The Future of Free Speech Responds to Call for Evidence on the ‘European Democracy Shield’

By Alexander Hohlfeld

In her speech at the 2024 Copenhagen Democracy Summit, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen argued that Europe should not “fight the authoritarians or the extremes at their own game,” but instead “fight them by offering a positive vision of the future” that “protects what we hold dear – our democracy and our values.”

In that address, President von der Leyen proposed a “European Democracy Shield” that would focus on “the biggest threats from foreign interference and manipulation” and ensure that “detected malign information or propaganda […] is swiftly removed and blocked” by online platforms.

A year after this announcement, the European Commission recently issued a Call for Evidence, seeking the perspective of various stakeholders on the European Democracy Shield. The Future of Free Speech has submitted a public comment in response to this request to express our concerns about this initiative.

While the Call for Evidence claims that the “key objectives of this initiative revolve around promoting societal resilience and increasing trust of EU citizens in democracy and democratic institutions at the national and EU level,” our submission to this consultation argues that many potential measures would undermine this objective by eroding the right to freedom of expression.

Far from protecting democracy, the European Democracy Shield, as proposed, poses a grave danger to it by actively undermining and ignoring concerns about its most fundamental and bedrock principle.