A new NGO, the Center for Social Responsibility in the Digital Age (SRDA), has been set up in Brussels and intends to heighten the awareness of political leaders and officials of the EU institutions of the challenges of the new digital economy and their impact on society.

According to its by-laws, the SRDA hopes to become a “do tank” by providing practical solutions to priority issues, such as the confidentiality of personal data at a time when search engines and algorithms enable operators to draw up consumer profiles and targeted buying recommendations. The centre also proposes to examine impacts on health, childhood and the environment.

Several representatives of the EU institutions participated, on 11 July at the centre’s invitation, in an initial debate on issues such as the need for European Commission intervention and the use of recommendations and regulations. Certain legal experts pointed out that the Lisbon Treaty contains provisions on the protection of privacy.

The SRDA’s founders include Dr Arthur Pober, senior research fellow at the Annenberg Center for the Digital Future (California), Michael Bartholomew, multimedia expert and former director of ETNO and the Motion Picture Association, Spyros Pappas, lawyer and former director-general at the European Commission, Patrice Chazerand, former secretary-general of the Interactive Software Federation of Europe (ISFE), Stephan Dreyer, research fellow at Hans Bredow Institute on the media and Irina Little, director of the EDU programme at the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA).