Everyone should have access to technology and the internet, including those in the most vulnerable layers of society or in remote and peripheral regions, MEP Josianne Cutajar said . As well as being an important digital right, we should seriously consider putting in place a human right for the internet, making sure that everyone has access to the internet in the same way as everyone has access to education and health.

Cutajar was reacting to her appointment to carry out work in the digital sector in two different committees.

Josianne Cutajar has been entrusted with work related to two important files, one which will deal with an opinion in relation to a Regulation on Artificial Intelligence, and another file relating to the Path to the Digital Decade policy programme. Dr Cutajar will be working on one of these files in the Transport Committee and on the other in the Industry Committee, both files relating to our digital and continent’s future, where failure to keep pace with the latest developments risks that we end up falling behind.

Cutajar said that when it comes to artificial intelligence, we must make sure that it is used in the best possible way. While we want to reap the full benefits this innovative technology offers, we need to see it operated responsibly and with full respect for European rights and values. Meanwhile, we need to have rules for risky situations that even regulate in case of damages, such as in the case of a car driven by an artificial intelligence system being involved in an accident and causing damage to someone, stressed the Maltese MEP.

“When we talk about the path to the Digital Decade, we are talking about European targets in the digital field that the European Union must reach by the end of 2030. This is to ensure the connectivity and skills necessary to enable everyone to make the best use of the latest technological advances. It must be ensured that no person and no business is left behind, and that public systems also advance in digitalisation", said Josianne Cutajar.

Cutajar reiterated that among the targets that need to be reached, we must see that by 2030: 80 % of 16-74 year olds have basic digital skills; that 75 % of European enterprises make use of cloud computing, big data, and artificial intelligence; and that 90 % of small and medium-sized businesses reach at least a basic level of digital intensity.

MEP Cutajar also participated in a debate (The importance of connectivity during and after COVID-19 crisis) organised by the renowned Euractiv media platform about the importance of digital connectivity and EU goals that we need to achieve to ensure that we really reach everyone.