This paper explores how civic technology (civic tech) – that is, the use of digital technology to strengthen democracy by informing people, enabling participation and improving government accountability – can enhance citizen participation in Europe at a time of declining trust, polarization, and increasingly AI- and platform-shaped political communication.

• Artificial Intelligence
• Participatory democracy
• Learn about civic tech

Strategic Framework and Implementation Roadmap

• Fieldwide resources
• Civic tech legislation and policy

Maine bill establishing moratorium on new data centers

• Civic tech legislation and policy

A new legislative toolkit from the Knight-Georgetown Institute equips lawmakers with modular components to support the development of legislation that encourages algorithmic feeds that put people first.

• Ethical tech and responsible tech
• Tech or Digital Policy
• Algorithmic transparency

Creation of a centralized system for processing freedom of information law requests.

• Access to information
• Civic tech legislation and policy

The Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act aim to create a safer digital space where the fundamental rights of users are protected and to establish a level playing field for businesses.

• Govtech
• Digital security and privacy
• Policy

The European Democracy Shield and the EU Strategy for Civil Society present measures to protect the key pillars of our democratic systems: free people, free and fair elections, free and independent media, a vibrant civil society and strong democratic institutions.

• Media
• Govtech
• Fight disinformation

The State of New York passed a bill outlawing the use of algorithmic pricing by landlords to determine rent prices. Score one for not using AI to make bad things (the housing and cost of living crises) worse!

• Artificial Intelligence
• Policy
• Regulation

The basic function of the Freedom of Information Act is to ensure informed citizens, vital to the functioning of a democratic society.

• Government transparency
• Predecessors & Pioneers
• Access to information

AN ACT of Parliament to provide for the conduct of public participation; to give effect to the constitutional principles of democracy and participation of the people...

• Participatory democracy
• Policy
• Civic tech legislation and policy

La Mesa del Congreso de los Diputados ha aprobado el I Plan de Parlamento Abierto (2025-2027), desarrollado en el marco de la Alianza de Gobierno Abierto (OGP).

• Open Government Partnership (OGP)

• Parliamentary and legislative tech
• Government transparency
• Policy

Legislation requiring Member States to establish AI regulatory sandboxes

• Artificial Intelligence
• Tech or Digital Policy
• Civic tech legislation and policy

Das Informationsfreiheitsgesetz (IFG) schafft einen voraussetzungslosen Anspruch auf Zugang zu amtlichen Informationen bei Behörden des Bundes.

• Government transparency
• Access to information
• Civic tech legislation and policy

The Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, better known as the Escazú Agreement (Spanish: Acuerdo de Escazú), is an international treaty signed by 25 Latin American and Caribbean nations concerning the rights of access to information about the environment, public participation in environmental decision-making, environmental justice, and a healthy and sustainable environment for current and future generations.

• Government transparency
• Access to information
• Civic tech legislation and policy

Requiring open digitalisation and publication of planning data in the UK

• local

• Govtech
• Digital transformation
• Urban planning

The Netherlands's open government act

• The Netherlands (national government)

• Govtech
• Government transparency
• Policy

Observatorio Regional: Legislación en Libertad de Expresión en América Latina

• free speech

• Civic data
• Open civic data
• Tech or Digital Policy

The Tromsø Convention is the first binding international legal instrument to recognize a general right of access to official documents held by public authorities.

• Watchdogging and transparency
• Government transparency
• Policy

La Ley 19/2013, de 9 de diciembre, de Transparencia, Acceso a la Información Pública y Buen Gobierno (texto consolidado), tiene por objeto ampliar y reforzar la transparencia de la actividad pública, regular y garantizar el derecho de acceso a la información relativa a aquella actividad y establecer las obligaciones de buen gobierno que deben cumplir las personas que ejercen una responsabilidad pública.

• Government transparency
• Access to information
• Civic tech legislation and policy

Swiss law requiring government agencies disclose their source code when possible.

