Human rights are universal, indivisible and inalienable. Online spaces provide new opportunities but also create risks for their exercise and protection. For example, digital spaces offer enhanced means, speed and scale for people to exercise their freedom of expression, but they also exacerbate risks to privacy by enabling the collection and storage of personal data in unprecedented ways.

There is broad international consensus that the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online. A nuanced approach to digital policy is needed, that accounts for the different links and tensions between rights. For instance, policies aimed at promoting online safety of children, like age assurance measures, should account for potential implications for other human rights such as freedom from interference with one’s privacy.

Digital technologies offer opportunities to enhance social inclusion of disadvantaged, vulnerable or marginalised groups, including children, people who live in remote areas, or persons with disabilities. For instance, AI tools can facilitate the participation of visually impaired and hard-of-hearing students in traditional educational settings. However, these groups are especially vulnerable in a digital environment that may not be fully adapted to accommodate their needs and that can give rise to new forms of discrimination or harmful practices, such as cyberbullying.

In developing measures to safeguard human rights online, policies must go the extra mile to empower all members of society, including those more susceptible to harm. Digital literacy efforts are essential in this regard, as recognised in the OECD Recommendation on Children in the Digital Environment, to ensure that everyone has the skills needed to thrive and exercise their human rights in the digital age.

Digital technologies’ design, development and deployment can affect the way in which human rights are exercised and protected. Artificial intelligence and neurotechnology, for instance, can help advance human rights related to education and health, but they also create new and exacerbated risks linked to privacy, freedom of thought, security and safety, among others. They can even challenge our understanding of what it means to be human.

To ensure that digital transformation remains human-centric and rights-oriented, human rights need to be incorporated throughout the lifecycle of digital technologies. The 2019 OECD Recommendation on Artificial Intelligence, the first intergovernmental standard on AI, includes the respect for human rights throughout the AI lifecycle as one of its principles.

Robust engagement with civil society is essential to ensure that the efforts undertaken by governments to protect human rights in the digital age are constantly aligned with societal values and needs. Deliberation with the private sector is equally important, since firms, including online platforms, have a growing impact on how human rights are protected and exercised in the digital age. Through a multistakeholder approach that brings in different perspectives and facilitates policy coherence, governments can foster synergies and cooperation.

The OECD provides a platform for evidence-based policy analysis and co-operation to support countries in navigating the implications of digital transformation on human rights. In a series of dedicated workshops in 2022-23, the OECD gathered policymakers and experts to inform and reflect priorities for human rights in the digital age. In 2022, the OECD brought together digital Ministers who adopted the Declaration on a Trusted, Sustainable and Inclusive Digital Future, setting a vision for a human-centric, rights-oriented digital transformation.