THE CONTEXT: The European Commission has proposed a set of digital rights and principles in January 2022 that aim to protect people’s rights, support democracy, and ensure a fair and safe online environment. The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union will discuss the proposal before its adoption. This article explains the major features of the declaration and its significance.
THE SALIENT FEATURES OF THE DECLARATION
PEOPLE AT THE CENTRE OF THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION:
- Technology should serve and benefit all Europeans and empower them to pursue their aspirations in full security and respect for their fundamental rights. This requires:
- Strengthening the democratic framework for a digital transformation that benefits everyone and improves the lives of all Europeans.
- Fostering responsible and diligent action by all digital actors, public and private, for a safe and secure digital environment.
SOLIDARITY AND INCLUSION:
- Everyone should have access to technology that aims at uniting and not dividing people. The digital transformation should contribute to a fair society and economy in the Union. These needs:
(a) Making sure that technological solutions respect people’s rights, enable their exercise, and promote inclusion.
(b) Developing adequate frameworks so that all market actors assume their responsibilities and make a fair contribution to the costs of public goods and services.
CONNECTIVITY, DIGITAL EDUCATION, AND SKILLS:
- Everyone, everywhere in the EU, should have access to affordable and high-speed digital connectivity. Everyone has the right to education, training, and lifelong learning and should be able to acquire all basic and advanced digital skills. This requires:
(a) Ensuring access to excellent connectivity for everyone, wherever they live and whatever their income.
(b)Promoting and supporting efforts to equip all education and training institutions with digital connectivity, infrastructure, and tools.
WORKING CONDITIONS:
- Everyone has the right to fair, just, healthy, and safe working conditions and appropriate protection in the digital environment as in the physical workplace, regardless of their employment status, modality or duration. This needs:
(a) Ensuring that everyone shall be able to disconnect and benefit from safeguards for work-life balance in a digital environment.
A fair online environment:
- Everyone should be able to effectively choose which online services to use based on objective, transparent and reliable information. This requires:
(a) Ensuring a safe, secure.
(b) A fair online environment where fundamental rights are protected, and the responsibilities of platforms, especially large players and gatekeepers, are well defined.
PARTICIPATION IN THE DIGITAL PUBLIC SPACE:
- Everyone should have access to a trustworthy, diverse, and multilingual online environment. Access to diverse content contributes to a pluralistic public debate and should allow everyone to participate in democracy. This requires:
(a) Supporting the development and best use of digital technologies to stimulate citizen engagement and democratic participation.
(b) Continuing safeguarding fundamental rights online, notably the freedom of expression and information.
PRIVACY AND INDIVIDUAL CONTROL OVER DATA:
- Everyone has the right to the protection of their data online. That right includes the control on how the data are used and with whom they are shared.
- Everyone has the right to the confidentiality of their communications and the information on their electronic devices, and no one shall be subjected to unlawful online surveillance or interception measures.
- Everyone should be able to determine their digital legacy and decide what happens with the publicly available information that concerns them after their death.
SUSTAINABILITY:
- To avoid significant harm to the environment and promote a circular economy, digital products and services should be designed, produced, used, disposed of, and recycled to minimise their negative environmental and social impact. This requires:
(a) Supporting the development and use of sustainable digital technologies that have minimal environmental and social impact.
(b) Developing and deploying digital solutions with a positive impact on the environment and climate.
SIX THEMES OF THE DECLARATION IN A NUTSHELL
THE RATIONALE BEHIND THE EUROPEAN DECLARATION ON DIGITAL RIGHTS AND PRINCIPLES
ACCELERATION IN DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION:
- Digital transformation offers significant opportunities for a better quality of life, innovation, economic growth, and sustainability. But it also presents new challenges for the fabric, security, and stability of societies and economies.
- With the acceleration of the digital transformation, the time has for the European Union (EU) to spell out how its values and fundamental rights should be applied in the online world.
A CONTINUITY IN DATA PROTECTION APPROACHES:
- The European Parliament has made several calls for ensuring the full compliance of the Union’s approach to the digital transformation with fundamental rights such as data protection or non-discrimination and with principles such as technological and net neutrality and inclusiveness.