• Govtech
• Open source
• Civic tech legislation and policy

Caught in the Web (CitW) is a 26 month initiative supported by the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office United Kingdom where Search for Common Ground, Hashtag Generation, and Centre for Equality and Justice work as a consortium to advance effective responses to gendered online hate speech and cyber sexual and gender based violence in Sri Lanka.

• hate speech
• Online Gender-Based Violence (OGBV)

• Citizen Engagement
• Civic tech legislation and policy

S.4495 - A bill to enable safe, responsible, and agile procurement, development, and use of artificial intelligence by the Federal Government, and for other purposes.

• Govtech
• Governance of AI
• Procurement

Bipartisan legislation that would require government agencies to share custom-developed source code with each other—thereby avoiding duplicative government contracts to build software.

• United States (federal government)

• Open source
• Policy
• Civic tech legislation and policy

O LupaMundi - Mapa das Legislações sobre Desinformação é um mapa interativo que apresenta as leis nacionais de combate à desinformação.

• Fight disinformation
• Civic maps
• Civic tech legislation and policy

Polish law institutionalizing the "Village Fund" form of participatory budgeting, first in rural areas and later required for the 66 largest cities

• Participatory democracy
• Participatory budgeting
• Civic tech legislation and policy

A commitment to make digital technologies work for, not against, democracy and human rights. It underlines the joint responsibility of governments, multilateral organizations, civil society, and technology companies to develop and use digital technologies to the benefit of democracy and human rights.

• Adjacent Fields
• Ethical tech and responsible tech
• Digital security and privacy

The bill’s sponsor, Representative Ro Khanna, summed it up by saying, “Government exists to serve citizens, and this bill ensures government leverages available technology to provide cohesive, user-friendly online service that people around this country expect and deserve.”

• United States (federal government)

• Govtech
• Digital transformation
• Assistive and Accessible Tech

We are a platform of more than 140 thousand activists, organizations and groups that mobilize to transform behaviors and attitudes, generating influence in public policies and thus building a more tolerant, fair, sustainable, inclusive and participatory country.

• Sustainable cities and communities
• Peace, justice, and strong institutions

• Participatory democracy
• Advocacy tech
• Citizen Engagement

US White House order including addressing AI generated public comments

• United States (federal government)

• Artificial Intelligence
• Govtech
• Communicating with the government

A UN resolution in favor of ICTs for Sustainable Development

• United Nations
• International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

• Govtech
• Civic tech legislation and policy

Law requiring digitization of German government. Die Interaktion zwischen Bürgerinnen, Bürgern und Unternehmen mit der Verwaltung soll in Zukunft deutlich schneller, effizienter und nutzerfreundlicher werden.

• Government transparency
• Digital transformation
• Civic tech legislation and policy

The European Union developed a Code of Practice on Disinformation based on the findings of its High Level Working Group on the issue.

• Media
• Fight disinformation
• Civic tech legislation and policy

Poynter's global guide on existing attempts to legislate against what can broadly be referred to as online misinformation

• guides

• Media
• Fight disinformation
• Civic maps

A global map ranking countries by their Freedom of Information laws

• free speech

• Civic maps
• Policy
• Access to information

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to reporting on algorithmic tools used by city agencies

• Govtech
• Algorithmic transparency
• Civic tech legislation and policy

Emilia Romagna's Regional law on participation

• The Tech
• The People
• Participatory democracy

The 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (IDEA) requires all government-produced digital products, including websites and applications, to be consistent, modern, and mobile-friendly.

• The People
• Govtech
• Bureaucracy tech

The U.S. Open Data Toolkit is a digital resource that helps federal policymakers better understand and harness the strategic value of open data.

• The Tech
• Civic data
• Policy

The Government clearly highlighted the modifications made to the text following this consultation, in order to facilitate the follow-up of proposals from different contributors.

• The People
• Civic tech legislation and policy
• Internal government tech capacity