Accountability and human rights in the age of tech

Abstract

It is considered almost common knowledge that the internet has made significant contributions to human rights. To the extent the net and tech are met with criticism or scepticism, it tends to be the result of extreme and conspicuous abuse (eg Cambridge Analytica), but the more fundamental question of the net’s true contribution to human rights has never been raised in public discourse. From the perspective of human rights as recognised by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the intention of this paper is to challenge the conventional wisdom of tech’s contribution and to raise the question as to whether tech immunity is a privilege undeserved. Has immunity become a licence to destroy values, democracy, social cohesion and human rights? Has it become a one-sided deal without checks and balances? Finally, the paper suggests possible solutions for these questions.