The Council of Europe, in cooperation with the Luxembourg Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, will host the European Dialogue on Internet Governance 2025 (EuroDIG) in Strasbourg from 12 to 14 May.

Held under the theme “Safeguarding human rights by balancing regulation and innovation”, the event will bring together onsite and online some 800 representatives of governments, international organisations, the private sector, civil society and academia to discuss emerging issues and challenges concerning the internet.

Topics high on the agenda include how to mitigate the risks of AI systems for human rights, address disagreements between tech giants and European regulators on the scope of freedom of expression and tackle the challenges to privacy created by neurotechnology development.

Participants will also discuss the need for age verification mechanisms to protect young users from harm while upholding their rights, countering disinformation online, and the cybersecurity requirements of the latest EU legislation.

The event will allow European stakeholders to align their perspectives and deliver a unified message to the UN’s global digital processes: the Global Digital Compact and the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). In connection with these processes, the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers adopted, in September 2024, a Declaration on the WSIS+20 review and the extension of the mandate of the Internet Governance Forum, where it reaffirmed its support for strengthening the multistakeholder and inclusive model of internet governance.

Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset, Minister of Justice of Luxembourg Elisabeth Margue, Minister for Social Policy and Children’s Rights of Malta Michael Falzon, EuroDIG Secretary General Sandra Hoferichter and EuroDIG Support Association President Thomas Schneider will speak at the opening at 3 p.m. on 12 May.

Oleksandr Bornyakov, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Marianne Wilhelmsen, State Secretary of the Ministry of Digitalisation and Public Governance of Norway (online), and Michael O’Flaherty, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, will deliver keynote speeches. An opening session will highlight the role of parliaments in translating international standards, such as those of the Council of Europe, the EU, OECD and the UN, into national policies that manage risks and harness opportunities offered by artificial intelligence and internet technologies.

From 9 to 11 May, the Youth Dialogue on Internet Governance (YOUthDIG) will be held to foster young people’s participation in the EuroDIG and pave their way to become engaged in shaping their digital futures.