Debate contributions by Sandro GOZI

Madam President, manipulation, opacity, undeclared funding, external interference, cancellation of the election: The last presidential election in Romania is a summary of everything we are fighting against. Of course, all this has become much easier thanks to digital platforms that believe they are exempt from any rule. TikTok played a central role in this massive campaign of manipulation. However, measures had already been taken and new rules adopted to protect our citizens and our democracies. On the basis of the DSA, the Commission should impose very heavy sanctions against TikTok. But Georgescu's campaign also circumvented these rules by using disguised sponsors and undeclared influencers. It has targeted millions of citizens without their consent, with the aim of manipulating and diverting public opinion. However, if the new regulation on political advertising, which we wanted and adopted, had already been in force, many of these things would not have been possible. Those elections were not annulled by the Romanian Constitutional Court, whose decision should, moreover, have been much better reasoned. That is why we need to act constantly to protect the rule of law and ensure transparency. That is why the transparency of candidates, influencers, funding and sponsors is the best guarantee of everyone’s freedom of expression and the right of all of us not to be manipulated, targeted or misinformed.

Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, Caro Enrico, the EU’s biggest success story, the Single Market, needs to be renewed and completed. ‘Rico’ Letta asserts this forcefully, and he is right. Renewed, as it is impossible to achieve the green and digital transition without making the single market more sustainable and simplified for producers and consumers. Completed, because we need to remove all the barriers that prevent SMEs from taking full advantage of it and that prevent us from having an Energy Union, telecoms, capital and investment. The cost of "non-Europe" is too great not to act. Deepening the European market could generate up to €1.1 trillion in additional economic output per year. It is also urgent – as the report makes clear – to provide the social and economic resources needed to support the Green Deal and the digital transition. Finally, we need to develop an external dimension of the single market in relation to our trade policy. In this context, we must also reform public procurement, which must also help us to reduce our dependence on third countries. This must be our great mission for innovation and competitiveness.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to draw your attention to Platform X, formerly Twitter. First, due to drastic reductions in its teams, X is no longer able to comply with the Digital Services Act and effectively moderate crises such as the events on Capitol Hill or the recent riots in the UK. Instead of containing them, X instead acted as an accelerator. Second, research shows that X's algorithm pushes content politically close to the opinions of its owner who no longer hesitates to show his sympathies. Users are exposed to polarizing content that is often oriented and violent. This is a clear editorial choice. From then on, X is no longer just a neutral platform, but a real editorial product. This implies new responsibilities, including legal ones, and Musk cannot claim total irresponsibility. These issues are crucial for democratic debate and freedom of information.