DIGITAL CHALLENGES FOR SECURITY AND DEMOCRATIC POLITICS: THE EU PILLARS OF INFORMATION ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION

The increasing reliance on digital technologies, including the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), has equipped autocratic regimes with more powerful tools than ever to manipulate information and extend societal control both domestically and internationally. Likewise, the European Union (EU), its Member States, and partners have faced a rise in hybrid campaigns, including hostile information manipulation aimed at them. The ability to conduct large-scale disinformation campaigns to destabilize democratic nations, foster polarization, spread radical propaganda, provoke crises, and interfere in elections has underscored the need for effective countermeasures to protect democratic societies from malicious interference in the information environment. Simultaneously, there is an ongoing debate among democratic countries about whether and to what extent certain restrictions on freedom of speech are justified on public safety grounds. Based on comparative document analysis, this paper examines the challenge posed by digitally enabled security threats to democratic societies. It identifies four normative pillars to safeguard the EU’s information environment, using the EU as a specific case study. From this perspective, the article contributes to understanding a novel, fast-changing aspect of the EU’s security agenda through the normative power of its internal market regulations.