Assessing the human rights impacts of Internet registries
In April 2017, The freedom of expression organisation ARTICLE 19, the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR), and the Dutch Internet domain registry SIDN, which manages the top-level domain .nl, joined forces to pioneer a model for assessing the human rights impacts of Internet registries. This week, they will mark the successful completion of this project by launching their model during the annual Internet Governance Forum in Geneva.
Human rights impact assessments (HRIAs) are a systematic approach through which infrastructure providers can understand their impacts - both real and potential - on the rights of Internet users. Beyond covering general supply-chain issue areas such as the procurement of goods and services and local community impact, their HRIA model for Internet registries seeks to evaluate potential human rights impacts that are specific to the actions and operations of these particular actors, including the provision and maintenance of domain names, transparency, privacy, and engagement with third parties such as law enforcement agencies.
With this model we hope to support other internet registries such as SIDN in understanding and addressing their human rights impacts
Internet infrastructure providers - not only registries, but also registrars, service providers, content delivery networks, and the other technical actors that make the Internet work - have a responsibility to respect human rights. Identifying and measuring their real and potential impacts is a first step toward realizing this responsibility.
“In accordance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, business entities, like SIDN, have a responsibility to respect human rights. However, the activities and value chains of the information and communications technology sector companies are diverse and include everything from very physical activities, such as trench digging for cables, to purely online activities such as providing internet access, offering online platforms, or managing domain names. With this model we hope to support other internet registries such as SIDN in understanding and addressing their human rights impacts,“ says Senior Adviser and Corporate Engagement Programme Manager at DIHR, Cathrine Bloch Veiberg.
If you have any comments or suggestions on the model, or if you are interested in completing an HRIA for your registry or infrastructure provider, please contact Cathrine Bloch Veiberg.
Participating in the Internet Governance Forum in Geneva or remotely?
Join ARTICLE 19 on Thursday, 21 December at 12:20 to discuss how HRIAs can better the future of the Internet. Among others, Senior Adviser and Corporate Engagement Programme Manager at DIHR, Cathrine Bloch Veiberg will speak at the event. Find out more about the session here.