Spain’s Minister for Digital Transformation and Public Service, Óscar López, has called for a strategic alliance between Spain and Latin America to promote and protect digital rights in a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence and technological change.
Speaking at the Andicom Technology and Business Congress in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, López stressed that Europe and Latin America must “raise their own voice” in the global debate on citizens’ rights in the digital environment.
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Spain and Latin America strengthen commitment to digital rights through new alliance
“If a revolution does not multiply rights, then it is not a revolution,” López said, emphasizing the need to ensure privacy, digital skills training, and access to reliable information.
Launch of the Digital Rights Observatory
At the event, the public entity Red.es unveiled the Digital Rights Observatory, an initiative designed to promote awareness and protection of people’s rights in digital environments, with a special focus on Latin America.
The project, supported by 19 technological, academic, and social organisations, has a budget of €10.83 million, mostly financed by NextGenerationEU funds, and forms part of the Digital Rights Program.
The launch included a panel discussion with international experts such as Jaime Abello (Gabo Foundation), Carolina Botero (Karisma Foundation), and Carme Artigas (former Secretary of State for Digitalisation and AI), who analysed the ethical, regulatory, and social challenges posed by digitalisation.
Building on progress since 2021
The Observatory builds on a path already opened by Spain with the Digital Rights Charter (2021), later followed by the EU Declaration of Digital Rights and Principles (2022) and the Ibero-American Digital Rights Charter (2023).
López underlined Spain’s commitment to a human-centred and sustainable digital transformation, ensuring that fundamental rights are safeguarded with the same strength in the virtual world as in the physical one.