Navigating Privacy and Security: Human Rights in the Digital Age

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11-Sep-2024 | Samiksha Kanaujia

An Overview

The era of digital interactions, from reading news online to making a payment, reflects new possibilities for exerting both individual and collective rights in the digital age. Therefore, recognizing the disruptive impacts of new technologies is crucial for safeguarding our rights.

Digital technology has become an essential part of our lives, but it has not been well-regulated. Personal data and user privacy are not adequately secured by legislation. Moreover, artificial intelligence has managed to avoid regulation for an extended period of time. Moreover, the proliferation of discriminatory and misleading information has been permitted without proper intervention.

Our political, social, and legal institutions have not yet adapted to the consequences of this transformation, and our understanding of how to safeguard and respect human rights is a significant challenge. However, the legal community, with its expertise and influence, can play a crucial role in advocating for enhanced protection of human rights in the digital world. There is a pressing need for us to come together and address these issues.

Surveillance and its Threat to Human Rights

Laws about surveillance often don't keep up with changes in technology. This leaves voids in legal protections and lets the government surveil people without any checks. Facial recognition, biometric data collection, and algorithmic monitoring have become more common, posing challenges to privacy rights. Therefore, in the digital age, individuals' personal information becomes progressively more susceptible to abuse and manipulation.
For example, the case of Big Brother Watch and others v. the UK pertained to a breach of Articles 8 and 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), namely concerning the rights to privacy and freedom of expression. The decisions sparked intense debates, both regarding the delicate equilibrium between rights and interests and the necessity to reevaluate the standards for determining if the Convention has been breached, considering the substantial advancements in technology and the advent of mass surveillance and data processing.
To address these concerns, proponents of privacy rights call for enhanced legal protections, transparency measures, and oversight systems to guarantee that surveillance operations adhere to human rights norms. Furthermore, in order to properly address surveillance, it is crucial to implement measures that not only prevent it but also educate the public about the consequences of digital surveillance and enable individuals to effectively exercise their right to privacy.

Freedom of Expression and Censorship

The digital age has democratized information and enabled unparalleled levels of public discussion. Individuals can now use social media platforms, online forums, and digital news sites to express their thoughts, rally for social causes, and hold institutions accountable.
- However, the broad scope of the digital public sphere raises concerns about the spread of misinformation, online harassment, and public opinion manipulation. In addition, there is extensive censorship and monitoring, an increase in cybercrime, online abuse, and hate speech, and the relentless propagation of disinformation.
The difficulty lies in attaining a delicate equilibrium between regulating harmful content and protecting the right to freedom of expression. Although certain types of content, such as hate speech, incitement to violence, and disinformation, are harmful to society, implementing blanket censorship measures might have unforeseen negative effects. Furthermore, the worldwide scope of the internet adds complexity to attempts to govern content, given the significant differences in laws and cultural standards between different regions.

Privacy in the Digital Era

In the digital age, privacy as a fundamental human right is increasingly threatened. The collection and storage of personal data by technology corporations and governments present substantial threats to individual privacy. Instances of data breaches, cyberattacks, and the improper handling of personal information have the potential to result in identity theft, financial detriment, and psychological anguish.
The leaking of classified papers by Edward Snowden, a whistleblower from the National Security Agency (NSA) in the USA, revealed the existence of global surveillance programs. This sparked renewed attention and emphasis on the right to privacy in the context of the digital era.
Protecting privacy in the digital age requires legal, technological, and social solutions. Governments must pass strong privacy laws that protect personal data and hold data breaches accountable. In addition, encryption, anonymization, and data protection can reduce concerns about digital surveillance and data exploitation.

Steps Towards Right to Privacy

Over the last ten years, there have been three resolutions passed by the UN General Assembly, many reports by UN special procedures, a report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and two resolutions by the UN Human Rights Council that specifically deal with the right to privacy in the digital era.

