Camila Vallejo, a former minister in Chile, thanked the audience and offered us some encouraging words: In Chile, there is a commitment to proposing regulations, even though the right wing portrayed this as a restriction on freedom of expression. But rules are urgently needed as digital platforms are greatly accelerating communication, she says. Today, information spreads faster than it did ten years ago; there are fewer boundaries and that means greater scope for disinformation. There has always been disinformation but it is many times more dangerous today than in the past and has a significant influence on political decisions. Algorithms organise the flow of information, mobilise interests and wield enormous political power – often, they are above states and even the EU, which is struggling to regulate them, Vallejo says. She is calling not only for regulation, but also for digital literacy. Citizens must be empowered to recognise networks and biases. Chile’s experiences can feed this debate worldwide. -nk
Katrin Rulle