1 Amendments of María Teresa GIMÉNEZ BARBAT related to 2016/2008(INI)
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that an increasing number of citizens use ICT tools and new media and technologies to engage and participate in political life at both national and EU level and that it is therefore crucial to increase digital inclusion and literacy, thus eradicating the existing digital divide; recalls in this regard that Member States are responsible for safeguards against manipulation with electronic voting and that a voter application and the general organisation of i-elections shall offer effective protection against third party surveillance software and other interference; (Explanatory note: Estonia is the only EU country where remote Internet voting (i- voting) is an additional voting channel for all elections, but several European countries have similar plans. International experts voiced concerns regarding Estonian i-voting system as well as preparations made in other countries. Considering the growing importance of e- democracy, we need to ensure that practices of e-voting and i-voting would not compromise both e-democracy and democracy as a whole.)