Democratic Tech Alliance

The Democratic Tech Alliance is a coalition of members from different political groups in the European Parliament, with civil society actors, think tanks, experts and European businesses working to create an EU tech ecosystem that supports democratic values and the public interest.

The Democratic Tech Alliance supports a European digital ecosystem that contributes to strategic resilience, innovation, democracy, and a fair and diverse market.

Digital technologies provide critical infrastructures for our businesses, governments and citizens. To democratise technology and uphold democratic societies, we must promote a collaborative and open approach to tech development within the public sector and industry.

This requires favouring technology and development processes that embrace sustainable development and deployment, interoperability and cooperation, ethical, inclusive, and decentralised governance, self-determination, data protection and the sharing of knowledge.

It requires the incentivising of business and economic models that align with the public interest, to outcompete those that rely on practices such as private or personal data extraction, surveillance, or revenue models based on fostering addictive behaviours and leading to power concentration.

We therefore adopt an approach that prioritises the federation of technology while strengthening both the demand for and supply of European technological solutions. Ensuring digital sovereignty and strategic autonomy cannot be achieved solely by regulation or through investment in domestic industry. Clear EU policy on design and a degree of democratic governance over essential infrastructures, data, and technologies is also necessary to ensure that these technologies align with the public interest.

At the same time, isolation is not the answer, and the EU must continue to work with trusted international partners, in particular in those areas where the EU lacks its own capacities. In the same vein we must consider the global impact of the EU's choices in a world with finite resources.