- It has also called for strengthened protection of users’ rights in the digital environment. This declaration is in furtherance of such initiatives and approaches.
BUILDING ON PREVIOUS INITIATIVES:
- This declaration builds on previous initiatives such as the “Tallinn Declaration on e-Government”, the “Berlin Declaration on Digital Society and Value-based Digital Government”, the “Lisbon Declaration – Digital Democracy with a Purpose”, “Path to the Digital Decade” etc. which calls for a model of digital transformation that strengthens the human dimension of the digital ecosystem with the Digital Single Market as its core.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR THE MARKET:
- The declaration aims to explain shared political intentions.
- Not only does it recall the most relevant rights in the context of the digital transformation, but it also serves as a reference point for businesses and other relevant actors when developing and deploying new technologies.
FLAG POSTS FOR POLICYMAKERS:
- The democratic oversight of the digital society and economy should be further strengthened, fully respecting the rule of law principles, effective justice, and law enforcement.
- Thus, the declaration will guide policymakers when reflecting on their vision of the digital transformation: putting people at the center of the digital transformation, underlying solidarity, and inclusion, restating the importance of freedom of choice, etc.
PROMOTING BEST PRACTICES:
- The Union shall promote the declaration in its relations with other international organizations and third countries.
- The principles can serve as an inspiration for international partners to guide a digital transformation that puts people and their human rights at the center throughout the world.
A CRITICAL EVALUATION OF THE DECLARATION
- Despite the solemn character of the draft declaration, this text does not purport to exercise any legally binding role. Its ‘political nature is made explicit in the declaration itself and the accompanying communication. as the preamble recalls, it remains declaratory and, even if endorsed, will not set out legal obligations.
- The declaration has not been introduced as an EU Charter of Fundamental Rights 2.0, a document with potential constitutional value.
- The declaration does not have any direct mechanism of enforcement. The EU Commission, however, has proposed to use this document as a guide to assess the status of the digital transition across the EU in the form of an annual report.
EU PARLIAMENT AGREES ON PROPOSAL TO TAKE ON U.S. TECH GIANTS
In the European Parliament in Jan 2022 signed off on a proposal for new rules aimed at U.S. tech giants, paving the way for talks on the plan with member countries and the European Commission. The Digital Services Act, a proposal from the EU antitrust chief would force Amazon, Apple, Alphabet unit Google and Facebook owner Meta to do more to tackle illegal content on their platforms or risk fines up to 6% of global turnover. The proposal still needs to be ironed out with EU countries and lawmakers before it can become law, the first of its kind in the world. The European Parliament adopted the proposal with 530 votes in favour, 78 against, and 80 abstentions.
“With a huge majority, the European Parliament adopted the Digital Services Act. A big win, with support from the left to right,” Dutch lawmaker Paul Tang said on Twitter. Christel Schaldemose, a Danish lawmaker leading the Parliament’s negotiating team, said: “Online platforms have become increasingly important in our daily life, bringing new opportunities and new risks. We have to make sure that what is illegal offline is illegal online.” France, which holds the rotating EU presidency, aims for an agreement in the first half of 2022.
AN ANALYSIS OF THE DIGITAL RIGHTS AND PRIVACY: THE INDIAN SCENARIO
‘Digital rights’ is a broad term: it can imply the right to privacy and data protection; it can be related to trolling, online threats, and hate speech; it can address broader issues of equitable Internet access regardless of economic background and disabilities. In India, where citizens’ data are at the mercy of companies and government and where is no privacy law, the Puttaswamy judgment, and the Justice B.N. Srikrishna committee report that led to the Personal Data Protection Bill of 2019 came as a ray of hope. But the Joint Committee report on the Bill has failed to provide a robust draft of legislation ensuring the privacy of citizens.
Earlier, the Central government introduced IT Rules 2021 which is also being criticized as putting disproportionate restrictions on digital freedom. Instead, it is held that it carved out an architecture for a surveillance state. Digital marketing has resulted in the compromise of the personal data integrity of the users and such data is being exploited commercially. There are also many instances of a data breach on the part of both public and private players including the UIDAI.