Create a Special Rapporteur Mandate: In March 2015, the United Nations Human Rights Council created a Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy. The UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution on The Right to Privacy in the Digital Age passed by consensus on 18th Dec in New York, under the leadership of Brazil and Germany.
- The policy note starts by describing the creation of a soft law project called the International Principles on the Application of Human Rights to Communications Surveillance.
- Subsequently, it traced the discussion from the Snowden leaks to the resolutions passed by the UN General Assembly and Human Rights Council, providing a concise account of the human rights lawsuits that occurred along with these events.
Develop a Multi-Stakeholder approach to Internet Governance: The Internet, which evolved through a collaboration of technologists and other stakeholders, operates through global, cross-border connectivity and is not constrained by geographical boundaries. The Internet, in a way, puts the nation-state structure to the test. In other words, global connectivity and the free flow of information across borders have empowered individuals, but they have also put the territory-based nation-state system of governance to the test.
- Some governments, like China, now support Internet sovereignty, where the nations control all Internet infrastructure, data, content, and governance. This method resists the trend toward distributed, decentralized, multi-stakeholder Internet governance. Thus, to meet this challenge, the multi-stakeholder model for Internet governance must be protected and strengthened.
Reinforce Digital Rights Protection as a National Security Concern: The inability to effectively safeguard human rights and uphold the principles of legal governance in the digital domain has significantly undermined key elements of both national and global security in the long run.
- The degree to which digital security for individual users, data, and networks has been compromised in the name of safeguarding national security was one of the most concerning aspects of the mass surveillance programs disclosed by Edward Snowden.
- Practices, such as hacking into networks and mandating back doors to encrypted services, will weaken global encryption standards and will directly jeopardize both national and global security, as well as violate human rights. Therefore, strengthening digital security for individuals, data, networks, and essential infrastructure should be a national and global security priority.

Digital Rights in India

Digital rights are an extension of human rights in the digital age. In India, the Supreme Court and High Courts have acknowledged that digital rights are an inherent part of theFundamental Rights provided in the Constitution of India. This includes:

The right to access the internet is considered a fundamental right according to Articles 19, 21, and 21A of the Constitution.
Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act: In a 2017 ruling, the Supreme Court of India acknowledged the existence of the right to privacy. Subsequently, in August 2023, the Indian Parliament enacted the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, a comprehensive legislation aimed at safeguarding personal data.
- The Act defines Data Fiduciaries' duties and Data Principals' rights. It also mandates financial penalties for violations.
- This act gives individuals the right to know what personal data is being collected about them, correct or delete their personal data, and object to data processing.
In addition, in India, the regulatory framework for digital platforms and AI-related issues are dealt with by a patchwork of laws and acts. These include the erstwhile Indian Penal Code (IPC) or Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which provides a broad legal foundation for addressing offenses, including digital crimes; the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act), which regulates online activities; and the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, which protects consumer rights on digital platforms.

Navigating New Frontiers

We are currently living in a period of technological change with the rapid growth of digital communication infrastructure and the widespread adoption of digital technologies. In this digital age, the human rights movement must align itself with the digital world in which we operate.

Simultaneously, it is evident that the exercise and safeguarding of fundamental rights in the present day cannot be addressed using conventional and established methods, as these rights are rapidly evolving and can result in highly detrimental outcomes. When formulating its digital policy, countries must take into account the effect on human rights to guarantee that the process of digital transformation remains human-centric and rights-oriented.
It is important for governments, international organizations, and other public and private stakeholders to acknowledge that human rights cannot be safeguarded and advanced by treating offline and online activities and behaviors as different entities. A comprehensive approach, which integrates and incorporates a strong emphasis on human rights in both the physical and digital realms, is much needed today. 
As far as human rights policy goes, civil society groups that work to protect and promote human rights need to have a dialogue with governments, technologists, the private sector, and others to make sure that the Internet is governed in a way that puts global human rights first in the digital world.

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