The Committee of Ministers Issues Guidelines on Ensuring the Democracy of Digital Political Campaigning

07-04-2022

Manon Picard

International Justice and Human Rights Researcher, 

Global Human Rights Defence.

The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers has published on the 6th of April 2022 a Recommendation on ensuring democracy of digital political campaigning. The Recommendation includes Guidelines to the 46 Member States of the Council of Europe and addresses the “challenges to the fairness and legitimacy of electoral processes created by new digital political communication techniques”. Some of the challenges in the Recommendation include, but are not limited to, online political advertising, transparency of campaign financing and electoral spending, abuse of microtargeting, and transparency and accountability in the use of algorithms.

The Guidelines of the Committee of Ministers’ Recommendation covers other challenges that may impede on democratic political campaigning. The principles enumerated within the Recommendation aim to protect, both, electoral candidates as well as voters by:

“ensur[ing] the transparency of online electoral communication and expenditure, prevent manipulation of the electorate and ensure that political parties and candidates can compete on equal terms”. 

The Committee of Ministers justified its issuing of Guidelines due to the increasing use of online platforms for electoral campaigning instead of the use of the more traditional media. Although the Guidelines cover a variety of aspects of political campaigning, the central theme of the Recommendation is transparency. According to the Committee of Ministers, the need for transparency applies to political advertising online and the disclosing the financing and spending of electoral campaigns. Additionally, the Guidelines try to prevent the “intentional spread of electoral disinformation” by implementing fair safeguards. 

Alongside the Recommendation regarding digital political campaigning, the Committee of Ministers has also issued two other Recommendations on the “impact of digital technologies on freedom of expression” and “principles for the media and communication governance”. The issuing of these Recommendations demonstrates that the Committee of Ministers is trying to tackle the new challenges which arise in a 21st century society. 

Sources and further reading:

Council of Europe. (2022, April 6). Tackling the Risks for Democracy of Digital Political Campaigning: Council of Europe Issues Guidelines. Newsroom – Council of Europe. Retrieved on April 7, 2022, from https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/tackling-the-risks-for-democracy-of-digital-political-campaigning-council-of-europe-issues-guidelines

Council of Europe. (2022, April 6). Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)12 of the Committee of Ministers to Member States
on Electoral Communication and Media Coverage of Election Campaigns. https://search.coe.int/cm/pages/result_details.aspx?objectid=0900001680a6172e

Council of Europe. (2022, April 6). Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)13 of the Committee of Ministers to Member States
on the Impacts of Digital Technologies on Freedom of Expression. https://search.coe.int/cm/pages/result_details.aspx?objectid=0900001680a61729

Council of Europe. (2022, April 6). Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)11 of the Committee of Ministers to Member States
on Principles for Media and Communication Governance. https://search.coe.int/cm/pages/result_details.aspx?objectid=0900001680a61712