Surveillance and Censorship: The Impact of Technologies on Human Rights
As human lives transition online, so do human rights. The main challenge for the European Union and other actors is to transition all human rights to the digital sphere. This report argues that the human rights-based approach can be helpful in focusing discussions about security on individuals rather than states. It provides an overview of countries and companies that pose risks to human rights in the digital sphere. It lists the most relevant international laws and standards, technical standards, business guidelines, Internet principles and policy initiatives that have been crucial in transitioning the human rights regime to the digital sphere. It also analyses the impact of recent EU actions related to Internet and human rights issues. It concludes that different elements of EU strategic policy on human rights and digital policy need be better integrated and coordinated to ensure that technologies have a positive impact on human rights. The report concludes that EU should promote digital rights in national legislation of the third countries, but also in its own digital strategies.
Study
External author
Ben WAGNER, Joanna BRONOWICKA, Cathleen BERGER and Thomas BEHRNDT (Centre for Internet and Human Rights, European University Viadrina, Germany)
About this document
Publication type
Policy area
Keyword
- communications
- control of communications
- cooperation policy
- Council of Europe
- EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
- European construction
- European organisations
- EUROPEAN UNION
- extra-territoriality
- freedom of assembly
- freedom of expression
- freedom of religious beliefs
- impact of information technology
- information and information processing
- information society
- information technology and data processing
- international human rights law
- international law
- INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS
- INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
- Internet
- LAW
- OSCE
- protection of privacy
- rights and freedoms
- social rights
- the EU's international role
- third country
- Wassenaar arrangement
- world organisations