Digital rights on Human Rights Day
It is International Human Rights Day, so we are exploring what human rights have to do with digital safety, wellbeing and citizenship.
Are the articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights sufficiently covering a changing digital world? How can we use human rights to become better digital citizens? And is digital inclusion a human rights issue? (Spoiler: yes, it is!) Read on to find out.
Human rights in the digital realm
As we increasingly shift parts of our lives online, human rights can be supported or infringed upon in the digital world. While online harassment, infringement on privacy, labour rights in the tech industry, and digital exclusion pose as major human rights risks, digital spaces have also allowed transnational movement to connect and organise.
A few rights seem particularly relevant, for example, the right to privacy, the right to education, or the right to freedom of opinion. By in large, however, most articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, while initially brought into force in 1948, relate to digital life in some way. For example, the Digital Freedom Fund published a short writings collection in 2020 highlighting how each article impacts the use of technology. Additionally, new laws, like the right to be forgotten, have emerged as a direct result to rights violation online.
What is a human rights-based approach to technology?
The individual articles can be helpful to understand the link between (human) rights and the digital world. On a larger scale, the basis for human rights, namely the preservation of dignity and safety for every human being, is also an excellent basis for understanding how to achieve Digital Safety, Wellbeing, and Citizenship.
During your daily interactions with others online, ask yourself:
- Am I respecting the safety and dignity of others and myself?
- Who may be negatively affected by my actions online?
- How can I fight for people’s dignity and safety through the use of technology?
If you are a developer of tech, for example online platforms, or AI systems, have you conducted a Human Rights Impact Assessment? The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights suggest a due diligence process that supports the development and dissemination of responsible tech: 1) Identify and assess impact risks, 2) Act on the findings and implement prevention measures, 3) Track the success of said measures, 4) Communicate risks and actions taken to stakeholders and the public.
In a nutshell, when using, developing or sharing technology, think about how it may affect the human rights of people using that piece of tech.
Digital (in)justice, digital inclusion, and digital poverty
Now that we have discussed human rights in a broad digital context, and how to assess and protect them, let us look at one more overarching concern: digital poverty. World-wide, including in the UK and Scotland, many people do not have sufficient access to technology and digital platforms required to participate in daily life. This may be for different reasons, like a lack of resources like money or broadband, or digital literacy.
As a result, people affected are increasingly excluded from important processes, and wider society. For example, think of banks or public authority offices, who increasingly shift their processes to apps and online forms, while closing in-person counters. Or that many university courses, work teams or afternoon activities use whatsapp (or similar) groups to arrange social meet-ups. The University of Oxford’s AI Colloquium 2022 even debated the right to Internet access as an interesting addition to existing human rights.
The Scottish Government’s Digital Strategy (2021) uses a human rights-based approach to address digital inclusion across the country. If you are affected by digital poverty, or would like to get involved in tackling it, we have collated a selection of programmes and organisations committed to improve digital inclusion:
- If you are a University of Edinburgh student or staff member, you have access to the free Digital Skills Training Programme.
- Many Libraries in Edinburgh offer free digital literacy training courses.
- The Edinburgh Remakery reduces tech waste and runs free drop-in repair cafés. Through their Tech Gifting programme, they “tackle digital poverty by giving people the tools they need for success in today’s digital world”.
- The Mhor Collective uses a human rights-based approach to support organisations in their projects to widen digital inclusion across Scotland.
- Connecting Scotland is a “Scottish Government digital inclusion programme, providing internet-enabled devices, connectivity and digital skills support to people in need”.
If you know or have worked with any other related initiative, let us know!
