As stated in paragraph 143 of the Joint report, “[t]he relationship between democracy and digital technologies is quite complex. On the one hand, [digital tools] have become the dominant platform of political interaction in some democracies, [and they] have strengthened the critical attitudes of citizens towards their governments and their widespread use facilitates the organisation of large-scale social movements and a closer interaction between citizens and political parties. On the other hand, the new digital tools may be used, and sometimes are indeed used against elections to suppress voter turnout, tamper with election results, and steal voter information; against political parties and politicians to conduct cyber espionage for the purposes of coercion and manipulation, and to publicly discredit individuals; and against both traditional and social media to spread disinformation and propaganda, and to shape the opinions of voters. The new digital realm allows for new forms of criminality and data commercialisation that seriously threaten privacy rights, and modulates social interactions by selectively (and sometimes strategically) feeding or hiding specific information to its users, thus fostering a partial understanding of reality and hampering freedom of expression.”