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Defend Democracy

Defend Democracy works to defend and strengthen democracy against foreign, domestic and technological threats.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Alex Agius Saliba (Member of the European Parliament)

26 Jun 2025 · Democratic Tech Alliance

Response to European Democracy Shield

26 May 2025

As a nonpartisan organisation specialising since 2017 in societal resilience against hybrid threats, Defend Democracy welcomes the opportunity to provide input to the European Commission. /// Across Europe, our democracies are challenged by foreign, domestic and technological threats. These are interconnected and reinforcing each other. Therefore, if we want to 'shield' our democracies, we must broaden not only the scope of what to shield against, we must also broaden the societal resilience that is needed. For this, the European Democracy Shield should be aligned with President Niinistö's Preparedness report and the European Preparedness Union strategy. /// Since at least 2014 we are watching a coup against democracy unfold. It is the combination of hybrid warfare, rise of the far-right, and tech coup. With Putin, Trump and techbros teaming up, it is time we stand up to defend democracy while we still can. /// How long can Europe hold the line if we dont take defending our democracy as serious as defending our territory? What is the point of pouring billions into defence, if we are underinvesting in what we want to defend: our freedoms and rights, our democracy, the very existence of the European project? /// We need not only investments in hard security but also in democratic security and resilience: we must urgently fix the pillars and roof of our democracy, so that it becomes much harder to attack it from the outside or to undermine it from the inside. Democracy won't defend itself; we must. /// Further reading: * Invest now: https://defenddemocracy.eu/open-letter-to-eu-commission-president-von-der-leyen/ /// * Broaden the scope: https://defenddemocracy.eu/defending-our-democracy-starts-with-us-not-with-a-shield/ /// * Urgent: stop the triple coup against democracy: https://defenddemocracy.eu/handsoff-our-democracy/
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Meeting with Alexandra Geese (Member of the European Parliament) and Heinrich Böll Stiftung e.V. and Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit

29 Apr 2025 · Event: EUDS Defend Democracy

Meeting with Nathalie Loiseau (Member of the European Parliament, Committee chair)

29 Apr 2025 · Lutte contre les ingérences étrangères

Meeting with Marie-Helene Boulanger (Head of Unit Justice and Consumers) and EU DisinfoLab and

29 Apr 2025 · Consultation of civil society representatives in the context of the preparation of the upcoming European Democracy Shield (“focus group”)

Meeting with Alexandra Geese (Member of the European Parliament) and Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband and Stiftung Mercator

1 Oct 2024 · Discussions on the side of the Tech and Society Summit

Meeting with Thijs Reuten (Member of the European Parliament)

10 Sept 2024 · Democracy & Rule of Law

Meeting with Alexandra Geese (Member of the European Parliament)

8 Jul 2024 · Defence of Democracy and transatlantic relations

Meeting with Bart Groothuis (Member of the European Parliament)

7 Mar 2024 · Disinformation

Meeting with Raphaël Glucksmann (Member of the European Parliament)

30 Jan 2024 · Ingérences étrangères, défense de la démocratie

Meeting with Paul Tang (Member of the European Parliament)

19 Jul 2023 · Digital advertising market and digital policy

Response to Virtual worlds, such as metaverse

3 May 2023

The only responsible approach to virtual worlds is to use the precautionary principle. This 'do no harm' principle states we must pause and review before leaping into new innovations that may prove irreversibly disastrous for humanity. Despite EU's strong regulatory framework, it hasn't been able to protect us from the harms that the current 2-dimensional *interactive* world of social media and digital platforms do to democracy, mental health, public safety and national security. Let alone protecting us from the harms to humanity if we would permit 3-dimensional *immersive* virtual worlds to be rolled out and deployed at mass scale. How would EU governments ever protect their citizens in a virtual world where state actors like Russia and China can be expected to spend billions to manipulate the realities we are immersed in? The human brain is not built to deal with this type of cognitive warfare. Or what if hostile state actors and terrorist groups deploy soldiers and terrorists to fight us in those virtual worlds? Can our armies handle defending us in parallel worlds while we need them to defend and protect us against ever more multi-crises (hybrid and conventional war, climate, water, food, migration...) in the real world? These harms will exponentially explode even further when virtual worlds will use AI (a technology which experts say is in itself is a risk to humanity). Only if, after extensive impact assessments and using the precautionary principle, we decide it is safe enough to allow virtual worlds to be developed for testing purposes under strict safety requirements (like you would with e.g. nuclear energy), this will have to be done by using what is called co-design. That is: involve qualified ethicists, psychologists, anthropologists, digital rights experts, hybrid warfare experts, counter-terrorism experts, etc etc, so that values and security will be built in by design. We don't allow cars without seatbelts. Why would we allow digital platforms, let alone virtual worlds, without product safety? And no, we don't need to compete with China on their terms. We can be competitive and innovative by designing values-based technologies and public service alternatives to Big Tech's weapons of mass disruption. We cannot allow any more technological experiments with democracy, safety and security. Let alone with humanity. Some background reading: * https://defenddemocracy.eu/values-based-approach-to-new-technologies/ * https://defenddemocracy.eu/digital-technology-disinformation-big-tech-big-data-security/
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Meeting with Karen Melchior (Member of the European Parliament)

