People should be free to choose what they see and share online. Social media should serve our communities and democracy, not manipulate us.
Yet powerful tech corporations decide what we see, sneaking conspiracy and extremism into our feeds because outrage keeps us scrolling longer.
European Commissioner Michael McGrath can put people back in charge. He is responsible for The Democracy Shield to be launched this Autumn.
The Democracy Shield is the European Union’s plan to protect democracy from digital threats, or in other words, it’s about tackling the chaos happening online that’s undermining trust in elections and democracies.
Michael McGrath must ensure that social media recommender algorithms are turned off by default. We are calling on him to return control to people and create healthier online spaces where we can connect on our own terms.
Our feeds should show posts from people and topics we choose to follow – not lies and propaganda that an algorithm thinks will outrage and addict us.
Here’s how you can get on board:
This campaign is a collaboration between Uplift, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) and the Hope & Courage Collective (H&CC).
