Disinformation is a mind hack. It disempowers us by distorting our perception of reality and undermining our ability to make free and informed decisions. Combined with other measures that shape the information environment, disinformation influences not only what we think, but also how we think, how we act, our identities, and our relationships.(1) While these tactics are not new, our digital environment makes it easier for geopolitical actors to violate both data and decisional privacy to manipulate each of us individually.(2)

Privacy professionals and regulators are at the forefront of the battle against disinformation. We implement, enforce, advise on and evolve laws such as the GDPR, the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the EU AI Act that contain vital guardrails for combatting online disinformation and hate speech. Unsurprisingly, that digital regulatory framework is now the target of a US campaign aimed at dismantling what it brands as the “global censorship industrial complex.”(3)