A/HRC/29/32 they are themselves examples of scientific advancement. Their use empowers individuals to gain access to the benefits of scientific progress that might be curtailed by Government. The Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights noted that “the rights to science and to culture should both be understood as including a right to have access to and use information and communication and other technologies in self-determined and empowering ways” (see A/HRC/20/26, para. 19). 25. Regardless of frontiers: The major instruments guaranteeing freedom of expression explicitly acknowledge the transboundary scope of the right. Individuals enjoy the right to receive information from, and transmit information and ideas of all kinds to, places beyond their borders.12 However, some States filter or block data on the basis of keywords, denying access by deploying technologies that rely on access to text. Encryption enables an individual to avoid such filtering, allowing information to flow across borders. Moreover, individuals do not control — and are usually unaware of — how or if their communications cross borders. Encryption and anonymity may protect information of all individuals as it transits through servers located in third countries that filter content. 26. Through any media: Articles 19 of the Universal Declaration and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights were drafted with the foresight to accommodate future technological advances (A/HRC/17/27). The States parties to the Covenant chose to adopt the general phrase “through any other media” as opposed to an enumeration of thenexisting media. Partly on this basis, international mechanisms have repeatedly acknowledged that the protections of freedom of expression apply to activities on the Internet. Regional courts have likewise recognized that protections apply online. 13 The European Court of Human Rights, in discussing the similar protection of expression in the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, has indicated that the forms and means through which information is transmitted and received are themselves protected, since any restriction imposed on the means necessarily interferes with the right to receive and impart information. 14 In this sense, encryption and anonymity technologies are specific media through which individuals exercise their freedom of expression. D. Roles of corporations 27. Corporations in a variety of sectors play roles in advancing or interfering with privacy, opinion and expression, including encryption and anonymity. Much online communication (and virtually all of it in some countries) is carried on networks owned and operated by private corporations, while other corporations own and manage websites with substantial user-generated content. Others are active players in the surveillance and spyware markets, providing hardware and software to Governments to compromise the security of individuals online. Others develop and provide services for secure and private online storage. Telecommunications entities, Internet service providers, search engines, 12 13 14 10 The European Court of Human Rights has recognized this point. See Ahmet Yildirim v. Turkey,(2012); Cox v. Turkey, (2010); Case of Groppera Radio AG and Others v. Switzerland (1990). European Commission of Human Rights, Neij and Sunde Kolmisoppi v. Sweden, (2013); European Court of Human Rights, Perrin v. United Kingdom, (2005); African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and Institute for Human Rights and Development (on behalf of Meldrum) v. Zimbabwe (2009); Case of Herrera Ulloa v. Costa Rica, Herrera Ulloa v. Costa Rica, Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs, Series C No. 107, IHRL 1490 (IACHR 2004). See Autronic AG v. Switzerland (1990); De Haes and Gijsels v. Belgium (1997), para. 48; News Verlags GmbH and Co.KG v. Austria (2000).