Search Tips
sorted by
25 shown of 25 entities
The role of digital access providers 2017, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- These competing considerations have led to variations in regulatory approaches. In India, public concern over Facebook’s Free Basics culminated in a ban on any arrangement that “has the effect of discriminatory tariffs for data services being offered or charged to the consumer on the basis of content”. Restrictions on zero rating are in effect in Chile, Norway, the Netherlands, Finland, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Japan. In contrast, the United States, followed later by the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC), adopted guidelines involving a case-by-case approach. States that adopt a case-by-case approach should carefully scrutinize and, if necessary, reject arrangements that, among other things, zero-rate affiliated content, condition zero rating on payment or favour access to certain applications within a class of similar applications (for example, zero rating certain music streaming services rather than all music streaming). Additionally, States should require meaningful corporate disclosures about network traffic management practices. For example, Chile requires ISPs to disclose Internet access speeds, price or speed differentials between national and international connections, and related service guarantees.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The role of digital access providers 2017, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- The intersection of State behaviour and corporate roles in the digital age remains somewhat new for many States. One profitable way forward, at both the international and domestic levels, would involve the development of national action plans on business and human rights in order to establish meaningful avenues for all categories of the digital access industry to identify and address their respective human rights impacts.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The use of encryption and anonymity to exercise the rights to freedom of opinion and expression in the digital age 2015, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- A full exploration of the role of corporations to protect their users' security online is beyond the scope of the present report, which is focused on State obligations. However, it remains important to emphasize that "the responsibility to respect human rights applies throughout a company's global operations regardless of where its users are located, and exists independently of whether the State meets its own human rights obligations" (see A/HRC/27/37, para. 43). At a minimum, corporations should apply principles such as those laid out in the http://www.ohchr.org/documents/publications/guidingprinciplesbusinesshr_en.pdfGuiding Principles http://www.ohchr.org/documents/publications/guidingprinciplesbusinesshr_en.pdfon Business and Human Rights, the Global Network Initiative's Principles on Freedom of Expression and Privacy, the European Commission's ICT Sector Guide on Implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the Telecommunications Industry Dialogue Guiding Principles, which encourage corporations to commit to protect human rights, undertake due diligence to ensure the positive human rights impact of their work and remediate adverse impacts of their work on human rights. In the future, the Special Rapporteur will focus on the roles corporations should play in preserving individual security to exercise freedom of opinion and expression.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to freedom of opinion and expression in electoral contexts 2014, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- Transparency of political financing is a critical prerequisite for any effective democratic process, and a key means of ensuring the equitable protection of free expression rights. Political finance may come either from private financing, in the form of individual campaign contributions or contributions from the private sector, or from public financing, where the Government contributes. Increasingly, States are focusing on regulating political finance to ensure transparency and to attempt to achieve an equal playing field for political parties. There is a general regulatory trend towards the restriction of private financing and the prohibition of donations from foreign States or companies, public authorities and anonymous persons. This is particularly the case given the rise of third-party financing, where individuals, or more often groups or corporate entities, campaign for or against a political party to which they are ostensibly unrelated. Whereas third-party financing can be an important means for private sector groups or civil society organizations to promote their chosen candidates or parties, it can also make it difficult for the voting public to know what interests are exerting influence on particular political parties and candidates.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The implications of States’ surveillance of communications on the exercise of the human rights to privacy and to freedom of opinion and expression 2013, para. 77
- Paragraph text
- States must ensure that the private sector is able to carry out its functions independently in a manner that promotes individuals' human rights. At the same time, corporate actors cannot be allowed to participate in activities that infringe upon human rights, and States have a responsibility to hold companies accountable in this regard.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to freedom of opinion and expression in electoral contexts 2014, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- At the same time, many States are moving towards increased public funding for political parties to promote a level playing field and reduce dependence on private funding. In some countries this takes the form of a direct transfer of money without restrictions upon its use; in others public financing includes free access to specific State services such as transport, media or government property, or tax exemptions on contributions made to political parties.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to freedom of opinion and expression exercised through the Internet 2011, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- Beyond the national level, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) has been proposed as a multilateral agreement to establish international standards on intellectual property rights enforcement. While the provisions to disconnect individuals from Internet access for violating the treaty have been removed from the final text of December 2010, the Special Rapporteur remains watchful about the treaty's eventual implications for intermediary liability and the right to freedom of expression.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Key trends and challenges to the right of all individuals to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds through the Internet 2011, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- Recent reports show that access to the Internet using mobile phones is a growing trend, including in many developing countries and regions, including in Africa. According to the ITU, almost three quarters of the world's rural inhabitants were covered by mobile cellular signal by the end of 2008. Moreover, the report suggests that coverage in rural parts of Africa could exceed 90 per cent by 2015, with mobile cellular technology playing a crucial role in expanding communications networks.