A/HRC/RES/42/15
1.
Reaffirms the right to privacy, according to which no one shall be subjected to
arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence,
and the right to the protection of the law against such interference, as set out in article 12 of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 17 of the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights;
2.
Recalls that States should ensure that any interference with the right to privacy
is consistent with the principles of legality, necessity and proportionality;
3.
Recognizes the global and open nature of the Internet and the rapid
advancement in information and communications technology as a driving force in
accelerating progress towards development in its various forms, including in achieving the
Sustainable Development Goals;
4.
Affirms that the same rights that people have offline must also be protected
online, including the right to privacy;
5.
Acknowledges that the use, deployment and further development of new and
emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, can impact the enjoyment of the right
to privacy and other human rights, and that the risks to the right to privacy can and should be
minimized by adopting adequate regulation or other appropriate mechanisms, including by
taking into account international human rights law in the design, development and
deployment of new and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, by ensuring a
safe, secure and high-quality data infrastructure and by developing human-centred auditing
mechanisms, as well as redress mechanisms;
6.
Calls upon all States:
(a)
To respect and protect the right to privacy, including in the context of digital
communications;
(b)
To take measures to end violations and abuses of the right to privacy and to
create the conditions to prevent such violations and abuses, including by ensuring that
relevant national legislation complies with their obligations under international human rights
law;
(c)
To review, on a regular basis, their procedures, practices and legislation
regarding the surveillance of communications, including mass surveillance and the
interception and collection of personal data, as well as regarding the use of profiling,
automated decision-making, machine learning and biometric technologies, with a view to
upholding the right to privacy by ensuring the full and effective implementation of all their
obligations under international human rights law;
(d)
To ensure that any measures taken to counter terrorism and violent extremism
conducive to terrorism that interfere with the right to privacy are consistent with the
principles of legality, necessity and proportionality, and comply with their obligations under
international law;
(e)
To establish or maintain existing independent, effective, adequately resourced
and impartial judicial, administrative and/or parliamentary domestic oversight mechanisms
capable of ensuring transparency, as appropriate, and accountability for State surveillance of
communications, their interception and the collection of personal data;
(f)
To develop or maintain and implement adequate legislation, with effective
sanctions and remedies, that protects individuals against violations and abuses of the right to
privacy, namely through the unlawful or arbitrary collection, processing, retention or use of
personal data by individuals, Governments, business enterprises and private organizations;
(g)
To consider adopting or reviewing legislation, regulations or policies to ensure
that business enterprises fully incorporate the right to privacy and other relevant human rights
into the design, development, deployment and evaluation of technologies, including artificial
intelligence, and to provide individuals whose rights may have been violated or abused with
access to an effective remedy, including reparation and guarantees of non-repetition;
(h)
To further develop or maintain, in this regard, preventive measures and
remedies for violations and abuses regarding the right to privacy in the digital age that may
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