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The «DSI Disinformation Month» came to an end with an event supported by the Dutch Embassy. The keynote speaker Marleen Stikker painted a comprehensive picture of everything that goes wrong in the «digital sphere».
The importance of a «public digital space» was the focus of the remarks by Marleen Stikker, director of the Waag Futurelab Amsterdam, one of the first civil society organizations in the digital sphere, which as early as 1994 advocated an internet designed to serve the common good. Her remarks embedded the discussions around disinformation in the larger (misguided) developments that shape the digital space today: the fear of mass surveillance, the formation of monopolies and philosophical ideas of salvation, according to which digital technology would solve all the world's problems.
The lecture did not, however, remain a sobering inventory, but also outlined ways to create a public digital space that would counteract these undesirable developments. The core aspects of this vision include commons-based governance, an emphasis on open source, participatory application development, privacy-by-design, and decentralization.
In the following panel discussion, moderated by DSI Director Abraham Bernstein, Karin Mössenlechner, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Switzerland, and Benedikt Wechsler, Ambassador and Head of the Digitalization Division of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, discussed Marleen Stikker's theses. It became clear that cooperation between major research institutions and European states is important in order to maintain a sufficient degree of sovereignty and leeway and thus counteract a monopolization in mutually isolated «digital spaces».
This event, attended by around 30 people, marked the conclusion of the «DSI Disinformation Month». The topics discussed at the various events will then be incorporated into a consultation response to the draft of the new platform law, which is expected to be presented soon.
An overview of the events and activities during the «DSI Disinformation Month» can be found here. The «DSI Disinformation Month» was held in conjunction with the fourth DSI Strategy Lab, which was dedicated to the topic of disinformation.
