The Spanish government opens a public consultation on the future Charter of Digital Rights

The situation in recent months has consolidated digitalization as the main way we socialize, work, and study. Increasing relationships in the digital environment are a trend that is undoubtedly here to stay.  In this context, the government finds it necessary to develop and complete the regulation of online rights, so it has started the process of preparing the Charter of Digital Rights.

Title X of the Spanish Act on Data Protection and Guarantee of Digital Rights, in force since December 2018, already envisages a series of rights in the digital environment. The future Charter of Digital Rights not only aims to develop the regulation applicable to these rights but also to extend the catalog of rights, paying particular attention to vulnerable groups, new labor relations, and the impact of artificial intelligence.

To that end, the government announced that the entire  community will participate in the process of drafting the Charter of Digital Rights, including expert opinions and society as a whole.

Thus, on June 15, a working group made up of experts met for the first time to advise and submit proposals to the government. This group comprises professionals from the digital world, from lawyers to professors, including managers of the main stakeholder associations, who based on their own experience, will propose alternatives and make recommendations.

The government has also launched a public consultation process in which the entire population is invited to participate, and whose contributions will be taken into account in the final text of the Charter of Digital Rights. The participation process will be open until July 24, and the final text will also be submitted to public consultation.

Through this process, implemented nationally for the first time, the government hopes to complete the regulatory framework of digital rights by having all sectors and stakeholder groups affected by the Charter of Digital Rights collaborate and actively participate.

By: Ane Alonso and Inés Cabañas