Science & Technology

Bullying through electronic means, specifically mobile phones or the internet, has emerged and is often collectively labelled cyberbullying. With youth using digital technologies for educational and recreational purposes, there has been an increase in social problems in the cyberspace, exposing them to different forms of cyber violence.

Children are tracked and monitored in their daily lives and are also targeted on the basis of their location. This is a form of real-world behavioural targeting. How marketing to children in the digital era works and what impact may it have on their rights?

The age of technology is shaping the current and future challenges to human rights protection. Academia can foster spaces for dialogue and exchange of views, such as the 2023 Euregio Summer School which is in a cooperation with the Global Campus of Human Rights and focuses on the interplay between human dignity, human rights and digital technologies.

In South Africa, the shifting from physical to virtual education due to COVID-19 has created inequalities among learners from urban areas who could continue with online schooling and learners from rural areas and also learners with disabilities who were deprived of their right to education.

The nexus between human rights and tech is more foundational to the evolution of the international human rights legal project than we normally think.

COVID-19 intensified the shift to online services, already accelerated in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. But digitalisation excludes many older people, whose lack of computer skills, devices and internet access, may prevent them from receiving essential information and banking, health and social care services.

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed a gap between existing technical capabilities in data analytics and the ability of public authorities to use them. While some societies were able to implement solutions based on data analytics, others, due to low mobile internet penetration, lack of appropriate legal frameworks or limited digital literacy in the population, were forced to rely on traditional forms of response to the spread of SARS-CoV-2.

As this Curated series draws to a close, we reflect on what it emphasises as regards human rights preparedness for digitalisation.

COVID-19 arrayed the prospects and challenges that come with digital technologies. Going forward the development of healthcare standards with such technologies calls for a mindful approach that recognises the digital divide between countries.

Advances in Natural Language Processing and machine learning have made it possible to design predictive models that can be used to assist judicial proceedings. Such technologies transform the legal profession; guaranteeing that this does not disrupt the rule of law, access to justice, fair trial and contestability is a substantial challenge.