What are Digital Rights? And how do they Impact You?
Digital Rights are human rights! They are reflective of the rights we are entitled to as citizens as we conduct more of our lives online. This includes a a diversity of issues ranging from freedom of expression to rights to privacy.
Digital Rights incorporate different issues that are sitting at the intersection of human rights, technology and social justice. Some of them are well-known and others are still in development mostly because Digital Rights is a newer concept that is directly related to our societies' increased use of the Internet and communication platforms to conduct our daily lives. What is clear, however, is that digital rights are human rights.
Digital Rights issues are centered around freedom of expression, Internet Freedom, and right to privacy in the context of our use of digital technologies, particularly the Internet. However, Digital Rights have evolved to also include Internet accessibility, digital literacy, and digital labor rights, among others.
The fight for digital rights affects everyone, but especially the most vulnerable and marginalized communities around the globe.
This includes, for example, LGBTQ populations in countries where it is both illegal and dangerous to be themselves, investigative journalists in all countries, women and children who experience harassment and discrimination online, different movements who are being surveilled or censored online because of their activism, and digital gig workers under precarious conditions, among many other groups.
Citizens’ Across the Globe are Facing More and More Digital Rights Challenges
The 2022 edition of the Freedom on the Net report found that digital rights OR “human rights online” deteriorated in 28 countries, with more than two-thirds of the world’s internet users living in countries that restrict free expression online.
In recent years, authoritarian governments and bad actors have invested more money and energy into using the Internet and communication platforms to attack, punish, silence and spread information.
They primarily do this through both surveilling and censoring people online, using tactics such as online harassment and limiting internet access, as well as passing laws that criminalize freedom of expression, and the use of encryption technologies that keep users private and secure. In certain regions, challenges can even include complete Internet blackouts during elections, demonstrations, or key moments where governments want to silence their people or stop the spreading of information.
Issues related to citizens’ digital rights continue to increase as authoritarianism across the globe continues to grow. Currently, only 15% of the world’s population is living in an open society.
More and more governments are implementing full or partial Internet shutdowns to control their citizens. For example, following the protests in Iran in response to the murder of Mahsa (Jina*) Amini, the Iranian government cut off internet access in parts of Tehran and Kurdistan, as well as blocked access to social media platforms such as Instagram and WhatsApp
In addition, we are seeing how technology continues to bring new issues sitting at the intersection of human rights and technology, from invasive ads that track our behavior, to disinformation, to facial recognition technologies, and much more. In most recent years, we also begin to see the rise of new types of workers coming out of digital economies that are facing harsh labor conditions. These emerging challenges to our rights will continue to evolve and rise as more people join the Internet, and our societies become more dependent on technology.
Who are the People Working on Digital Rights?
There is an emerging field and community working on protecting digital rights that come from all regions, disciplines, and backgrounds. These individuals - also known as digital rights defenders - work to protect activists, journalists and civil societies from these new attacks and risks brought on by the use of technology as a weapon of harm by these authoritarian and nefarious actors.
However, they are experiencing historic levels of demand, toppled resource challenges and, in some instances, burnout. Needless to say, the lack of digital rights defenders to properly address these issues is also alarming, much of this is because of the specialized technological skill needed to work on these next-generation issues.
The importance of the Digital Rights Defender
If the “Defenders of the Defenders” fall, then societies across the world will suffer critical setbacks that may take decades to address. There is an urgent need for support and services that improve the health of the digital rights community - without it, it’s unclear how resilient the community will remain in coming years. This ultimately, will lead to a further increase of authoritarianism and more precarious life conditions across the globe. Thus, to the decline of media freedom, freedom of expression, and the ability for groups throughout the world to fight oppression and injustices to develop a better society.
Digital Rights Defenders come from all corners of the world, disciplines and fields. What they have in common is their desire to fight online surveillance, censorship, and other issues sitting at the intersection of technology, human rights, and social justice.
Team CommUNITY is dedicated to supporting the health and wellbeing of digital rights defenders around they world. They do this by providing services, safe community spaces, and resources.