The European Association for Digital Transition (EADT), an organisation affiliated with the Digital Rights Observatory, launched a spot last Saturday, March 15th, coinciding with World Consumer Rights Day, under the premise of “not accepting the unacceptable”. According to Ricardo Rodríguez Contreras, president of the EADT, the aim of the campaign is “to raise awareness among the public about their rights as digital consumers and to promote good practices”. Aimed at users of digital environments, the spot seeks to raise awareness among citizens about how to act and navigate safely in the digital environment, with special attention on young people as peak digital users.
The spot shows various everyday images in the digital environment to promote good practices in daily life. Thus, the spot’s protagonists confront scenes such as receiving fake news and manipulated images, the handing-over of personal data, or discrimination based on a lack of understanding of the technology. It also shines a spotlight on social networks and the exploitation of emotions, a message aimed especially at adolescents and young people.
The campaign is being launched in a social context in which knowledge on the existence of a series of digital rights among the Spanish population is increasing every year. Even so, according to Eurobarometer data for 2024, 35% do not know that their fundamental rights should be respected in the digital realm, five points less than in 2021.
The same report also points out that 73% of Spaniards believe that the digitalisation of public and private services is making their daily life easier. Still, among the factors identified to improve the use of technology, they cite the need for improvements in cybersecurity issues (81%) and in the population’s digital skills (83%), while human support in the access and use of digital technologies and services (83%) remains an important factor. Additionally, 61% say that security is not sufficiently guaranteed in the digital environment, as well as with content for children and young people, a perception that has increased 21 points in the last year.
The report on the State of the Digital Decade 2024 by the European Commission also highlights that the digital skills of Spanish citizens are above the European average. In 2023, 66.2% of the Spanish population had at least a basic level of digital skills, compared to 55.6% in the other European countries. Despite the improvement in basic digital skills compared to the rest of Europe, these percentages underline the importance of promoting greater education and awareness of digital rights to ensure safe and conscious interactions in the digital environment.
Among the objectives of the Digital Rights Observatory is the promotion, monitoring, discussion and dissemination of Digital Rights among citizens and the different public and private organisations. The Digital Rights Observatory is part of the Digital Rights programme, a public-private initiative promoted by Red.es that brings together approximately 150 entities united in the defence, analysis and promotion of digital rights and in implementation of the Spanish Digital Rights Charter approved in 2021. The actions are funded by the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan through NextGenerationEU funds.
