The Future of Democracy: Speech, Thought, Sovereignty, and Power in the Age of Platforms and AI
Day 1 - Full Recording
Day 2 - Full recording
The Open Markets Institute and ARTICLE 19 convened a high-level two-day conference of leading thinkers, lawmakers, technologists, and advocates to discuss the direct and growing threats to democracies and basic liberties posed by today’s dominant online communications platforms, the rise of AI, and interference by foreign states.
The event served as a powerful statement in defense of human liberty and the sovereignty of democratic nations. Participants included Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa; former Italian President Mario Monti; former EVP of the European Commission Margrethe Vestager; and Jamie Raskin, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, among many other leading voices. Michael McGrath, the Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law, and Consumer Protection, represented the European Commission.
The conference was held in Brussels on October 15th at the Residence Palace and on October 16th at the European Parliament, bringing together some of the world’s leading voices to discuss how to collectively understand and counter these threats. The event was also livestreamed online.
Opening Remarks
Barry Lynn (Open Markets Institute) and Barbora Bukovská (ARTICLE 19) delivered opening remarks to set the stage for the intellectual focus of the two-day conference: Concentrated corporate and political power are threatening democracy like never before, but the tools for defeating these threats exist; now we must collectively apply them.
Presentation on Threats to Democracy in the Platform & AI Era
We heard from Dr. Courtney Radsch (director of the Center for Journalism & Liberty at Open Markets) and Max von Thun (Open Markets Institute’s Europe director), who further explored two major threats to Europe that the conference would investigate:
U.S. tech platforms (Google, Meta, X, etc.) wield unprecedented capacity to shape political discourse across Europe, through algorithmic prioritization, deplatforming, and indirect censorship.
The U.S. government is coordinating with these firms, under the language of “free speech,” to pressure Europe to scale back enforcement of its digital laws, the DSA/DMA — painting European regulation as foreign censorship.
This is not a trade dispute — it is a battle over who governs the infrastructure of information. If Europe yields, it risks permanent loss of sovereignty over its digital public square. For more, read their policy brief on the same topic.
Keynote Remarks from Jonathan Kanter, former Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust, U.S. Department of Justice
In his keynote speech, Jonathan Kanter, former Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust, argued that concentrated corporate power and concentrated political power are fundamentally linked. One cannot be solved without solving the other. He discussed how the erosion of competition has undermined the American dream, from the ability to start small businesses, to the business models necessary to sustain a free press. Kanter called on attendees to take action, whilst maintaining a North Star to guide their purpose.
Panel 1: Whose Free Speech? Corporate Power as the Missing Link in the Debate
In the first panel, discussion centered on the threats to today’s democracies posed by concentrated corporate and political power.
Panelists included:
David Kaye, Former UN Special Rapporteur
Sasha Havlicek, Institute for Strategic Dialogue
Alexandra Geese, MEP Greens/EFA
Moderated by Dr. Courtney Radsch, Director, Center for Journalism and Liberty at the Open Markets Institute
The panelists stressed the importance of digital sovereignty, urging Europe to invest in its own digital infrastructure and enforce regulatory measures to protect democratic values and competition. The urgency of addressing these issues was underscored by the potential for technology to both empower and control society.
Keynote and Q&A with Margrethe Vestager, Former Executive Vice President of the European Commission
In a plenary session moderated by Barry Lynn, Margrethe Vestager delivered a keynote followed by Q&A that drew on her long experience at the intersection of competition, digital regulation, and European integration. She highlighted the link between market power and political power and stressed the importance of enforcing existing laws.
"We want to stand up to the bully and hold power to account. That is what people understand, and that is the story of competition enforcement,” she said. Find coverage of her remarks here.
Panel 2: Defending Digital Sovereignty in Face of Corporate/Political Coercion
Panel two discussion focused on the urgency of addressing digital sovereignty and competition issues in Europe and abroad. The discussion emphasized the need for bold enforcement of existing regulations like GDPR and the Digital Markets Act, as well as learning from Brazil's approach to competition policy.
Panelists included:
Marietje Schaake, Stanford Cyber Policy Center
Johnny Ryan, Irish Council for Civil Liberties and Senior Fellow at Open Markets
Alex Agius Saliba, MEP, S&D
Camila Cabral Pires Alves, Commissioner at the Tribunal of CADE, the Brazilian competition authority
Moderated by José Ignacio Torreblanca, Senior Adviser and Distinguished Policy Fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations
Camila Cabral Pires Alves (Brazil’s CADE Commissioner) highlighted Brazil's successful efforts to expand its competition authority. Her remarks stressed the need for more ex-ante competition regulations and practical solutions.
Marietje Schaake (Stanford Cyber Policy Center) highlighted the severe risks posed by American tech dependence, advocating for European Digital sovereignty and not allowing past nostalgia for past transatlantic relations get in the way of regulatory solutions today.
