During the plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels (19-23 October 2020), Joint debate on Digital services and Artificial intelligence. Opening statement by Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age. The following transcription is the result of an automatic process. Check Against delivery.

Brussels

plenary session

joint debate

use of robotics and artificial intelligence (T)

VESTAGER, Margrethe (DK, CE)

digital services act (T)

Joint debate - Digital services and Artificial intelligence: Opening statement by Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, Well, thank you very much. I think it is kind of strange. We are few here because this is the digital debate and yet the energy and the enthusiasm is to be felt. And I think that comes from the fact that the work done is truly impressive.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, Because it's a work that has involved so many colleagues in this assembly, so many colleagues who have done the effort to study the subjects, to form opinions and to discuss.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, And even though it will be, I think, a truly amazing debate today, it will in no way do justice to what has gone before this debate because it is truly a thing. I think that in that includes the entire parliament.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, This is also why it's a bit unfair to start thanking some rapporteurs and and and leaders in this but I would say to Alex Agius Saliba, Tiemo Wolken and Kris Peeters, this is an outstanding work.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, We will respond to your initiatives with two legislative proposals. The Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act. And it will reflect ideas.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, Fundamentally, we share the same goals. And I think that is the most obvious. We want to better protects citizens when they use the Internet, whether that is a protection against illegal goods, services, content online as it was put.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, We need to make sure that as we feel safe off-line, we should feel safe online and also to better secure the freedom of expression online. And this, of course, as you have heard already, this is that tricky balance to strike.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, To achieve this, we need to lay down a solid and impactful EU wide accountability framework.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, And obviously, that has to come with enforcement because words alone will not do it, then it will be just window dressing.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, And the balance will have to strike. Here is, of course, that we will have to say to some of the gatekeepers, the largest platforms, that things will change. Europe is open and we will do this in full compliance with our international obligations.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, Also because we would want to work with the rest of the world to set new standards.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, And in order to do so, we intend to break down legal barriers in the internal market to combat unfair practises by gatekeeper platforms.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, And this will help European innovators, small businesses to scale, to grow, to be able to compete for our attention, to compete for our business. The Device or Services Act. I think two things have stood the test of time.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, No general monitoring of user content content as one. And second, a more balanced system of liability and the internal market as a core.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, But things have changed. So obviously, we also need to set out in law the responsibilities that platforms must have in relation to their role as societal and economic impactors as they are.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, And this is one of the reasons why we're working on this digital market acts in parallel to the Digital Services Act. This regulation will specifically target large digital gatekeepers defined by objective criteria, setting out a clear list of do's and don'ts in full compliance again, of course, with international obligations.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, It will also provide for a market investigation framework to address digital markets that may be prone to market failure and prone to creation of new gatekeepers.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, An artificial intelligence. Well, let me thank. Also MEP Ivan Garcia del Blanco for the intense work.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, And I really welcome the parliament's contribution here. This is groundbreaking. this has not been done before.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, We share the same ambition to create a sound and future proof legal framework for trustworthy artificial intelligence in Europe.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, So that peak people can benefit from A.I. driven products and services that are safe and that respects European fundamental rights and values.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, For this, we need an A.I. framework that creates new opportunities for European businesses to innovate, to scale up.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, And we should and we ought to be the global hub for A.I. made in Europe. And set the global standard for trustworthy A.I. We want four to fully leverage the potential of a Iot while mitigating associated risks.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, And I think we all recognise that this is the balance and we will be discussing this back and forth and back and forth, because it is and is indeed a balance to be struck. Because not every A.I. implies a risk.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, High risk applications of AA. Well, they should be put under intense scrutiny. However, we should not defined our risk A.I. so broadly that he creates legal uncertainty and disproportionately overburden his businesses or hampers innovation.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, And we need to form a framework that is future proof. And I expect that we will engage in this very intensely because it isn't is a balance.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, We also welcome the report for dealing with liability for A.I. in here. Alex, most have done outstanding work. It's very impressive.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, And we agree, agreed that the current liability rules, while they are challengeable, they are challenged by A.I. characteristics. Our institutions, while they also agree on the objective for liability, aiming for the same level of protection for victims of aggregate damages as victims of damages of other technologies.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, I think that is a very sound and straightforward principle. For what consensus? The product liability directive. The commission appreciates the parliament report. We will carefully consider it. And then we will discuss on the parliament report on intellectual property rights IPR rights.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, I think that shows the votes role of IP rights for the EU to become a leader in artificial intelligence. Without this, it will not happen. And we want to thank also MEP Stefanie's Ishani for his excellent work. We need an EU IP framework that enables innovations in the field of A.I. technologies.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, Companies in the European Union. Well, they must be able to efficiently protect, but also to share their inventions in the field of A.I. technologies. That is what will create great excellence in artificial intelligence.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, And thank you again also for this groundbreaking work. Last but not least, I think this will be a amazing debates. We have started it, I think, already in the best possible manner.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, And one of the delights is to see how there is a convergence between the different reports, between the thinking of the commission and what the parliament is proposing here.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, And I think that is very strong because that shows citizens that what we create great want to create is a society where technology serves humans, where humans are empowered, where humans are in control.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, We don't want a society where people feel estranged, feel that there is a risk that some machine will take some decision in complete transparency without knowing if my rights is actually being fulfilled.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, We have one generation to do this. This is now. It is happening. And I do hope that's one. Many of these valuable points that you will recognise them in what we will suggest.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Margrethe VESTAGER, Executive Vice-President of the EC in charge of Europe fit for the Digital Age, I'm looking forward not only to the debate today, not only to the proposals, but also to the debate, that we will have to make sure that we get a strong European regulatory framework that can actually be enforced in real life. Thank you.