Human Rights in Digital Era: Data Protection and Privacy Concern

Abstract

In 21st century we cannot think a single day without the technologies of digital era. We using technologies in our daily life, in education, in securing job markets and smart house. The most revolution of this century is artificial intelligence.  Artificial intelligence (AI) can think like a human brain also can regulate their thinking as a human being. That’s make our life easier but there are so many difficulties to protect the privacy of individuals. This technologies is consisted with so much data that often this technologies violate the human rights. It’s just a machine who works with commands. So the government or other state in the name of data protection gather personal information by using this digital eras technologies.

In some points AI bias on some matter as it’s just follow the command and give result according the store data. If the data is against discrimination of minorities AI cannot change them as it’s just a machine language. In digital era we do everything in online like marketing, online payment, transjection of many information and all. Some people fraudulently hack their financial status or theft or online scams. People using others information or pictures in their social platform to their personal gain and making money fraudulently.

All this way human rights is violate. In domestic level we can regulate the data protection and privacy concern by domestic law but in international level we are failed to regulate the human rights protection. Because international law in the matter of technologies there is no specific law and treaties. However this article will discuss the digital era revolution, Violation of human rights and privacy, Ethical and phychological aspects behind this privacy violations, The challenge of human rights protection of AI generation and digital era and the legal framework of human rights protection in digital era.

Digital era revolution

The proliferation of digital technologies, Including social media, cloud computing and many other technologies which has been easy to each and every individuals to communicate, interact and conduct transaction with each other. The most wandering invention of digital era is AI which is known as artificial intelligence. Because of this digital era and advance technologies they can instant access to anything, unlimited connectivity and globally interconnected with each other by the virtue of digital era. It’s seems too much easy but it can be dangerous to protect human privacy and protection. As a social beings, we are regulate by laws to reduce disorder and crime in society.

In the digital era we shift our life from physical to social digital platform. We sift our education to online that every marginalized people get proper access of this new technology. We invented big tech company that our digital marketing growth increasing day by day.  Now we can globally connected with each other by this digital platform.

Violation of human rights and privacy

In this digital era we use technology as our daily basis lifestyle. This modern era dominated by advanced technology, fundamental changes has occurred ae we interacted with the world around us. The use of social media, internet search, online transaction and passing of our information by using these advanced technology but some condition need to be consider as it’s and individuals privacy.  The protection of personal data is the right to private life.[1] Sometime this private life is violated by the technologies that they use our personal data as many research and works without permission. Use our photos in many commercial advertise and some person use in pornography. The most ethical question is that who use our data and who control our data. Sometime it’s not individuals rights violations also it” violate the collective rights.

In domestic way state failed to protect individuals rights, international the human rights privacy is violated in many ways. The higher state using others state data and information to dominated the other country by using this. Also the confidential things often taken over by the other state which is dangerous for a state to protect their sovereignty.

The ‘right to privacy’ was long recognized as an international human right before it was included in any state constitution.[2] Although the genesis of the right to privacy lies with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights[3]

Ethical and Phychological aspects behind this privacy violations

First, it might be beneficial to discuss how human rights can serve as a framework for ethics. One definition of ethics is the “well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues.[4] There is a phychological aspect behind this privacy violations. This is the age of modern era. There people are too much liberty to express their freedom of speech. So people has right to say whatever they want in the social platform in digital era that’s make more enemy or sometimes when some peoplet raised in a vulnerable family that they fall in the trap of black holl in the digital era. In phychological aspect the person who violates the right of people they are not do that by born more than they can had truama from any past incident. If we try to think in the ethical background everyone has an ethical obligations to protect others data and privacy. Ethics is that regulate the behavior of human right and wrong. Ethical background has not any legal obligations rather than it’s a moral obligations to others.

The privacy violation of human rights there can be create many chaos in society, the leak of personal data or photo it can be lead a person and family purely unstable. There always an ethical dilemma that AI decision making and biased algorithms.

The challenge of human rights protection of AI generation and digital era:

Artificial intelligent is something that can be behave like a human being process. Artificial intelligence aims to create machines capable of executing activities that traditionally demand human cognitive abilities, encompassing problem-solving, learning, perception, and comprehension of language[5]

The lack of algorithmic transparency

AI has usage lake of algorithmic transparency itself. AI mostly processed with the result not with the information. Behind the result what sources they are taking their information we don’t know. It’s all about machine learning language algorithmic system. In the decision making AI has no proper transparency in this matter

Cyber security vulnerabilities

AI mostly automated decision making system that produced many errors[6] and false information that leads to anyone in serious crime or anyone privacy violation. There is no specific legal framework for cyber security in the era of AI. AI is the super faster than a human thinks. There is no proper cyber security in the protection og human rights.