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Key trends and challenges to the right of all individuals to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds through the Internet 2011, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- The digital divide in terms of access to mobile technology is much smaller than the Internet, with an estimated 67.6 per cent of individuals in developing States using mobile phones. While cellular phones do not provide the same benefits as direct computer-based Internet access, the Special Rapporteur is of the view that mobile technology can be a stepping stone to attain Internet connectivity, especially in remote areas where fixed line access is more difficult to establish.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Access to information in international organizations 2017, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- The media coverage of intergovernmental organizations is also radically different from the day-to-day or hour-to-hour reporting in domestic environments. Considering the size of the international bureaucracy, in comparison to the coverage in robust media environments of national or local governance, very few reporters cover the United Nations or other intergovernmental organizations on a dedicated basis. Those who do cover them must often work hard to get their editors, and certainly their readers, to understand the relevance of these institutions to their own lives and public policy preferences. As a result, members of the international civil service do not find themselves under the journalistic microscope in the same way that domestic bureaucrats do (or should) around the world. Such oversight may be pursued by Member States from time to time, particularly in areas of budgeting, but the difficulty of accessing information about the workings of intergovernmental organizations exacerbates the already difficult situation in terms of the pursuit of accountability at the international level. In this kind of atmosphere, every newspaper or magazine article that uncovers a problematic practice on the part of an intergovernmental organization may be taken as an attack on the institution as a whole, largely because the work of these institutions is so removed from the lives of members of the public. Fixing that, and adopting robust access-to-information policies, is one step towards better understanding, accountability, oversight and protection of the missions of intergovernmental organizations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The role of digital access providers 2017, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- Vague and open-ended government requests and legal frameworks make it difficult for companies to determine whether they are in compliance with local law. However, companies can mitigate this uncertainty by adopting company-wide policies that direct all business units, including local subsidiaries, to resolve any legal ambiguity in favour of respect for freedom of expression, privacy and other human rights. Such policies are based not only on the provider’s human rights responsibilities, but also the State’s obligation to comply with applicable human rights laws and relevant protections under local law (such as constitutional, criminal procedure and data protection laws).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The role of digital access providers 2017, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- The Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights recognize the responsibility of business enterprises to respect human rights, independent of State obligations or the implementation of those obligations (see A/HRC/17/31, annex; and A/HRC/32/38, paras. 9-10). They provide a minimum baseline for corporate human rights accountability, urging companies to adopt public statements of commitment to respect human rights endorsed by senior or executive-level management; conduct due diligence processes that meaningfully “identify, prevent, mitigate and account for” actual and potential human rights impacts throughout the company’s operations; and provide for or cooperate in the remediation of adverse human rights impacts (see A/HRC/17/31, annex, principles 16-24).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The role of digital access providers 2017, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- The findings and recommendations in the present report apply to any entity that engages in the provision of digital access as described above. A growing number of Internet companies are adding critical digital access and infrastructure services to their portfolio. For example, Alibaba and Tencent, two of the biggest Chinese Internet companies, now also offer content delivery network services. Google has been experimenting with methods to provide wireless access that bypass traditional providers; in 2010, it launched a high-speed Internet connection service to homes and businesses in select cities in the United States. It is also working with Facebook and Microsoft to build undersea cable networks that would enable them to connect users without relying on third-party equipment or systems.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The role of digital access providers 2017, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Telecommunications providers (Telcos) and ISPs (collectively referred to in the present report as “providers”) offer a diverse range of services. While they principally operate and sell access to the series of networks that comprise the Internet, they also enable users to communicate and share information through mobile services and traditional landlines (see A/HRC/32/38, para. 16). While providers remain State-owned in many regions, a growing number are now privately established and managed. The industry is also increasingly multinational: some of the world’s biggest providers operate networks in multiple countries and regions, often through partnerships with domestic companies or their own subsidiaries.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The role of digital access providers 2017, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Several States prohibit paid prioritization. For example, the Netherlands, an early adopter of net neutrality, forbids providers from making “the price of the rates for Internet access services dependent on the services and applications which are offered or used via these services”. The United States Federal Communications Commission 2015 Open Internet Order bans the “management of a broadband provider’s network to directly or indirectly favour some traffic over other traffic ... in exchange for consideration (monetary or otherwise) from a third party, or to benefit an affiliated entity”.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The role of digital access providers 2017, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- Under paid prioritization schemes, providers give preferential treatment to certain types of Internet traffic over others for payment or other commercial benefits. These schemes effectively create Internet fast lanes for content providers that can afford to pay extra and slow lanes for all others. This hierarchy of data undermines user choice. Users experience higher costs or lower quality of service when they attempt to access Internet content and applications in the slow lanes. At the same time, they may be compelled to engage with content that has been prioritized without their knowledge or input.