The Coalition drives digital rights reflection at the heart of Smart City Expo World Congress!

Barcelona, November 2025 — The Cities Coalition for Digital Rights (CC4DR) brought critical conversations about digital rights to this year's Smart City Expo World Congress, co-organizing two compelling sessions that explored how cities can protect democracy and citizen rights in an increasingly digital world. Some of our member cities also took part in a third panel, organized by institution-member of CC4DR, Eurocities.

Three Sessions, One Mission: Digital Rights in Practice

How Cities Protect Digital Rights Through Daily Operations

On November 4th, a CC4DR session revealed an often-overlooked truth: cities are already protecting digital rights through their everyday work, even when not explicitly framed in rights-based language. From cybersecurity protocols to smart city infrastructure management, municipal operations embed rights protections in their DNA. The session featured a keynote from the European Commission's DG CNECT on the latest Digital Decade 2030 report, and a panel with city leaders from Reykjavik, Porto and Brussels demonstrating how strategic choices about technology procurement, data management, and citizen services can either reinforce or undermine fundamental digital rights.

Speakers: Alexandra Briem, City Councillor, City of Reykjavik; João Bastos, Head of Systems Architecture and Data Analytics, Porto Digital; Eric Peters, Head of Unit, DG CNECT, European commission; Isabel Varela Mallada, Acting Deputy Director – Strategy & Digital Transformation, City of Brussels. Chair: Sophie Woodville, Bordeaux Métropole

Digital Fortresses: Strengthening Democracy Against Disinformation

On November 5th, the Coalition convened city leaders to examine the corrosive effects of online misinformation on civic trust and democratic participation. Together, they analysed specific campaigns that have disrupted local governance and explored both technological and policy-based countermeasures. Speakers from Seoul, Glasgow, Bordeaux Metropole and Helsinki discussed collaborative frameworks that bring together government, civil society, and technology providers to build digital resilience in urban communities—while carefully preserving the open information ecosystems essential to democratic participation. The session underlined a delicate balance: cities must defend against manipulation without lecturing their citizens.

Speakers: Antoine Bidegain, Deputy CIO at Bordeaux Metropole; Jung Hoon Lee, Professor of Technology & Innovation Management, Graduate School of Information, Yonsei University, Seoul; Paul Leinster, Councillor, Glasgow City Council; Jasmin Repo, Special Advisor Data Policy, City of Helsinki. Chair: Sophie Woodville, Bordeaux Métropole

Cities on the Front Line: Protecting Democracy from Online Disinformation

On November 4th, in partnership with CC4DR’s member institution Eurocities, the Coalition Representatives from Helsinki, Ghent, Manchester and Bordeaux Metropole shared concrete strategies for countering disinformation while promoting digital media literacy among their residents. The session highlighted how cities, operating within the framework of the EU Democracy Shield initiative, are developing local responses to global threats—emphasizing that the battle for democratic integrity increasingly happens at the municipal level, where citizens directly experience both the promises and perils of digital public spaces.

Speakers: Sherelle Fairweather, Digital Strategy Lead, City of Manchester; Mieke Hullebroeck, General manager, City of Ghent; Jasmin Repo, Special Advisor Data Policy, City of Helsinki. Chair: Sophie Woodville, Bordeaux Métropole

Shaping the Coalition's Future

During the congress, the CC4DR also held its annual meeting, marking an important moment in the Coalition's evolution. Member cities advanced preparations for the International Rights Days 2025 and made significant progress toward adopting by-laws that will turn the Coalition into a formal not-for-profit organization—a move to strengthen its capacity to coordinate actions and advocate for digital rights at scale.

A Growing Consciousness

Perhaps the most striking observation from the Congress was the extent to which digital rights concerns are starting to permeated discussions across all sectors. Whether in sessions about AI deployment, digital twins, or smart infrastructure, it seems the magic and potential of innovation is more and more accompanied by a certain level of discomfort and questioning. This uncertainty—far from being a weakness—signals a maturing understanding that technology's promises come with responsibilities.

This growing consciousness invites us to do what cities do best: share our questions openly, learn from each other's experiences, and develop solutions rooted in local realities. Because if digital rights are to mean anything concrete for citizens, they must be protected and promoted where people actually live—in our cities, in our neighborhoods, in our daily digital and physical interactions.

The conversations in Barcelona remind us that the future of digital rights will be written not only in formal declarations, but in the choices cities make every day about how technology serves their residents.