A/HRC/32/38
laws, policies and extralegal measures that enable Governments to undertake such
restrictions, and the costs and consequences of such restrictions. The Special Rapporteur
will also examine the responsibilities of companies to respond to such measures in a way
that respects rights, mitigates harm and provides avenues for redress where abuses occur.
Content restrictions under terms of service and community standards
75.
Private actors face substantial pressures from Governments and individuals to
restrict expression deemed to constitute extremism or hatred, hostility or harassment.
Private actors may also themselves aim to foster what they perceive to be civil discourse on
their platforms, regulate access through real-name requirements and other registration
policies, or feature or prioritize certain content for business reasons. Future work will
evaluate the potential of State abuse of private initiatives, the impact of private measures on
freedom of expression, and the relevant human rights obligations and responsibilities. This
reporting will not only focus on the roles of social media and search engines, but also lesser
known actors such as e-commerce and financial intermediaries.
Liability for content hosting
76.
Intermediaries are increasingly held responsible for third party content that they
host, whether through intermediary liability regimes or censorship requirements.
Commonly cited rationales for such restrictions include cybersecurity, copyright,
defamation and data protection. Further study will focus on the legitimate scope of such
rationales, the necessity of accompanying restrictions, and the lack of procedural safeguards
under existing frameworks for removing third party content. Future work will also examine
sources and modes of intermediary liability in particular contexts and regions and seek to
draw out the main principles and practices applicable in order to ensure the ability of
intermediaries to promote and protect freedom of expression.
Censorship and surveillance industry
77.
Private companies play a major role in the development, production and transfer of
software and hardware that Governments may deploy for law enforcement, intelligence and
public security purposes. While such tools may have legitimate purposes, they are often
deployed by Governments for purposes of censorship and disproportionate surveillance.
Future work will explore such issues through the human rights framework and encourage
due diligence in identifying the uses of such technologies for purposes that undermine
freedom of expression.
Efforts to undermine digital security
78.
Companies that transmit, store or generate communications and other forms of user
data — particularly telecommunication and Internet service providers, and content-hosting
platforms — face mounting demands from law enforcement and security services for access
to their customers’ information. Future work will seek to identify approaches that could
maximize the scope for freedom of expression while nonetheless addressing legitimate
governmental interests in national security and public order.
Internet access
79.
The billions of individuals who are connected online enjoy access to information
and ideas that is denied billions more who lack the infrastructure or political, security, legal
or social environment necessary for connectivity. As the private sector increasingly seeks to
empower the next billions with access, it will be critical to ensure that such access is free,
open and secure. Future work will explore issues around access and private sector
20
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents