How to Update the Rules for the Digital Age

On Thursday, 3 December, the European Commission (EC) presented the European Democracy Action Plan, a roadmap that proposes policy measures for bolstering democratic resilience to emerging digital threats, in addition to outlining initiatives for harnessing the opportunities for governance presented by digital transformation (read the full text here). As it stands, the Action Plan is based on three main pillars: promoting free and fair elections, strengthening media freedom and pluralism, and countering disinformation.

Crucially, the announcement of the plan gives democracy and governance practitioners and scholars a glimpse into what it means — on paper — to update democratic rules…