The lack of accountability of the tech giants is an acute problem in India despite their huge influence on public policy and governance matters. These issues have been echoed in Parliament recently where members urged the government to end the “systematic influence and interference of Facebook and other social media giants” on electoral politics being used to “hack democracy”. Last year, Facebook (Meta)was accused of allowing algorithms to amplify hate speech. Whistle-blowers Sophie Zhang and Frances Haugen have testified against the company’s policies. Haugen told British lawmakers that the social media company stokes online hate and extremism, fails to protect children from harmful content and lacks any incentive to fix the problems.
EU, INDIA, 8 OTHER COUNTRIES CALL FOR INT’L COOPERATION ON DATA PROTECTION
In a ‘Joint Declaration on Privacy and the Protection of Personal Data: Strengthening trust in the digital environment’, the European Union, Australia, Comoros, India, Japan, Mauritius, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, and Sri Lanka said rapid technological developments, in particular in information and digital technologies, have brought benefits for their economies and societies, as well as new challenges for privacy and the protection of personal data.
To foster data free flow with trust, which, as also acknowledged by the G20 Rome Leaders’ Declaration, is key to harnessing the opportunities of the digital economy, it is vital to ensure, as guaranteed by these countries’ respective legal frameworks, respect for individuals’ right to privacy and the protection of personal data as a core value and fundamental freedom, said the declaration.
They called for comprehensive legal frameworks and policies covering both the private and public sectors. They underlined core principles such as lawfulness, fairness, transparency, purpose limitation, data minimisation, limited data retention, data security, and accountability. They also called for enforceable rights of individuals, such as access, rectification, deletion, and safeguards concerning automated decision-making such as transparency and the possibility to challenge the outcome.
The joint declaration emphasised safeguards for international transfers to enable cross-border data flows by ensuring that the protection travels with the data. It also called for independent oversight by a dedicated supervisory authority and effective redress.
THE WAY FORWARD
GENERATE AND SPREAD DIGITAL AWARENESS:
- Similar to many other Internet bills of rights promoted in the past few years by civil society groups and other international organisations, the EU declaration on digital rights and principles plays an important advocacy role in raising public awareness among citizens, institutions, and companies.
DEVELOP DIGITAL REGULATORY CAPABILITY:
- In a time when rapid global digital advancement consistently outpaces regulatory frameworks and institutions of State agencies in the multilateral domain, the declaration represents a unique step toward a human rights-based approach to digital governance and inclusion.
- However, they will remain mere declaratory without regulatory and governance mechanisms to enforce these rights.
A BENCHMARK FOR OTHER COUNTRIES:
- The declaration deals with very substantive aspects of the digital ecosystem including digital equality and oversight of tech companies. It provides a template for other countries/blocs so that they can streamline and update their own digital governances policies.
BALANCING THE RIGHTS OF THE MARKET, GOVERNMENT, AND CONSUMERS:
- The attempt to rein in the “Big-Tech Power” has been ongoing worldwide, including in the USA, Australia, India, etc.
- Although it is necessary to demand and enforce accountability on these companies, this should not lead to a situation of government control over citizens’ data.
- Also, the rights of the market, the free flow of data, and the development of the digital economy should not become a casualty.
LEGAL AND POLICY CERTAINTY IN INDIA:
- India requires a comprehensive digital law and policy system that integrate privacy, regulation, legitimate government control, and scope for digital entrepreneurship. The current Data Protection Bill requires serious overhauling so are the IT Act 2000 and other associated rules and policies.
THE CONCLUSION: The Declaration furthers the global conversation on digital constitutionalism, translating constitutional principles to address the challenges of the digital revolution. It reiterates that the digital world is not a lawless space: Existing fundamental rights are as valid online as they are offline. It is a good step towards promoting a safe, reliable, accountable, and equitable digital space that can benchmark other nations/groupings.
QUESTIONS:
- Comment on the salient features of the European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles, 2022. How far do you think that they can address the problems of inequality, poor social inclusion, and lack of accountability in the digital ecosystem?
- “The European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles, 2022 is although right in intent but lacks substance”. Critically Examine