Sustainability at the heart of our digital futures

Big Tech’s unchecked expansion is harming both people and the planet. Energy-hungry data centers are devouring electricity, water, and land, and with AI on the rise, their power consumption is set to double by 2026. Meanwhile, corporations prioritize profits over sustainability, fairness, and human rights.

While EU leaders are setting their agendas, we must demand laws that rein in Big Tech’s exploitation. We all have the power and responsibility to shape our digital future. This is why moving into 2024, together with our partners from EDRi (The European Digital Rights network), we launched the campaign “Put people, democracy and the planet at the heart of our digital futures!” with the goal to spread the message that a just and sustainable future prioritizes dignity, fairness, and a healthy planet.

By investing in ethical, people-centered digital infrastructure, we can create a world where justice, sustainability, and human well-being come first. With the right policies, this vision can become reality. Therefore we urged EU lawmakers to pass laws that empower people, promote justice and transparent decision-making, care for our planet, ensure safety and participation, and build technology for and by the people. We also called on EU lawmakers to reject any laws that steer us away from the future we want to build.

On 1 October 2024, we took the demands of thousands of people across Europe to seven Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). We are very grateful to the participating MEPs for showing their commitment to building a future that empowers its communities, uplifts the voice of its citizens, nurtures its natural environment, holds tech corporations to account and protects the human rights of all its people. Our partners from EDRi and our community of action will continue to echo demands for digital policies that respect people, democracy and the planet.