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Posted: March 2nd, 2023
Internet and Human Rights
Internet and Human Rights
What impact has the Internet had on Human Rights? Take into account freedom, privacy, security and censorship.
The diverse use of the internet today in all aspects of day to day living has led to an increased concern over the safety of human rights. It has become necessary for government to put in place measures that aim at protecting the dignity if human beings online and prevent cases of violation and abuse. People have a constitutional right to express their view and opinions online which could be political, personal, or religious. It is however quite unfortunate that the social media platforms where most people have found convenient to express their rights and freedoms of speech, are the same platforms where people are most violated in terms of cyber bullying and trolling as well as defamation.
Freedom means that one is at liberty to do as they desire as long as they pay respect to the law. Social media platforms such as Facebook allow user to express their freedom of speech, expression of religion and political opinions on the online spaces. Political leaders today have turned to Twitter to conduct their campaigns and their followers are free to offer their support on the online platform. Conflict however arises when the political leader receive negative publicity on the social media platform from their opponents some of which may be damaging to their political careers. A single rumor on the internet will only take a hour to reach a billion people. It is hence very necessary that the law of defamation is applied in such an instance to protect the victim and to prevent future incidence of defamation.
Security has been a major online concern which is yet to be fully addressed. A lot of personal information is shared across the internet which may easily fall into the hand of cyber criminals (Access Now, 2018). Physical addresses, phone numbers and other delicate information such as credit card numbers can easily be accessed by hackers who may cause grave damage to the unsuspecting victim. Some of the most common security concerns include credit card fraud, phishing, and denial-of-service attacks among others. It is advised that people and organizations take precaution before sharing any personal information online. Encrypting personal information is a reliable method of protection when transferring data on the cyberspace (Clinton, 2019).
Cases of child predators have become very common today given the expansive use of the internet even among kids. Online sexual predators have made use of the online platforms to capture unsuspecting minors and lure them into sexual activities. Parents are highly advised to report such incidences to the relevant authorities. It is also recommended that parents monitor the action of their children’s online which should include regulating the amount of information they share and the amount of time they spend online.
Any kind on content can be found on the internet which could be damaging to the young viewers. Gun violence, drug and substance abuse, pornographic materials, and other forms of destructive behavior can be found in the online contents. Governments should be very careful to restrict what kind of material and content should be shared online as a means of protecting the young generation. Some countries and site have managed to block content that is disruptive to social morality.
Governments should work closely with organizations such as the Human Rights Watch which is dedicated towards research and advocacy on human rights across the globe, to ensure that human rights are respected both physically and on the internet.
References
Access Now. (2018). Digital Rights 101: Understanding how technology affects human rights for all. Retrieved from https://www.accessnow.org/digital-rights-101-understanding-how- technology-affects-human-rights-for-all/
Clinton, H. R. (2019). Internet Freedom and Human Rights. Retrieved from https://issues.org/clinton/
HRW. (2019). Human Rights Watch. Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/