27 Mar 2023 · Working Dinner on digital platforms and democracy

Meeting with Christel Schaldemose (Member of the European Parliament)

27 Mar 2023 · Digital platforms

Meeting with Věra Jourová (Vice-President)

27 Mar 2023 · European media Freedom Act, digital platforms and democracy

Meeting with Daniel Braun (Cabinet of Vice-President Věra Jourová)

14 Dec 2022 · Defence of Democracy package

Meeting with Ingrid Godkin (Cabinet of Vice-President Dubravka Šuica)

1 Feb 2022 · Presentation of the Defend Democracy and current projects in 2022.

Response to Guidance on tackling disinformation

29 Apr 2021

Defend Democracy works to defend liberal democracy against foreign, domestic and technological threats. We call for strong EU regulation of social media and tech platforms in order to protect EU citizens and our democracies. Self-regulation clearly is insufficient and unsuitable to serve as the basis for sustainably addressing disinformation. The COVID19 infodemic and the U.S. Capitol insurrection have only underscored the urgent need for strong regulation. Lives are at stake! The Guidance should: * defend and respect European values. At its heart should be protection of the fundamental rights of European citizens, including privacy, protection of private data and freedom of information and expression. However: freedom of speech does not equal freedom of reach. Therefore: * focus on combating malicious and inauthentic online behaviour and on harmful algorithms for amplification, recommendation, ads, etc – not on regulating content * target disinformation as a trans-platform/internet-wide issue rather than as an issue of a few major platforms * clearly distinguish between individual, authentic misinformation and organised, inauthentic and/or malign disinformation campaigns and influence operations * disrupt polarisation as a business model for platforms and as a vector for hybrid warfare Tech platforms should: * strongly increase meaningful transparency (and not just of political/issue ads; they are only the tip of the iceberg) * this also means releasing more - and more relevant - data to independent third parties (vetted academic and civil society teams) * offer equal transparency and democratic accountability to their users worldwide * dedicate equal capacity to product safety in all countries where they serve users See also: * our input for the European Democracy Action Plan * some of our own observations in countering disinformation campaigns and how tech platforms act: https://defenddemocracy.eu/looking-back-on-manipulation-and-disinformation-in-netherlands-elections/ Thank you for the opportunity to submit feedback on the Guidance on tackling disinformation. We remain at your disposal for any further input and clarification.
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Meeting with Daniel Braun (Cabinet of Vice-President Věra Jourová), Wojtek Talko (Cabinet of Vice-President Věra Jourová)

5 Nov 2020 · EDAP

Response to European Democracy Action Plan

27 Aug 2020

Defend Democracy welcomes an ambitious European Democracy Action plan. We strongly recommend a more coherent approach regarding hybrid threats to democracy. These include, but are not limited to, foreign malign election interference and disinformation. In order to defend democracy, the EU must look beyond protecting fundamental rights and regulating technology platforms, and broaden its scope to include deterring geopolitical and security threats. This also means preventing stove-piping by: 1) crossing silos between DG Justice, DG Connect, DG Home Affairs and the European External Action Service (EEAS), and 2) aligning the European Democracy Action Plan and the new Digital Services Act with the new Security Union strategy. The EU Commission may consider a dedicated, cross-silo Defend Democracy task force or coordinator.
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Response to EU Security Union Strategy

15 Jul 2020

Defend Democracy welcomes a new EU Security Union Strategy. Regarding hybrid threats (including, but not limited to, disinformation) we strongly recommend a more coherent approach. This also means: crossing silos between DG Home Affairs, DG Justice, DG Connect and the European External Action Service (EEAS). The EU Commission may consider a dedicated, cross-silo Defend Democracy task force or coordinator.
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