EU Remarks by Ambassador Samson at the Roundtable on Information Integrity in an Evolving AI Landscape

EU Remarks by Ambassador Samson at the Roundtable on Information Integrity in an Evolving AI Landscape

17 December 2025, Remarks by H.E. Ambassador Hedda Samson, Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations, at the Roundtable on Information Integrity in an Evolving AI Landscape: Applying the UN Global Principles for Information Integrity in support of the Global Digital Compact

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Excellencies, colleagues,

Let me begin by warmly thanking Under-Secretary-General Melissa Fleming, the Department of Global Communications and all co-organisers for joining forces to convene this timely and important discussion. I would like to express particular appreciation to the dedicated DGC team working on the implementation of the UN Global Principles for Information Integrity. Their sustained, thoughtful work-especially in translating principles into practice- is essential in moving this agenda forward.

The European Union is pleased to support this roundtable at a moment of convergence: the WSIS+20 review, the implementation of the Global Digital Compact, and one year into the rollout of the UN Global Principles for Information Integrity. Together, these processes point towards a shared vision of a safe, inclusive and trustworthy digital future.

Today's information environment is profoundly shaped by artificial intelligence. AI brings extraordinary opportunities for access to knowledge, innovation and civic participation. But it also accelerates and amplifies harm. Foreign information manipulation and interference alongside disinformation and hate speech, now spreads faster, farther and with greater precision. These threats undermine democratic processes, erode trust in institutions, distort climate action debates, and weaken the protection of human rights-including the rights of women and girls, minorities, and other groups disproportionately targeted online. In conflict and post-conflict settings, disinformation places peacekeepers and humanitarian personnel at direct risk, fueling hostility, inciting violence and undermining the safety and life integrity of those deployed to protect civilians.

For the European Union, information integrity is therefore a matter of democratic resilience, societal cohesion, human security and, at times, of life and death.

Over the past decade, the EU has developed a whole-of-society approach to addressing FIMI, anchored in four pillars: enhanced situational awareness; building societal resilience; disrupting malicious actors; and strengthening regulatory and external action frameworks. At every stage, our response is firmly grounded in the protection of fundamental rights, including freedom of expression and access to information. In this regard, we are alarmed by the latest UNESCO report on media freedom, which highlights a historic regression in freedom of expression, and we remain firmly committed to upholding this fundamental democratic principle.

International cooperation is indispensable. The EU works closely with partners in the UN, NATO and the G7 to share information, strengthen capacities and coordinate responses. In this regard, we strongly welcome the UN Global Principles for Information Integrity as a comprehensive, human-rights-based blueprint. We also commend the recent "From Principles to Practice" briefing, particularly its emphasis on proactive approaches, research, and empowering voices, especially from the Global South.

With the Global Digital Compact in the implementation phase, we see the UN Global Principles as a concrete tool to advance its objectives: bridging digital divides, safeguarding human rights online, promoting ethical AI, and fostering inclusive digital governance.

I am looking forward to the next segment and to engaging directly with civil society. Your work - often closest to communities, researchers and vulnerable groups - is essential to making information integrity real and effective on the ground.

Let me close with one thought: building information integrity is ultimately an investment in trust: trust in democratic processes, in institutions, and in one another. This trust can only be sustained through transparency, accountability, pluralistic media ecosystems and genuine multistakeholder cooperation.

The European Union remains committed to working with the United Nations, civil society and all partners to ensure that emerging technologies, including AI, strengthen our societies rather than divide them.

Thank you.