With this report on "Digital sovereignty", the German Consumer Council (SVRV) contributes to the ongoing debate on the further development of the concept of digital sovereignty from a consumer policy perspective.
By digital sovereignty, we mean the ability to act and the freedom to make decisions in order for consumers to act in the digital world in various roles, namely as market participants, as consumers of a society, and as prosumer in networks. Furthermore, the term also relates to the rights and obligations of citizens in the state regulatory framework, underlining the conditions under which the individual can freely, competently and responsibly use digital media and services and thus be able to actively participate as a citizen in a digital society.
We identify four guidelines related to digital sovereignty: Freedom of choice, self-determination, self-control and security. In order to achieve this, we propose different measures, that should be applied in the areas of activities such as consumer-friendly technology, digital competence and regulation.
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