The issue of tackling digital toxicity, proposed by Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister and government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis, is returning to the forefront of the government’s agenda with increasing intensity. The initiative, which was first presented by Marinakis about a month ago from the podium of the Athens Alitheia Forum, is now gaining significant momentum, garnering the support of top ministers and the Prime Minister.
During that first statement, Marinakis had spoken of the need to take the “hoods” off the internet, describing his proposal as a personal, tautological position and a fundamental issue of democracy. According to the government spokesman, the goal is not to ban pseudonyms, but to ensure that behind every account there is an identified natural person so that there is accountability in case of criminal offences.
The issue was reiterated with emphasis at the Delphi Economic Forum, where Mr. Marinakis, participating in a panel on Artificial Intelligence and the battle for truth in the digital age, described the fight against misinformation as an existential issue and a matter of survival of modern democracies. He stressed that democracy is not synonymous with promiscuity and that any platform wishing to operate in a state must comply with self-evident rules and restrictions, especially in terms of identifying users who break the law or flagging content produced by artificial intelligence.
The proposal now seems to have found “favorable ears” within the government, as the Minister of Digital Governance, Dimitris Papastergiou, expressed his absolute agreement, stressing that there is a need to end the anonymity regime on the internet. Papastergiou even confirmed that the relevant discussion has been officially opened, while assuring that it is technically feasible for platforms to require identifying information from users.
The momentum of the proposal was further reinforced by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who in a recent post referred extensively to the problem of anonymity and the toxicity it breeds. With this broad consensus, Mr. Marinakis’ initial proposal from the Athens Alitheia Forum appears to be translating into a coherent policy position aimed at shielding public debate in the digital age.
