The reform of the LOREG from a technology perspective

We therefore present the space for reflection that has taken place under the title: "The reform of the LOREG from the perspective of technology". This seminar was held over four sessions (on 8, 15, 22 and 29 June 2021) online and directed by Professor Rafael Rubio Nuñez, Professor of Constitutional Law at the Faculty of Law of the Complutense University of Madrid. 

On the occasion of the creation of the subcommittee for the reform of the Organic Law on the General Electoral Regime (LOREG) in the Constitutional Commission of the Congress of Deputies and the agreement 146/2021 of the Central Electoral Board (JEC) which points out the convenience of regulating the role of technological platforms during electoral processes, the Institute of Parliamentary Law (with the collaboration of the Research Project "Guarantees against disinformation in electoral processes") organised this conference focusing on the regulation of the use of technology in the electoral campaign.

Many leading experts and academics reflected on these days. The first session (8 June) consisted of two large roundtables that analysed the development and evolution of the LOREG, as well as its multiple reforms. At the same time, the participants reflected on the growing phenomenon of "disinformation" in current electoral campaigns and the permanent demand and need to create procedures capable of combating the harmful effects of such threats to freedom of expression and the right to information as guarantors of reliable and fair electoral processes. Relevant figures from academia, the Spanish Data Protection Agency, the Venice Commission, as well as from Minsait, an Indra company, were able to discuss and share their respective visions of problems of a multidisciplinary nature which, of course, require heterogeneous responses.

The second session (15 June) was also structured in two main areas of work: on the one hand, the problem of the processing of "data" and the use that public institutions and actors can and/or should make of them, as well as the other side of the coin in the sense of assessing the effects of such uses and processing. Reflections were made on the recent Cambridge Analytica case, as well as on the ruling of the Spanish Constitutional Court on these matters STC 79/2019; and, on the other hand, the last part of the day focused on international and European standards focused on a regulatory option capable of providing balance and security at a national and international level. The expectations of the new Digital Service Act (DSA) and the questions and challenges it brings to the table were presented and reflected upon.

The third session (22 June) focused on the role of the Central Electoral Board as a decisive body in the supervision and guarantee of electoral processes. Its shortcomings and difficulties, as well as its need for new regulatory tools capable of providing the Board with tools in this controversial and demanding technological era, were the subject of profound and rich reflections. Disinformation and fakes in campaigning must be susceptible to active and effective monitoring and enforcement by the Central Electoral Board, for which powers and tools must be designed. This reality goes beyond national borders and this globality of dangers and threats was the subject of study and work in the last part of the session: comparative scenarios such as the Mexican one, institutions such as the European Parliament as an attentive observer of such problems, or other actors and organisations such as the El Cano Royal Institute of Analysis, contributed their experiences and visions through their representatives.

Finally, (29 June) the session dedicated to the last step of the citizens' electoral process, the exercise of suffrage. Exercising the right to vote by electronic means raises a number of problems that should be the subject of ongoing analysis and reflection. Much has been achieved in e-voting, which is a rich and useful experience, but there are also important challenges and questions still unresolved. Likewise, the electoral roll is a decisive tool in guaranteeing a universal and free vote. The processing of data and the need to draw up electoral registers that meet democratic requirements in technological societies have brought to the forefront of analysis key questions that must safeguard and guarantee fundamental rights and the reliability of participatory processes. [Inscripción a través del enlace: https://forms.gle/XmeTtvywNJQS3FcTA]

This session was also dedicated to presenting, as the closing session of the conference, the "table of political parties" in charge of integrating the sub-commission for the reform of the LOREG. It is the parties and our representatives who have the ultimate responsibility to articulate in this subcommittee the best proposals for reform and the best reflections that support them, hence the maximum interest in attending to their reflections and proposals.

Technology is a tool without intelligence (let's not forget that we humans only lend it ours in an "artificial" way) and that acts very quickly par excellence.

Thinking is human behaviour, with inexhaustible potential and capable of responding (also normatively) to any challenge, problem or scenario, and which acts slowly and calmly.

This is proof of the enormous relevance and interest of this conference.