Notes from the IAPP Europe: Flipping the table — interviewing journalists on EU digital matters

Fourtold, a public affairs and communications consultancy specializing in science and technology, kicked off its new event series "ON THE RECORD," which offers a very interesting and unusual take on media briefings. The roles are reversed and journalists become the interviewees. In the first of these events, a few leading Brussels tech journalists were in the hot seat. If that is not enough of a table flip, the European Commission's Spokesperson for tech sovereignty, defense, space and disinformation Thomas Regnier — who is normally in that spot himself — conducted the interview. 

Apart from the exciting setup that showed how challenging it is to answer questions without conveying unintended messages, and also asking questions that lead to substantial answers, the discussion itself was insightful and covered several hot topics.

The first exchange of views was on the central theme in the EU's political agenda — digital sovereignty. These days, the mention of sovereignty is essentially guaranteed in discussions around digital topics in the EU. However, as one journalist highlighted, even after many talks, digital sovereignty — particularly what it means and how to achieve it — is still a topic with more questions than answers. 

One interviewee said sovereignty may sometimes be seen as a need to make difficult choices and sacrifice choosing the best product in the name of growing local markets and champions. Another concluded that you don't necessarily have to abandon all foreign providers to have your own industry.

Although the topic of digital sovereignty still raises many questions, it is clear it is not just a theoretical idea. It is an evolving strategy, and the EU has many ongoing or upcoming initiatives to support it. These are discussed in more detail by IAPP Westin Fellow William Simpson, AIGP, CIPP/US. 

The "ON THE RECORD" discussion also focused on another important subject — child safety online. It was debated whether setting an age limit is a good way to protect kids. There were many interesting points raised, including whether that is the most effective solution. One journalist highlighted that kids tend to find a way around restrictions and wondered if it wouldn't be better to work with social media companies to find a solution that really works rather than imposing hard bans. 

The journalists also noted that while it is important to protect children, it is also important to prevent completely deterring the next generation of creators from technology. They agreed it could be more effective to focus on the issue of addictive design rather than social media bans, as that may be a bigger issue that is not only limited to kids. 

Protecting children in an online environment has been an area of focus for some time, but there has recently been an increase of initiatives at the national, as well as EU levels. The EU published a blueprint for age verification solutions in 2025 and launched a special panel on child safety online in March. In France, legislation banning social media access for kids just passed a vote in the Senate this week. The final form of the law is still under discussion and details, such as whether only certain categories of platforms would be banned, are not yet clear. 

Other European countries are also discussing taking measures and some have already started legislative works. The recently published European Union Agency for Fundamental rights study reveals that European citizens are very concerned about the effect of online services on children, with three in four people surveyed supportive of social media bans. It is not a Europe-only issue, as Australia was the first jurisdiction to implement a social media ban for children under age 16. 

The rest of the event focused on discussing topics including the EU's approach to the artificial intelligence race, journalists' responsibility toward society and the geopolitics of technology. Concerning the latter topic, discussion turned to the EU's relationship with China, particularly the Commission's enforcement actions when it comes to Chinese platforms. Regnier stated Chinese companies are rather cooperative with the Commission's investigations. 

The European Commission has preliminarily found several Chinese companies in breach of the Digital Services Act, including AliExpress in relation to its mitigation measures on illegal product dissemination and TikTok concerning its addictive design. These findings are not final, but enforcement is not slowing down, as new investigations into compliance of other platforms are being launched.

This week was quite significant in this context, as a delegation from European Parliament made their first official visit to China in eight years. Members of Parliament's Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee met with politicians, customs agencies and representatives from companies to discuss matters related to the digital economy, including the compliance of Chinese e-commerce platforms with EU laws.