On October 1st, the first Tech and Society summit took place in Brussels. This meeting was organized by no less than 41 organizations concerned with tech policy at the EU level, including Bits of Freedom. With part of our team we traveled to Brussels and we are happy to report back.

Why this summit?

Last summer, the European Parliament elections took place. Together with other members of EDRi, a European collective for digital rights organizations in Europe, a conversation quickly arose about the opportunities this could bring for digital rights. The installation of a new Parliament is the perfect time to (re)profile yourself as an organization with a certain expertise.

EDRi therefore decided to organize a Tech and Society summit, a meeting that would focus on tech and society in EU policy - without sponsorship from Big Tech (which is quite unique). Among those invited were mostly policy makers from the European Union, so they could learn about the digital civil rights movement and our expertise. EDRi asked other organizations, including us, to co-organize. After many preparatory calls, on October 1st the summit took place right in the center of power in Brussels: next to the main buildings of the European Commission and the Council of the European Union.

Content

We collaborated on some sessions, including a round table titled “From broken by design to building a better internet from the ground up”: the panelists and the audience reflected on how the design of a platform impacts its users and how that could be done differently. Caroline Sinders, design researcher, explained harmful design through offline examples: a staircase can be very helpful, if it is well designed. When a step is missing, or when one step is just a little shorter than the other, you stumble. The same is the case online: design can be functionally very helpful to people online, but it can also, intentionally or unintentionally, make them trip. Designs like the endless scroll (there's no end to your feed on TikTok or Instagram) are mostly functional for the platform itself, but not for the user.

There were also round tables and panels on limiting the power of Big Tech, the impact of digitization on essential services and the intersection of environment and technology. Panelists ranged from NGO policy staff, to European Commission employees and experience experts.

A success!

The meeting was a success for Bits of Freedom: we learned from the sessions we attended, talked to and met many people. Moreover, we are especially proud of the strength of the digital rights movement: in a few months this event came about, on top of all the other important work most of us are already doing. The day was not sponsored by Big Tech, there was a good vibe and the day was very connecting for all the organizing organizations. Especially hats off to EDRi, who took the initiative for this summit and took charge and facilitated on the day itself.