MEP Alex Agius Saliba stressed the urgency of bold and courageous actions from the European Commission, particularly in enforcing the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act. He warned that Europe would lose all credibility if it played into Big Tech narratives.
Johnny Ryan, Irish Council for Civil Liberties and senior fellow at Open Markets was critical of the lack of enforcement of existing legislation such as GDPR. He asked: “Is Europe going to be a beacon of democratic resilience, or is it going to be a vassal?”
Panel two discussion focused on the urgency of addressing digital sovereignty and competition issues in Europe and abroad. The discussion emphasized the need for bold enforcement of existing regulations like GDPR and the Digital Markets Act, as well as learning from Brazil's approach to competition policy.
Recorded Remarks from U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ)
In his recorded remarks, Senator Booker warned about the “seriousness of the encroachments on free speech going on in the United States,” and stressed that the “fate of liberty, the ideals of freedom in America is inseparably bound to the fate of those same ideals around the world.”
Senator Booker ended on the importance of envisioning a better future and using regulatory tools to achieve it:
“We must be bold and imaginative enough to innovate and wise enough to protect. The future of technology and of freedom itself depends on our ability to build with both creativity and conscience.”
Panel 3: Safeguarding Information Integrity in the Age of AI
This third panel, moderated by Ireland’s Maria Donde, addressed one of the most urgent challenges facing democratic societies today: how do we defend the integrity of information in an environment where AI systems can generate, amplify, distort, or obscure what we see and believe?
Panelists included:
Roger McNamee, Elevation Partners
Andreas Schwab, MEP EPP, Germany
Natali Helberger, University of Amsterdam
Kate Brennan, AI Now Institute
Moderated by Maria Donde, International Affairs Director, Coimisiún na Meán, Ireland
Roger McNamee (Elevation Partners) warned of the seduction of technological determinism, urging a more ambitious push back against platforms’ dominance over attention and content pipelines. His comments reaffirmed some of the top themes from Open Markets’ first AI conference (November 2023) co-hosted with the AI Now Institute:
"Big Tech wants you to believe that LLMs are inevitable. But you have the power to say no,” he stressed.
Andreas Schwab (MEP EPP, Germany) discussed the role of legislative oversight, transparency mandates, and the need to treat recommender systems not as neutral tools but as power vectors requiring regulation.
Natali Helberger (University of Amsterdam) highlighted the need to shift power back to users: algorithmic choice architecture must be reimagined so individuals—not platforms—control what is prioritized and filtered in their digital sphere.
Kate Brennan (AI Now Institute) pressed on the role of civil society, audit regimes, and algorithmic accountability in ensuring that AI systems respect constitutional norms of free expression, fairness, and due process.
Panel 4: Role of Digital Infrastructure in Strengthening EU Democracy
This session shifted focus to the physical and architectural underpinnings of digital sovereignty — the “plumbing” of how information is transported, hosted, stored, and governed. Moderated by Robin Berjon, the discussion consistently returned to one theme: infrastructure is power. The panelists emphasized that European digital infrastructure requires not just funding, but customer demand, strategic government procurement, and viable business models.
Panelists included:
Zuzanna Warso, Open Future -
Cristina Caffarra, Honorary Professor, UCL
Bart Butler, Proton
Sebastian Vogelsang, flashes.blue
Moderated by Robin Berjon, Principal, Supramundane Society; Deputy Director, IPFS Foundation
Cristina Caffarra (UCL / antitrust expert) emphasized that digital infrastructure is crucial for European sovereignty. She argued that European data centre builders need customer demand and viable business models to move the dial, rather than relying solely on public funding.
Sebastian Vogelsang (flashes.blue), creator of Flashes, an Instagram alternative built on top of the Bluesky social network, proposed open protocols and shared infrastructure to foster innovation and user control. He urged attendees to leave X and other such platforms, noting that viable alternatives are available.
Zuzanna Warso (Open Future) highlighted the inefficiency of current European funding models and called for strategic procurement from governments in order to support more aspirational technology solutions. She was also critical of European governments for continuing to purchase licenses from Big Tech platforms such as Microsoft.
Bart Butler (Proton) stressed the importance of scale and resources for European competitors. He noted that Proton runs its own infrastructure and sells services directly to customers. He encouraged attendees to support European products.
Panel 5: Protecting Online Expression Through Policy & Regulation
This panel discussed the challenges and solutions in regulating the tech sector in Europe and the UK. Moderated by Open Markets’ Max von Thun, this session tied together the conference’s threads: speech, sovereignty, and structural power.
Panelists included:
Chi Onwurah, Labour MP
Alberto Alemanno, HEC Paris
Thomas Hughes, Appeals Centre Europe
Cornelia Woll, Hertie School Berlin
Alberto Alemanno (HEC Paris) criticized the slow and complex implementation of digital regulations like the DSA and DMA, emphasizing the need for bold action.
Thomas Hughes (Appeals Centre Europe) voiced his support for implementing the DSA, noting its growing impact on content moderation. He urged regulators to stay the course and continue applying the regulation.
