A/HRC/43/29 IV. Responsibilities of the private sector 58. The High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation points out in its report that “[t]here is now a critical need for clearer guidance about what should be expected on human rights from private companies as they develop and deploy digital technologies”.35 The Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (A/HRC/17/31, annex), endorsed by the Human Rights Council in 2011, provide a comprehensive framework intended to guide efforts by a range of actors, including Governments and companies, to identify, prevent, mitigate and remedy human rights harm related to the activities of companies, including in relation to new technologies. 59. A central premise of the Guiding Principles is that companies should avoid infringing on the human rights of others and should address adverse human rights impacts with which they are involved. In the context of new technologies and their impact on economic, social and cultural rights, it can be particularly valuable to assess and address the risks of business models that involve, for example: (a) collecting large volumes of personal health data and using and sharing such data without consent; (b) using new technologies for public service delivery, in partnership with or on behalf of Governments, that could disproportionately put vulnerable populations at risks; (c) providing and using technologies and technology-driven processes such as algorithms that may result in harm to people and direct and indirect discrimination. 60. According to the Guiding Principles (ibid., principle 17), companies should carry out human rights due diligence across their activities and business relationships to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address the actual and potential adverse human rights impacts, and particular efforts should be made to address risks of further marginalizing and discriminating vulnerable populations and groups. The human rights due diligence requirement extends across a company’s operations, products and services, and applies to those related to the delivery of public services and goods, including in the areas critical for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights such as smart cities, health and education services. Furthermore, human rights due diligence should be embedded in company operations as an ongoing process, also integrating rights holder perspectives and experiences. If new digital technologies are to fulfil their potential while mitigating accompanying risks, companies should meaningfully engage civil society, rights holders and vulnerable populations in their due diligence. 61. In cases of business-related human rights harms, the Guiding Principles recall the duties of States and the responsibilities of business enterprises to ensure access to effective remedy (ibid., chap. III). In the context of new technologies, as highlighted above, unique and complex issues will need to be addressed, such as guaranteeing remedy when abuses result from decisions made by machines and algorithms rather than humans; providing effective operational-level grievance mechanisms when there may be millions of adverselyaffected rights holders; and safeguarding access to remedy when dozens of companies, rather than a single corporate actor, are linked to a human rights abuse through the interaction of different technology products and services. V. Conclusions and recommendations 62. In the present report, a number of actions are identified that Member States and other stakeholders can take to harness the opportunities of new technologies for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights, while addressing potential risks. Among them, the following deserve particular attention of States and, as applicable, private companies and other stakeholders: (a) Fully recognize the need to protect and reinforce all human rights in the development, use and governance of new technologies as their central objective, and ensure equal respect for and enforcement of all human rights online and offline; 35 14 High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation, “The age of digital interdependence”, p. 17.