Date: 25 April
Time: 2.30-3.30pm
Venue: Meeting Room 5, Palais d’Europe, Strasbourg
BETWEEN RESPONSIBILITY AND REALITY: HOW CAN WE GUARANTEE FREE EXPRESSION ONLINE?

As the internet becomes a central feature of everyday life, opinion is still divided on how to make it work for the common good. Should governments monitor their citizens’ lives online in the name of security? Is it acceptable for new software to have inbuilt surveillance capacities? In this new landscape, how do we protect free speech online – and who can we count on to do so?

13.00 – 13.30 Reception hosted by UK Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe in the Foyer of the Committee of Ministers Ambassador.

13.30 – 15.00 Panel discussion jointly organised by Index on Censorship and the Parliamentary Assembly Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media and the UK Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers: Between responsibility and reality: how can we guarantee free expression online? with Bill Echikson (Google), Simon Milner (Facebook), and Felix Treguer (La Quadrature du Net), chaired by Kirsty Hughes (Index on Censorship).