Human Rights and Digital Technology: Digital Tightrope

Analysing the convergence of law and regulation with rapidly evolving communications technologies, this interdisciplinary work navigates the intricate balancing act between human rights protection and technological innovation in a digital age, and illuminates the comprehensive potential of human rights to frame our intelligent use of technology. The authors address such pressing questions as how to protect user privacy online, whether digital pollution is a health hazard, who should have control and be responsible for data technologies and how to maintain human autonomy in a world of interconnected objects. By considering specific cases, this book provides an in-depth exploration of the many regulatory and technological choices citizens, states, civil society organizations and the private sector should consider to ensure that digital technology more fully serves human needs.

Susan Perry is Professor of International and Comparative Politics at the American University of Paris, France, where she teaches and directs several graduate programs. She was the recipient, with her co-author, of a European Commission grant to support privacy-by-design research and is currently working on technology-related issues in humanitarian law. She has published widely on the convergence between international human rights law and technology.

Claudia Roda is Professor of Computer Science and Dean at the American University of Paris. Her research focuses on the impact of digital technology on human behaviour and social structures. She is internationally known for her work on theoretical and applied models for attention computing. Professor Roda’s research has been widely published and generously sponsored by several organisations.