Chi Onwurah (UK Labour MP) highlighted the UK's alignment with EU regulations and the importance of the Online Safety Act. She also stressed the need to “follow the money” and regulate the online advertising space, given that this is a large source of funding for Big Tech companies.
Cornelia Woll (Hertie School) discussed how digital platforms have become integral to US strategic interests in Europe. She introduced the concept of "reverse capture," where states steer companies to serve national interests. She also noted that the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act have drawn significant interest from her colleagues in the US.
Closing Keynote: Michael McGrath, EU Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection
The Commissioner's speech emphasized the importance of the European Democracy Shield, GDPR enforcement, and the need for a coherent digital rulebook to protect democratic values. His remarks were a high note, showcasing how individuals in positions of power in government understand both the urgency of the threats and the tools available to address them.
Recorded Remarks by U.S. Congressman Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee
The Congressman, a leading Democrat on matters of the U.S. constitution and the courts, delivered assurances to European allies and a collective call to action:
“We will fight back against all of these dark forces that would undermine our democracy and our freedom in this century. This moment calls for transnational democratic solidarity among the free peoples, the free parties, and the free movements of the world.”
Closing Remarks from Mark Dempsey (ARTICLE 19) and Max von Thun (Open Markets Institute
Max von Thun (Open Markets) and Mark Dempsey (ARTICLE 19) closed the first day of the conference with calls to action: Europe must move from talk to enforcement, from frameworks to structures, and from reactive defense to proactive design.
DAY 2:
Opening Remarks: MEP Alexandra Geese & Dr. Courtney Radsch, Director of the Center for Journalism and Liberty at Open Markets
The EU Event Day 2 focused on AI, big tech, and media freedom. MEP Alexandra Geese emphasized the urgency of implementing the Digital Services Act to protect media freedom by moving away from algorithms that prioritize the outrageous and profane at the cost of information integrity and responsible reporting.
“We're here to make sure that the solutions we already have get implemented,” she said.
Dr. Courtney Radsch stressed that today’s greatest challenges are not “only a question of technology [but] a question of governance, of rights, of the public's ability to know what is true and of the political will to do something about it.”
Journalists, she said, are at the center of this story and the ones who must help tell it.
Keynote & Fireside Chat with Maria Ressa, Co-founder and CEO, Rappler
Facts. Truth. Trust. Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa gave a masterclass on platforms, propaganda, the free press, and digital sovereignty at the European Parliament in Brussels during the second day of our conference.
She described the erosion of media freedom due to (toxic) algorithmic manipulation, and the rise of authoritarianism enabled today by the platform business models. Ressa also explained how influence operations work through seeding narratives and opportunistic amplification under such business models. She emphasized the need for a public interest tech stack and described information integrity as “the mother of all battles.”
Panel: AI, Big Tech and the Future of Media Freedom
There’s more money being spent on lobbying EU policymakers than on public interest journalism, according to Mira Milosevic of the Global Forum for Media Development. That must change. This panel covered in depth the importance of regulation, community collaboration, and technological/structural solutions to combat disinformation and safeguard media freedom.
Panelists:
Mira Milosevic, Global Forum for Media Development
Quinn McKew, ARTICLE 19 Executive Director
Alexandra Geese, MEP Greens/EFA
Dimi Zagorski, Wikimedia
Moderated by Dr. Courtney Radsch, director of the Center for Journalism and Liberty at Open Markets
This panel covered a wide range of themes and solutions:
They emphasized the need to challenge the inevitability of AI in its current form and media decline, highlighting the significant financial resources and reforms needed to achieve this end. These include more sustainable media models, public interest media protection and much greater investment, and the downgrading of toxic algorithms and “mafia”-like adtech platforms.
Alexandra Geese, MEP Greens/EFA, emphasized the need for big, necessary changes to digital infrastructure, like those that could result from the Google adtech case in the U.S., for instance. Small policy fixes, she pointed out, just affirm existing and harmful business models.
Quinn McKew, ARTICLE 19, warned that “we are not going to fact-check our way out of this.” She noted that funding for media freedom is increasingly coming from a securitization mindset, rather than in the interests of democracy and freedom.
Dimi Zagorski reminded us that Wikipedia can only exist if there are journalists and open science and warned of the threat of the shrinking media sphere. He also discussed the tension between Wikipedia’s commitment to remain free and open, while AI crawlers extract information and impose server costs that ultimately fall on Wikipedia’s small donors.
Closing Remarks from Barry Lynn, Executive Director of the Open Markets Institute
Barry Lynn concluded two days of discussions with a message of hope and resolve: The lesson of the past 400 years, he said, is that “when we use our power to distribute their power, this makes the individual person more free to create prosperity and abundance and security and resilience, to innovate and build what is new…Free thinking, free acting people can master every threat we face today.”
He lauded the conferences’ speakers for knowing “what to do and how to do it” -- to reform our information environments and in doing so, preserve democracy.
###