Digital Surveillance

The UN Human Rights Council, in a report published in 2022, raised several concerns regarding new spyware[7] technologies that have enabled systematic monitoring of people in both offline and online environments.[8] In 24 hours this spyware software can hack all the persons personal data, government information, many tech company confidential information etc.

Data Mining

 The application of data mining by states has grown significantly in recent years, particularly in the areas of pattern recognition and information extraction from massive data sets. Even though the State has benefited from this use, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, in terms of early case detection and outbreak surveillance, there have been conflicts with protecting privacy rights when using data mining techniques.[9]

Discrimination and biased

AI and other digital technologies has biased in their decision making. Example is all data is previously included in their cyber that male will get more jobs than women. AI will input this information and if any women search for a job then the Server will give result on the basis in that collective data. By that AI biased in their decision

 Accountability

AI or other digital technologies has no accountability in their doing works. It’s a machine so it’s has no legal or moral obligitations. But the developers who are behind of that technologies they are accountable for their work

Legal frame work of human rights protection in digital era

Human rights are inherent to all human beings. Every human is entitled to human rights, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status.[10]

Human rights law:

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights (article 1)

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person (Article 3)

Universal Declaration of Human Rights also told the privacy and protection of freedom of expression. UN Human Rights Council (HCR) resolutions that people online rights must be protected hoe offline rights we protected.

Every domestic region has their own digital right protection Act. But internationally there is no specific treaties or convention about the human rights violation in digital era. The most challenging is that the jurisdictional issues in cyberspace like cross border violation. If any state violate the others state privacy and data protection there is no specific digital treaties or convention like Human Rights has specific on that matter. Also international court of justice work on the violation of human rights.

Legal frame work still now vague in the matter of privacy and data protection.

Conclusion

Human Rights in digital era is still now challenges. Day by day this digitial technologies is growing so faster that we are fail to adopt the right track to protect the Human Rights. In nationa we have a frame work to protect data and privacy protection but in the internationally we failed to do so. If any state violate the rights of human we can punish under the Human Rights Law. In this Law we just say protect the privacy of human but we didn’t clear about the individuals private life. The UDHF also didn’t clear the proper protection of Human Rights in Digital era. How international court of justice ensure the data and privacy of the human rights that is also vague. So the protection of human rights data and privacy we must work on the legal framework of the human rights privacy. Along with the international , States must also take positive action to protect the enjoyment of rights , and with respect to the right to privacy, States are failing to fulfil such obligations.[11]

References

[1] Riduan SIAGIANa, Leonard SIAHAAN, Muhammad Ichwan Hamza,” Human  Rights in the  Digital  Era:  Online  Privacy,  Freedom of  Speech, and Personal Data Protection” Vol. 2 No. 4 (2023): Journal of Digital Learning and Distance Education (JDLDE), p. 530 para 3

[2] See Drafting Committee on an International Bill of Human Rights, Documented Outline, 11 June 1947, E/CN.4/AC.1/3/Add.1 (‘Drafting Commission Documented Outline’) at 78–94.

[3] Pranav Ramakrishnan, “Preserving the Right to Privacy in the Digital Era: A Modern-Day Analysis through the lens of International Human Rights” 25 Oct 2024

[4] Kay Mathiesen, “Human Rights for the Digital Age” Vol. 29, 2014, 16 jan 2014,

[5] Nehaluddin Ahmad, “THE CHALLENGES OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE ERA OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE”, UUM JOURNAL OF LEGAL STUDIES, vol. 16, no.1, Published by 31 Jan 2024, p.152

[6] Rowena Rodrigues, “Legal and human rights issues of AI: Gaps, challenges and vulnerabilities” Journal of Responsible Technology, vol.4, December 2020,

[7] Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights – The Right to Privacy in the Digital Age ’ (A/HRC/51/17)

[8] ‘Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights – The Right to Privacy in the Digital Age ’ (A/HRC/51/17) https://undocs.org/Home/Mobile?FinalSymbol=A%2FHRC%2F51%2F17&Language=E&DeviceType=Desktop &LangRequested=False.

[9] Sekalala, S., Dagron, S., Forman, L., & Meier, B. M. (2020). Analyzing the Human Rights Impact of Increased Digital Public Health Surveillance during the COVID-19 Crisis. Health and human rights, 22(2), 7– 20

[10] Julia M. Puaschunder,” HUMAN RIGHTS ONLINE: TOWARDS A NEW GENERATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE VIRTUAL WORLD” vol. 34, issue 1, 18 janurary 2022

[11] 3 Rona, Gabor and Aarons, Lauren, State Responsibility to Respect, Protect and Fulfill Human Rights Obligations in Cyberspace (October 26, 2016). 8 J.NAT’L SECURITY L. & POL’Y (2016, Forthcoming), Cardozo Legal Studies Research Paper No. 503