Last week, Connect’s General Manager took part in an Euractiv policy triangle discussion held in Brussels, focusing on the relationship between social media, algorithms and democratic participation.

The session centred around a new study carried out by Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund, titled “Algorithms and Democracy: How Social Media Shapes Young Europeans’ Worldviews”. What makes this study particularly relevant for Connect and our work is its focus on how algorithmic content curation affects young people’s political participation and civic engagement, issues that sit at the very heart of our digital rights agenda.

During the discussion, Connect highlighted a critical reality: for young people today, social media is not simply a tool for communication or engagement, it is where they experience the world, form opinions and encounter politics. What they see online directly shapes how they understand and relate to democracy itself. This is why the increase in political disengagement among young people cannot be understood without looking at what is happening in digital spaces.

Connect firmly believes that digital rights are human rights. The right to privacy, the right to clear and unbiased information, and the right not to be discriminated against apply equally online and offline. Digital cannot be treated as a standalone topic, it is a crosscutting issue that affects every aspect of civic life, from political participation to the protection of marginalised communities.

As social media becomes the primary arena for civic participation, EU frameworks must keep pace, ensuring that platform design, algorithmic transparency and political content are held to ethical standards that protect citizens and democracy.

We are grateful to Euractiv for the invitation and for creating a space where these critical conversations can take place. Connect will continue to advocate for a digital public sphere that is fair, rights-based and inclusive for all, and we look forward to many more discussions like this one.

Read the full study here.