The advent of the information revolution has led to the digitization of the human living environment, production, lifestyle and behavior. Problems such as word power expansion, platform monopoly, digital divide, data abuse and algorithmic discrimination have become increasingly prominent, and the issue of “digital human rights” has also emerged and posed serious challenges to traditional human rights protection models. Therefore, it has become an important and urgent task of the times to actively respond to the development requirements of the digital society and strive to protect “digital human rights”.

 

 

As we all know, a profound digital transformation is sweeping the world with the iterative interplay of networking, digitalization and intelligence. It is not only a maor driving force for the rapid development of mankind, but also a fierce competition for a new round of reform and development. It has created a convenient, efficient, new and interesting digital civilization, and given rise to a number of social risks and problems, and has even brought about new human rights challenges.

 

Firstly, the problem of “offline human rights” has been magnified and mutated. The scope and extent of traditional human rights have expanded, and certain transformations and mutations have occurred, such as the digital divide exacerbating inequality and unemployment, and algorithmic decision-making exacerbating discrimination and injustice.

 

Secondly, the issue of “online human rights” continues to emerge. The digital society has formed production and life reations different from the industrial and commercial society. Data, algorithms and platforms have become the digital architecture and operational pivot for organising production and life, resulting in the emergence of new “digital human rights” that are difficult to cover by traditional human rights, such as digital personality and dignity in digital twins and metaverse, autonomy and freedom of information in the information cocoon.

 

Thirdly, the rise of “digital hegemony” in global digitalisation. The emerging technological revolution has brought about a global digital transformation, generating an unprecedented “dividend” for human digital development, but such “dividend” is uneven and has not been transformed into an ideal global shared development right. In particular, when some Western developed countries use their technological advantage to engage in technological bullying and “digital colonization”, and there is a tendency of “digital hegemony”. Malicious blocking of the emerging industrial chains, supply chains, and value chains has posed serious challenges to the rights to survival and development in digital transformation.

 

These problems have gone beyond the scope of traditional human rights, or at least it is difficult to be solved by traditional human rights theories and mechanisms alone, and therefore the issue of “digital human rights” in the new era has become a major proposition for today's society. It mainly includes the right to digital existence, the right to digital personality, the right to digital equality, the right to digital autonomy, the right to digital freedom (digital control) and so on.

 

 

China is an advocate, practitioner and builder of global digital transformation. In 2013 and 2015, China put forward the strategies of “China under the Rule of Law” and “Digital China”, and advocated the “Community with a Shared future for Mankid” and the “Community with a Shared Future of Digital Civilisation” at the international level, shaped the social governance pattern of “common prosperity” and “joint construction, joint governance and shared benefits” for all people at home, and actively promoted and expanded the Chinese modernization path. This has led to the formation of a Chinese-style “digital human rights” protection strategy.

 

First, the concept of human-centred protection. The concept of “digital human rights” is people-centred and digitally inclusive. Adhere to the concept of “people-centered” governance. The State Council's Guiding Opinions on Strengthening Digital Government Construction insists on digital inclusion, eliminating the “digital divide” and allowing the fruits of digital government construction to benefit all people in a greater and fairer way. At the same time, through the development concepts of “ne Belt, One Road” and “the Community with a Shared Futur for Mankind”, the development of “Digital China” can benefit the world and achieve common progress and prosperity.

 

Secondly, systematic protection norms have been put in place. The Cyber Security Law, the Data Security Law, the Personal Information Protection Law and other laws and regulations have been promulgated, and ethical codes such as the Opinions on Strengthening Ethical Governance of Science and Technology, Developing Responsible Artificial Intelligence: Principles for the Governance of the New Generation of Artificial Intelligence, and the Code of Ethics for the New Generation of Artificial Intelligence have been formulated. At the same time, the institutional synergy of ethical norms, industry norms and judicial protection has been strengthened. For example, the Digital Procuratorate has moved from passive to active supervision, from case to case supervision to category supervision, from single-unit work to system integration, and from case supervision to social governance. It has provided the national procuratorial authorities with Zhejiang experience of “digital empowerment supervision and supervision for governance”, which has ensured the implementation of laws, promoted the protection of personal information and effectively safeguarded digital human rights.

 

Thirdly, the platform-based protection mechanism. The digital era is also the era of platforms. In recent years, the networked, platform-based and intelligent construction of China's digital government has yielded remarkable results, especially in the areas of “one network for all procedure, one network for all management, one network for all synergy”, “more circulation of data, fewer visits of people, and at most one visit”, providing convenient and efficient government services, dissolving the digital divide and promoting digital equal rights. The Outline for the Implementation of the Rule of Law Government (2021-2025) further proposes to “comprehensively build a digital rule of law government”, insist on using the Internet, big data, artificial intelligence and other technological means to promote administration in accordance with the law, focus on achieving a deeper integration of informationization and rule of law in government governance, optimize and innovate government's governance processes and methods, and vigorously improve the digital level of the rule-of-law government construction. The protection of citizens' digital rights will be further strengthened.

 

At the same time, the networking, platforming and intelligence of digital procuratorates and digital courts have also continued to improve. The intelligent auxiliary case handling system for criminal cases in Shanghai, the construction of a digital rule of law system in Zhejiang Province, and the construction of integrated case handling systems for politics and law all over China are all important explorations in the platforming of justice, and have achieved remarkable results in combating cybercrime, safeguarding the rights of the digitally disadvantaged and protecting the rights of digital citizens.

 

This means that digital human rights protection has also been incorporated into the platform operation mechanism, which integrates data and algorithmic elements and acquires new forms and ways of platform protection.

 

Fourthly, the technologised protection network. Digital technology has become a regulatory force in the digital era, and the Chinese government and judicial organs have actively developed and used digital technology to maintain network security and data security, such as the Anti-Fraud App and Operation Clear, which have effectively safeguarded various rights and interests of the public and enhanced their digital capabilities and self-protection.

 

Fifth, the scenario-based protection path. The Fourteenth Five-Year Plan and the Outline of Vision Goal 2035 provides smart and convenient public services, builds smart cities and digital villages, and constructs a new picture of a better digital life; the State Council's Fourteenth Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Digital Economy enhances the digital inclusion of social services; the Central Internet Information Office's the Action Plan on Enhancing Digital Literacy and Skills for All focuses on cultivating digital citizens with digital awareness, computational thinking, lifelong learning ability and a sense of social responsibility, promoting the sharing of the fruits of digital development by all people, and promoting high-quality economic development, high-performance social governance, high-quality life of the people and high-level opening to the outside world. These are all rights protection strategies adopted for different situations, conditions and scenarios, the core of which is to safeguard the people's right to digital survival and development.

 

 

 “Digital human rights” is a global issue that cannot be accomplished by any single country. Therefore, we should establish the value of “Digital Civilization Community” and actively support the United Nations in formulating a “global digital pact”, so as to jointly address the issue of “digital human rights”.

 

The Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, adopted by the 41st session of the UNESCO General Conference, emphasises that “the use of data must respect international law and national sovereignty” and that States may regulate data generated in or passing through their territory in accordance with international law, and take measures to strive for the respect of the right to privacy and other human rights norms and standards in accordance with international law. 

 

At the same time, "Member States should ensure that human rights and fundamental freedoms and the rule of law are equally respected in the digital world as in the real world by implementing robust enforcement mechanisms and remedial actions to ensure that damage caused by AI systems is investigated and remedied.” China's Position on Issues Related to Global Digital Governance (Submission to the United Nations on the Development of a Global Digital Compact) proposes initiatives to ensure access to the Internet for all, avoid Internet fragmentation, protect data, protect online human rights, establish accountability standards for discriminatory and misleading content, strengthen the governance of artificial intelligence, and provide digital public goods.

 

First, “digital human rights” and digital sovereignty. Based on the virtual nature of the Internet, the fluidity of data and the ubiquity of digital space, the traditional concept of sovereignty has been challenged and digital sovereignty has become an aspiration of the times. Facts show that “long-arm jurisdiction” and digital surveillance, which ignore the digital sovereignty of other countries, often weaken and erode digital human rights, while the lack of attention to digital human rights also makes it difficult to shape digital sovereignty that is globally recognized. Therefore, the sovereignty of the network and digital space is the basic premise and practical foundation for the guarantee of digital human rights, while digital human rights are the value principles and core objectives that digital sovereignty must follow. This requires global coordination and cooperation among international organizations and countries around the world to respect each other's digital sovereignty and jointly defend digital human rights.

 

Second, “digital human rights” and public security. In today's digital age, all countries are faced with the serious challenge of public security. However, security is not absolute, but relative; it is not one-way, but mutual. One's own security cannot be used to deny or control the security of other countries. Only by forming a consensus on security and cooperating can we better address cybercrime, the digital divide, algorithmic discrimination and information cocoons, and thus effectively protect “digital human rights”.

 

Third, “digital human rights” and digital governance. The formulation of a “global digital pact” and the promotion of global digital governance are key to global digital development and the protection of “digital human rights”. Therefore, the Chinese government advocates that countries can discuss and gradually build consensus on the standards, scope, management methods and usage norms of open digital products on the basis of respect for national sovereignty, data security, citizens' legitimate rights and interests, and the principle of voluntariness. Countries should enhance the digitalisation of public services, strengthen international cooperation in areas such as online education, and strengthen cooperation and sharing of data for monitoring and evaluation of the Sustainable Development Goals, so as to more effectively promote the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

 

 (Ma Changshan is a professor and doctoral supervisor at East China University of Political Science and Law)