The digital space is a “new frontier of fundamental rights”, a new world in which previous rules do not always apply automatically, European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen said.
“Think about children’s rights or consumer protection. But think also about artificial intelligence. Its potential benefits are enormous. But it can also be harmful, for example if it is used to hire and fire employees or to monitor citizens through facial recognition. We need new laws to embody our eternal values in the online world,” the EC chief said Friday in New York at the European Commission’s World Peace & Liberty Award ceremony.
It is an award given since 1965 by the World Bar Association for services to the defense of the rule of law as opposed to the use of force.
According to von der Leyen, Europe is leading the way in creating a legal framework for the digital age.
“We were the first in the world to set rules for digital platforms, and now we are doing the same with artificial intelligence. This means that all companies that want to operate in our market have to meet very high standards. Standards that center on people and their rights,” the President of the European Commission emphasized.
She said the EU is “working with like-minded friends such as Canada and the United States, as well as with Japan, Latin American countries and India, to develop equivalent rules so that technology enhances individual freedom rather than the ability of the state to control us”.
