This blog is part of a series of publications looking into EDRi’s manifesto for positive digital futures. Read the rest of the series here.

Our collective impact has the power to resonate beyond the ballot boxes, shaping the course of the 2024 European elections and echoing throughout the corridors of influence. In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, we, at EDRi, believe that our technology should empower people to flourish and thrive. This belief forms the cornerstone of our manifesto, which outlines a positive vision for our digital futures.

What do we mean when we say we want to develop a collective vision for our digital futures? Here is what we can do to ensure that our technology empowers people to flourish and thrive:

• We prioritise the values of dignity, agency, autonomy, justice, safety, creativity, well-being and individual and collective freedoms.
• We maintain freedom of thought and reject the pervasive tracking and technological exploitation of our bodies and minds.
• Our labour practices, supported by technology, empower workers and communities, eliminate job instability, and ensure a high quality of life for everyone.
• Free from the grip of mass surveillance, people have the freedom to express themselves, to communicate safely and securely, to resist oppression, and to assemble and protest.
• We have space and appetite to create, iterate, share ideas, and collaborate.
• Communities, particularly marginalised groups, are protected and supported to seek justice for historical and ongoing harms.

In our manifesto, we suggest clear policy recommendations to make this vision a reality. We call on the European Union’s new policymakers to take action and put people, democracy and the planet at the heart of our digital futures! Join us in our demands now by signing the petition. Together, we can protect human rights, strengthen democracy, and reshape societal systems.