مقال بالانجليزية عن حقوق الانسان علي الانترنت
Human rights can give guidance to the protection of data in cyber space under certain conditions.
When internet comes to public, no one expects it to become such powerful tool of communication and sharing information. This lead to increase the number of activities that internet users do to communicate. These communications usually include private data. People involved in communication over internet usually don’t care if their communication is kept private as it is supposed to be. Also, with the growth of virtual communities include activities of people assemble and give them more means to express their opinion regarding political and culture issues. Some activities such as blogging lead the internet user to the court or end as detainee. From this point the need for limitation or board to preserve the human rights in the internet becomes a must.
Almost all world countries has agreed the universal declaration of human rights – even it is not obliged to apply – but we can use this UDHR as a guideline for protect the human rights on the internet. Fundamental human rights includes the freedom to express which guarantees the person right to say his opinion and announce his political, religious, and civil ideas. In the internet you can easily feel free to express but the dilemma is that government may penalize you for your ideas over the internet. This why freedom of express can only be enjoyed if it is accompanied with security. They are indivisible, interdependent, and reciprocity.
Other important fundamental human rights which can guide the cyber space is the right to privacy. As mentioned our internet usage includes some private data. Internet user should have the right to keep his data private. Governments should respect this privacy and don’t interfere with private in normal circumstances. In addition to freedom of expression, security, and privacy also the right to access to information can be very helpful guidance for drawing the internet usage boarders as it will disallow activities such as blocking and filtering internet contents, deleting websites, and slowing down the internet.
Human rights in internet usage should include some restrictions. For example the freedom to express should be restricted with no-harm as you can express your ideas without harming others. The same for access to information which can be restricted for children as they need more protections which includes blocking and filtering internet usage. Public morals and orders as mentioned in article 19 can be used as bases for restriction over the internet usage.
To conclude in my point of view the human rights in internet usage is conflicting subject for two reasons, first: national rights sometimes counteract the human rights and in such circumstances government violates the human rights. Examples to these includes the NSA violated internet users privacy and in Egyptian Jan revaluation government cut the internet connectivity to all citizen. Second, some of the rights are restricted by other rights. These restrictions permit government activities against some rights and although this is logical but government can misuse them.