10/05/2023 - 12/05/2023
Madrid – The Venice Commission, in cooperation i.a. with the Complutense University of Madrid, the Centre for Political and Constitutional Studies, the Global Electoral Justice Network, and the Central Electoral Commission of Spain, held the IIIrd international conference entitled “Cybersecurity and Elections: Guarantees against information disorders in the digital arena - Democracy, rights and elections” in Madrid.
High level civil servants, academics, electoral and cybersecurity experts and journalists from Spanish speaking countries participated in the event. Such international partners as IFES, International IDEA also shared their expertise.
The following topics were addressed by means of plenary sessions:
1. Disinformation campaigns and their risks for democracy: Creating a regulatory framework for the protection of electoral integrity?
2. The hybrid threat and its link to national security through democratic institutions and processes
3. The Global Electoral Justice Network – Disinformation dealt with by the courts: Where is the case-law heading?
4. Guarantees of information rights in electoral period
5. Media: information, opinion and disinformation
6. The impact of disinformation on trust in the electoral process: Initiatives by electoral authorities to tackle attacks on institutions
Several academic roundtables were held after each plenary session on such topics as social networks and content moderation, disinformation and the media, digital literacy and skills to prevent disinformation, judges and disinformation.
Several representatives of the Venice Commission intervened during this conference.