Commission publishes digital guidelines ahead of 2024 EU elections 

The digital age has brought unprecedented challenges to the integrity of elections. Earlier this week, the EU Commission announced a need for big platforms and search engines to mitigate systemic risks online that may impact the integrity of elections, with specific guidance for the upcoming European Parliament elections in June. 

The published guidelines represent the best practices in mitigating risks and include other measures which may be equally effective in mitigating electoral risks. Specifically, the guidelines state that Very large Online Search Engines (VLOSEs) and Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) have an obligation, under Article 35 of the Digital Services Act (DSA) regarding risk mitigation measures for the electoral processes.    

Due to the unique cross-border and European dimension of the upcoming European elections, there is a definite need for sufficient resources and risk mitigation measures to be available and distributed in a way that corresponds to the risks involved. The EU Commission is also encouraging a close cooperation with the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO) Task Force on the 2024 elections. 

These guidelines include actions such as: 

• Reinforcing their internal processes, such as setting up internal teams with adequate resources and using available analysis and information on local context-specific risks. 
• Implementing election-specific mitigation measures tailored to each individual electoral period and location context. 
• Adopting specific mitigation measures linked to generative AI, such as labelling content generated by AI.
• Cooperating with EU level, national authorities, independent experts, and civil society organisations to ensure an efficient exchange of information. 
• Assessing the effectiveness of the measurements put in place post-elections. 

These new planned guidelines may be in response to recent cyberattacks in which dozens of European lawmakers have been targeted. In response to these attacks, a commission official states “We want to be sure that these European elections are adequately protected. It doesn’t mean that people won’t lie, it doesn’t mean foreign interference won’t happen, but we want it to be more protected than ever before.” This publication of guidelines under the Digital Services Act represents a significant step forward in an ongoing effort to safeguarding the integrity of electoral processes in the digital age. By addressing the associated risks, these guidelines aim to strengthen democratic resilience and ensure that elections remain secure in an increasingly interconnected world.