Digital Rights in the Age of the Internet
In the digital era, it is important to take cognizance of the rights of consumers.
In the digital era, it is important to take cognizance of the rights of consumers.
What are digital rights?
Digital rights are an extension of human rights in the digital sphere. For example, the right to privacy and the right to freedom of expression, as outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , are as inviolable on the internet as they are in real life.
As a larger share of everyday life moves to the digital realm, so do the risks involved with the violation of rights. Online censorship, privacy, data protection and surveillance are just some of the concerns that need to be addressed as the internet continues to proliferate into everyday life.
Data Protection:
According to the right of privacy, consumers should have control over what personal information they choose to share and which parties they share them with.
Companies collect vast amounts of personal data through seemingly innocuous online activities. From social media interactions to search engine queries, every click and keystroke is tracked and analyzed. It is anybody’s guess what this information is used for.
Personal information here means information that can be used to narrow down the identity of any individual, like names, phone numbers, social security numbers, IP Addresses. The right to privacy goes hand in hand with Data Protection Regulations. For example, if a database containing the names and phone numbers of people is leaked, the owner of that database is the one responsible for any repercussions coming from the leak.
The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (known as GDPR), which was put into force in 2018, aimed to protect the rights of individual users in the digital realm.
The main aims of the GDPR with regards to the aforementioned rights are to
ensure the protection of personal data from unfair use.
Provide transparency to users with regards to collection, processing, sharing, and storage of personal data.
Allow users to have their personal data deleted from the storages of data brokers.
Fines are imposed on companies who violate the GDPR. It also allows data subjects, ie, consumers to seek damages from organizations that violate the norms of the GDPR.
The GDPR puts the onus of ensuring adequate cybersecurity measures on data collectors and data brokers. If for example, an organization’s database is hacked and personal information is leaked, the organization is responsible for the data leak.
This is one major step in the right direction for the protection of human rights in the digital age. However, the most noticeable impact this law has had in reality is to increase the number of cookie banners and popups that users encounter when surfing the web.
Surveillance:
The right to privacy is under greater threat as the usage of networked digital technologies increases. Many governments are known to have engaged in mass surveillance. Ex. The Snowden Revelations in the USA, Chinese surveillance on its citizens, and proposals to bring a social credit system in several countries, including China and Russia. These technologies can be used as tools for surveillance and control. Tools like the Israeli company NSO’s Pegasus, which is a highly invasive Spyware, can turn smartphones into round-the-clock surveillance devices. These tools are used by Governments across the world under the pretext of combating crime and clamping down on terrorism. However it has been used for other, more nefarious purposes too, like spying on journalists and political figures. So far, it has been deployed against figures in at least 45 countries, including Democratic countries like the USA, France, Canada, Switzerland, and India. This is a damning violation of the right to privacy of the aforementioned individuals as there is no judicial oversight on the use of spyware in many of these countries. In India, while the Supreme Court declared Privacy to be a Fundamental Right, the government says that this right could be overwritten by “Lawful Interception”, whatever that means. This ambiguity in the Law leaves a lot of leeway for the Indian Authorities to deploy spyware under the garb of national security, and makes legal grounds on the use of invasive spyware extremely murky and treacherous. Hence, even the illegal use of said spyware relies on leaks by individuals working inside the government who are disillusioned with the use of said spyware. An example of this would be the Snowden Revelations of 2013.
Sometimes, governments also make use of technologies that might seem convenient and benign but often can be violative of aforementioned rights. An example is DigiYatra, a biometric identity verification system which uses facial-recognition. It is deployed in several airports across India. DigiYatra is managed by a private company called Dataevolve which has been facing controversies recently. There is also no clarity on how Dataevolve stores and protects its data from snooping. Similar systems are used around the world, sometimes without even the knowledge of individuals, as is the case with an individual traveling in the USA back in 2019. She only found out about facial recognition when she realized she had not shown her boarding pass and her passport to anyone. A similar technology is on the cards in the European Union. Everything should be fine as long as the aforementioned systems are opt-out and not compulsory.
Censorship:
Online censorship is the suppression of the spread of information by governments and private entities. It is often a precursor to the establishment of authoritarianism. Ex. Twitter might decide to arbitrarily block some accounts for violation of its terms of service. The issue lies in the fact that this blocking of accounts is often done in a non-uniform manner. Governments also often order social media companies to block accounts and delete posts, sometimes without adequate justification. Countries also have vaguely worded laws that allow for such arbitrary censorship. Ex. in the Indian Constitution, free speech is subject to “reasonable restrictions”. This line was added to the Constitution in the First Amendment itself, allowing virtually every single government in India to censor its critics. Similar “Hate Speech” Laws have been passed even in democratic countries that force individuals and organizations to self-censor, lest the state crack down on them.
One solution to this is a Polish-style anti-censorship Law introduced in early 2021. This Law prevents social media companies from banning users for posts that do not violate Polish Law. However, once again, The Legislature might pass future Laws to decide what comes (or doesn’t come) under the gambit of Free Speech. It should be noted that Poland tried to pass a Law which would restrict Polish Internet users from accessing a list of websites back in 2011. This law had to be withdrawn amidst heavy pushback. It also tried to restrict foreign ownership of Media Channels operating in the country in late 2021.
These are just some of the issues in the fight for protection of individual rights in the Digital Realm. Unfortunately, there is no “one-size fits all” Solution. While social media companies can be regulated by the State, the biggest problem here is that there is nobody to truly regulate the State. It has the power to curtail access to the internet and to information that might contradict the narrative put out by the State. This is why awareness of digital rights among the common populace is needed, especially in a democratic setup. Otherwise we risk losing our freedoms and rights to Government overreach.