While digital technologies have expanded opportunities for the exercise of human rights and civic participation, increasingly sophisticated surveillance tools and the spread of disinformation require ongoing attention. Leading OSCE officials highlighted these challenges today at the opening of a two-day conference in Vienna, stressing the need to safeguard public discourse and civil society actors, including human rights defenders and journalists, to ensure a pluralistic, inclusive and safe civic space.
Some 355 participants from across the OSCE region have gathered in Vienna, including representatives of governments, international organizations and civil society. The discussions explore how legal and institutional frameworks can help prevent the misuse of digital technologies and support the implementation of OSCE commitments.
"At the heart of our efforts lies a simple principle: digital transformation must serve people. This means not only highlighting risks, but also advancing solutions that strengthen digital resilience and uphold human rights, ensuring that civic space online remains safe, open and inclusive. Ultimately, protecting civic space means protecting people," Ambassador Dagmar Schmidt Tartagli, Head of Human Rights, Democracy and Humanitarian Diplomacy at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, said in her opening remarks on behalf of Switzerland's 2026 OSCE Chairpersonship.
The use of digital tools such as spyware, biometric surveillance and AI-enabled monitoring to track, intimidate, and restrict civic participation undermines the work of civil society actors and may facilitate transnational repression.
"The questions before us are complex and there are no simple answers. "There is, however, a clear shared goal: to ensure that digitalization strengthens, rather than weakens, the protection and exercise of human rights and the foundations of our democratic societies," said Maria Telalian, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. "Let us remember that at the centre of these discussions are individuals - including journalists, activists and human rights defenders - who rely on online spaces to exercise their rights and contribute to public life."
Digital surveillance technologies often have a chilling effect on freedom of expression. At the same time, disinformation and co-ordinated information-manipulation campaigns are increasingly used to discredit human rights defenders, target independent journalism, distort public debate, and undermine informed civic participation and trust in democratic institutions. Structural features of the digital information environment, particularly AI developments, can further amplify these dynamics.
"For the RFoM, safeguarding civic space means ensuring that journalists can work safely online, that media pluralism is protected in digital environments, and that responses to disinformation remain compatible with freedom of expression," said Philippe Tremblay, Director of the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (RFoM).
Participants will examine the impact of digital threats and technologies on civic space. They will also discuss the systematic drivers, narratives and methods of disinformation and information manipulation in the OSCE region, and their implications for human rights, including freedom of expression and access to information. In addition, they will explore practical tools and concrete approaches to enable a safe, open and inclusive digital civic space. drawing on existing initiatives and good practices.
Supplementary Human Dimension Meetings provide a platform for OSCE participating States, OSCE institutions, international organizations and civil society to exchange views and share good practices in order to find common solutions for the challenges facing societies across the OSCE region. Today's event is the second SHDM of 2026, with one more planned for this year.