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The implications of States’ surveillance of communications on the exercise of the human rights to privacy and to freedom of opinion and expression 2013, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- The vital developments in technology that have enabled new and dynamic forms of communication have been occurred primarily in the private sector. In this sense, many of the changes in the way we communicate, receive and impart information are based on the research and innovations of corporate actors.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Freedom of expression, States and the private sector in the digital age 2016, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- Ongoing debate about the minimum standards for corporate disclosures and relevant best practices reflects uncertainty about the appropriate balance between transparency and competing values, such as individual security and trade secrecy. While there is growing consensus that corporations should disclose information about how restrictions are interpreted and enforced, there is less agreement about how this should be done. Similarly, there is widespread agreement about the importance of quantitative transparency, but it is less clear how such information should be contextualized, presented and made accessible.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Freedom of expression, States and the private sector in the digital age 2016, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- Transparency can help ensure that subjects of Internet regulation are able to meaningfully predict their legal obligations and challenge them where appropriate. Gaps in compliance with these standards threaten the ability of individuals to understand the limits placed on their freedom of expression online and seek appropriate redress when their rights are violated. Transparency issues arise in both State and private sector contexts, such as public-private partnerships, private sector engagement in trade negotiations and the digital arms race.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Freedom of expression, States and the private sector in the digital age 2016, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Companies also provide a variety of services that connect users across multiple platforms, including e-mail, web chats, discussion threads, and social and professional networking. The most prominent actors in this area include e-mail providers, social media and other networking platforms, and online bulletin boards. In addition to such platforms, news websites, e-commerce platforms and application stores provide opportunities for the sharing of information and ideas through reviews, comments and discussions. Internet payment systems also integrate a social networking functionality.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Freedom of expression, States and the private sector in the digital age 2016, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- The Guiding Principles provide a framework for the consideration of private business responsibilities in the information and communications technology sector worldwide, independent of State obligations or implementation of those obligations. For instance, the Guiding Principles assert a global responsibility for businesses to avoid causing or contributing to adverse human rights impacts through their own activities, and to address such impacts when they occur and seek to prevent or mitigate adverse human rights impacts that are directly linked to their operations, products or services by their business relationships, even if they have not contributed to those impacts.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Freedom of expression, States and the private sector in the digital age 2016, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Human rights law does not as a general matter directly govern the activities or responsibilities of private business. A variety of initiatives provide guidance to enterprises to ensure compliance with fundamental rights. The Human Rights Council endorsed the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations "Protect, Respect and Remedy" Framework (see A/HRC/17/4 and A/HRC/17/31). Reflecting existing human rights law, the Guiding Principles reaffirm that States must ensure that not only State organs but also businesses under their jurisdiction respect human rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to freedom of opinion and expression in electoral contexts 2014, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- Unregulated campaign financing practices have recently been recognized by some authorities as a key contributor to political corruption. Countries such as Switzerland and Sweden have received criticism for the absence of national regulation of political financing, and political party financing systems in Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland have also been called into question by transparency advocates. Evaluations by the Council of Europe Group of States against Corruption on Andorra, Denmark and Malta identified as a concern the legal gaps allowing anonymous party and campaign financing, in contravention of its transparency recommendations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to freedom of opinion and expression exercised through the Internet 2011, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- At the national level, the Special Rapporteur notes that a number of initiatives have also been taken by States to address the digital divide. In India, Common Service Centres, or public "e-Kiosks", have been established by the Government in collaboration with the private sector as part of the National E-Governance Plan of 2006. As of January 2011, over 87,000 centres have reportedly been established, although the Special Rapporteur notes that the majority of the country's population still remains without Internet access. In Brazil, the Government has launched a "computers for all" programme which offers subsidies for purchasing computers. Additionally, over 100,000 publicly sponsored Internet access centres, known as "Local Area Network (LAN) Houses" with fast broadband Internet connections, have been established. Such public access points are particularly important to facilitate access for the poorest socio-economic groups, as they often do not have their own personal computers at home.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to freedom of opinion and expression exercised through the Internet 2011, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- While States are the duty-bearers for human rights, private actors and business enterprises also have a responsibility to respect human rights. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur highlights the framework of "Protect, Respect and Remedy" which has been developed by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises. The framework rests on three pillars: (a) the duty of the State to protect against human rights abuses by third parties, including business enterprises, through appropriate policies, regulation and adjudication; (b) the corporate responsibility to respect human rights, which means that business enterprises should act with due diligence to avoid infringing the rights of others and to address adverse impacts with which they are involved; and (c) the need for greater access by victims to effective remedy, both judicial and non-judicial.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
25 shown of 25 entities