The internet is now a central feature of everyday life but opinion is still divided on how to make it work for the common good. Earlier today in a panel discussion live streamed from the Council of Europe, Bill Echikson (Google), Simon Milner (Facebook), and Felix Treguer (La Quadrature du Net) debate the gap between responsibility and reality

Chaired by Index’s CEO Kirsty Hughes, you can watch the debate live below.

How can we guarantee freedom of expression online? Should governments monitor their citizens’ lives online in the name of security? Is it acceptable for new software to have inbuilt surveillance capacities? In this new landscape, how do we protect free speech online – and who can we count on to do so?

This panel discussion was jointly organised by Index on Censorship and the Parliamentary Assembly Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media and the UK Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers