowed for a moment of discussion, report presentation and mingle.
Speakers at the event:
Ralf Grötker
Technology journalist and author of the report,
Citizens’ Internet – The Many Threats to Neutrality
Peter Eberl
European Commission, DG CONNECT,
Deputy Head of unit Regulatory Coordination & Users
Marc Tarabella
European Parliament,
S&D Group
Eric Pigal
European Economic and Social Committee, TEN section
Representative of the Engineering and Executive Entrepreneurs
Andrea Renda
Senior Research Fellow at CEPS,
Manager of the CEPS Digital Forum
Moderator: Per Strömbäck
Editor Netopia
Download the full report in English here.
Download the full report in German here.
Preface of the report here.
In partnership with:
