Freedom of Expression

Press Release R72/18

Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression Launches Multimedia Website on the Inter-American Standards for a Free, Open, and Inclusive Internet

 

April 2, 2018

 

Washington D.C. - Today, the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the IACHR presents the multimedia site that brings together, in a dynamic and accessible format, the main standards of the inter-American human rights system (IAHRS) for a free, open, and inclusive Internet.

 

The contents of the site were arranged in 5 chapters based on the thematic report "Standards for a Free, Open and Inclusive Internet," approved by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in March 2017:

 

·         Principles for a free, open, and inclusive Internet.

·         Right to freedom of expression on the Internet.

·         Right to public information on the Internet.

·         Protection of privacy on the Internet.

·         The role of the private sector on the Internet.

With this minisite, the Office of the Special Rapporteur offers a tool for consultation and accessible to all actors involved in the analysis and design of policies related to the Internet. It is also an instrument aimed at legislators and justice operators called upon to solve different problems regarding the exercise of human rights and freedom of expression on the Internet.

 

"This minisite is a step towards the use of information and communication technologies to promote inter-American standards linked to fundamental freedoms and the Internet, in an accessible, simple, and friendly way," stated Edison Lanza, Special Rapporteur for Freedom expression.

 

"The site offers a systematization of the obligations and guarantees that States must observe under international law to preserve fundamental freedoms on the Internet; it also moves forward on the role of the private sector in the digital era," added the expert.

 

Each section contains a series of key points that allow for a quick understanding of the principles of international law. The site also contains the relevant bibliography and main international documents on the Internet and freedom of expression.

 

The standards on freedom of expression on the Internet are also part of the online course "International Legal Framework on freedom of expression, access to public information, and protection of journalists," offered by the Office of the Special Rapporteur together with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and in collaboration with the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas at the University of Texas at Austin.

 

This minisite responds to the efforts of the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression and the IACHR to disseminate the content and recommendations made on various issues related to the protection of freedom of expression in a more inclusive and accessible way to a wider audience. Another minisite that is part of this strategy was launched in 2015, and it includes the standards of the report on the Transition to a Diverse, Plural, and Inclusive Free-to-Air Digital Television.

 

The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression was created by the IACHR to encourage the defense of the right to freedom of thought and expression in the hemisphere, given the fundamental role this right plays in consolidating and developing the democratic system.

 

R72/18