Comments from the Council of Europe Information Society Department
Comments by the Council of Europe’s Information Society Department on the Report of the UN Secretary General’s High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation
The Council of Europe Information Society Department welcomes the well-timed report from the High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation, its commitment to a broad multi-stakeholder approach, and the fact that it recognises the importance of human rights and human agency in the digital age as issues that require close attention from governments and other stakeholders.
The Council of Europe is the continent’s leading human rights organisation. It comprises 47 member states, 28 of which are members of the European Union. All Council of Europe member States are bound by the European Convention on Human Rights, which effectively secures the human rights and fundamental freedoms of 830 million people in Europe. Therefore, the Council of Europe has been providing continued guidance to governments on how best to discharge their human rights obligations, including vis-a-vis the digital transformation of multiple spheres of life.
In addition, several Council of Europe’s instruments and frameworks address specific challenges stemming from the growing use of digital technologies. These instruments include the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data (Convention 108),1 the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention)2, the Lanzarote Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse3, and the Oviedo Convention on Bio-Ethics4. The Council of Europe’s legal instruments on data protection and cybercrime are recognised and applicable far beyond Europe, as they count a growing number of non-European states parties.5
The Council of Europe has also developed a vast body of standards of non-binding nature, such as the Committee of Ministers Recommendation (2014)6 of the human rights guide for internet users, Recommendation (2016)5 on internet freedom, Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)7 on Guidelines to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of the child in the digital environment, the Declaration on the manipulative capabilities of algorithmic processes of February 2019, and many more. Currently a draft recommendation on the human rights impacts of algorithmic systems is in preparation.
Technological advancement enhances human development and contributes to creating optimal conditions for the exercise of human rights. Digital technologies also hold significant potential for economic growth and innovation, which are goals that are essentially rooted in the shared values of democratic societies. Therefore, economic and other, including human rights- related, benefits deriving from technological progress cannot be realised without duly respecting these shared values. The broader implications of the use of digital technologies, as well as their possible misuse, for the core values of democratic societies must thus be taken very seriously.
Given the speed and scale at which digital advancement occurs, it is particularly important now to develop efficient responses to the newly arising challenges. Digital technologies affect all aspects of human life globally and transversally. All states and all stakeholder groups are therefore required to coordinate efforts and, inter alia, share information and good practices to ensure continued innovation in full adherence to the key values of human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
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The Council of Europe has substantial experience in assessing the possible human rights risks that may stem from digital technologies and developing legal and non-legal mechanisms and standards for effectively amplifying positive effects of digital technologies for individuals, communities and societies while minimising adverse effects on human rights, the functioning of democratic societies and the viability of institutional frameworks. While doing so, the Council of Europe has sought to develop standards that can be used at global level, as fragmentation of rules hinders effectiveness and progress.
The Council of Europe applies a variety of working methods, being engaged at horizontal level (through the newly established Ad Hoc Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAHAI) which will be examining the feasibility and potential elements of a framework related to the development of artificial intelligence in line with Council of Europe standards) and in sector-specific work for concrete guidance on integration of digital technologies in specific fields, such as judicial systems, data protection and privacy, freedom of expression, or child protection.
Aware of the outstanding role that the UN plays globally in setting and maintaining human rights standards in a range of spheres, we value the fact that our Organisations’ efforts aim in the same direction and would welcome extended cooperation. In particular, the Council of Europe stands ready to offer its vast experience to be used in the context of the Human Rights Council’s deliberations to support the aims of the Report.
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1 Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data, ETS 108, as amended by the Protocol amending the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data, CETS 223…
2 Convention on Cybercrime of the Council of Europe, CETS 185.
3 Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse , CETS
201.
4 Convention for the protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the Application of
Biology and Medicine: Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine, CETS164
5 As of September 2019, the Convention 108 counts 55 states parties, the Budapest Convention counts 64 states
parties.
Recent Comments on this Site
30th September 2019 at 3:09 pm
I would add here a footnote with Balkin’s seminal work on information fiduciaries (Balkin, J. M. (2015). Information fiduciaries and the first amendment. UCDL Rev., 49, 1183.)
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30th September 2019 at 2:55 pm
I would suggest the following addition: “The advent of AI in our daily lives creates further limitations for due process, posed by opaque and inscrutable algorithmic processes that have wide applications in the private sector and the public affairs alike ( *1). Automated decision making challenges fundamental human rights in an unprecedented manner and diffuses accountability due to the various levels of interactions between human operators and artificial agents (*2). Human agency and autonomy, both underpinning rationals for seminal human rights, such as privacy and free speech, are massively being redefined in the era of automation. Enhancing algorithmic accountability should therefore be a key priority for policy-making aiming to create a regulative framework that guarantees fairness and transparency. ”
Footnotes
(*1) Pasquale, F. (2015). The black box society. Harvard University Press.
(*2) Karanasiou, A. P., & Pinotsis, D. A. (2017). A study into the layers of automated decision-making: emergent normative and legal aspects of deep learning. International Review of Law, Computers & Technology, 31(2), 170-187.
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30th September 2019 at 12:32 pm
I would suggest the following amendment: “There are also many examples of digital technologies being used or developed in a manner that restricts fundamental human rights and liberties, such as the right to privacy, the right to access to information, and the right to free speech, posing thereby significant threats to societal cohesion, democracy and self-determination.
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1st July 2019 at 9:56 pm
Link to be included: “Guidelines to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of the child in the digital environment: https://www.childrens-rights.digital/hintergrund/index.cfm/topic.280/key.1568
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1st July 2019 at 9:54 pm
The 3rd message agreed upon is the session needs to be added a follows:
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1st July 2019 at 9:53 pm
To Michael Oghia: We use the term children in the sense of the UN Convention on the Rights of the child meaning young persons up to the age of 18.
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1st July 2019 at 9:51 pm
This is a message from the YouthDIG brought into the session, the message was adopted slightly different as follows:
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1st July 2019 at 5:16 pm
We also mentioned the role of self-certification, and the “establishment of global good practice” to which suppliers should live up to.
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1st July 2019 at 5:15 pm
Open door.
And if you want to keep thi sparagraph, maybe limit it to “Policymakers need to develop long-term strategies to address existing challenges, such as but not limited to, inequalities, the digital divide, and the impact of digitalisation on jobs.”
And at “upcoming/future” challenges. If policymakers only focus on what exists today they will also be running behind!
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1st July 2019 at 5:13 pm
THis should be the third paragraph
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