human rights

12:32 am on April 10, 2026 · 2026 (295), eu (11), human rights (8), itu (44), standards (9), un (41)

WEBCAST 14 APR 08:00 UTC – Seminar on Human Rights and ICT Standardisation

by
Promotional graphic for the Seminar on Human Rights and ICT Standardisation, 14 April 2026. Organised by the European Commission, United Nations Human Rights, and ITU; supported by StandICT.eu2029, INSTAR, and Indjco. Funded by the European Union.

Promotional graphic for the Seminar on Human Rights and ICT Standardisation, 14 April 2026. Organised by the European Commission, United Nations Human Rights, and ITU; supported by StandICT.eu2029, INSTAR, and Indjco. Funded by the European Union.
REGISTER | ADD TO CALENDAR | PERMALINK

On Tuesday 14 April 2026 the European Commission, in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) will hold a hybrid event ‘Seminar on Human Rights and ICT Standardisation‘ in Brussels.

This seminar builds on a workshop held at WTSA-24 (the ITU World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly, New Delhi, October 2024) exploring how ICT standards can uphold human rights in the era of emerging technologies, and follows through on an action proposed by EU Member States and the European Commission to TSAG 2025 (the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Advisory Group). The event examines how technical standards for AI, the metaverse, and 5G/6G can be developed to preserve human rights — including privacy, non-discrimination, and access to information — in a connected digital world. It emphasizes a multi-stakeholder approach bringing together governments, international organizations, the private sector, civil society, and standards bodies,

The event is supported by  StandICT.eu, INSTAR and InDiCo Global.

AGENDA  (All times CEST = UTC+2)

10:00 Welcome
Renate Nikolay – Deputy Director-General – DG Connect

10:15 – 1st Panel: The Human Rights dimension of ICT Standards
Cynthia Leungo Lesufi – Minister Counsellor, South African Mission to the UN Office and other International Organisations / Chairperson, ITU Council Working Group WSIS & SDGs
Marek Janovský – Diplomat, Permanent Mission of the Czech Republic to the United Nations
Michel Roberto Oliveira De Souza – Human Rights Officer, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Olivier Alais – Program Coordinator, ITU-T
Moderator: Silvana Muscella – CEO, Trust-IT Services

11:15 – How to ensure that ICT Standards uphold Human Rights
Chiara Giovannini – Deputy Director General, ANEC
Elisabeth Staudegger – Professor and Head of Department, University of Graz
Juan-Pablo Peñarrubia Carrión – Vice-President, Spanish General Council of Informatics Engineering / Expert, ISO/IEC JTC 1 SC 42 Artificial Intelligence
Mònica Cerdán Chiscano – StandICT.eu Fellow / Doctor of Business Administration, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
Patricia Shaw – Liaison to CEN/CENELEC JTC21, Equinet, European Network of Equality Bodies
Raquel Renno Nunes – Member, Freedom Online Coalition Advisory Network / Senior Digital Programme Officer, Article 19
Shakira Bedoya Sanchez – Expert, ISO
Moderator: Raquel Renno Nunes – Member, Freedom Online Coalition Advisory Network / Senior Digital Programme Officer, Article 19

13:30 – What are standards organisations doing for human rights?
Arnaud Taddei – Global Security Strategist, Broadcom / Chair, ITU-T SG17
Clara Neppel – Senior Director European Business Operations, IEEE
Gyu Myoung Lee – Professor, Liverpool John Moores University / Co-Chair, ITU-T SG13 (Future Networks and Cloud)
Jochen Friedrich – Member of the Board, ETSI / Technical Relations Executive, IBM
Nelleke Groen – AI Governance Consultant, Netherlands Organisation for Development, Digitalisation and Innovation / NEN
Patricia Martell Gamarra – Standardisation Expert
Simone Onofri – Senior Principal Security Specialist, W3C
Moderator: Jochen Friedrich – Member of the Board, ETSI / Technical Relations Executive, IBM

14:15 – Discussion: the way forward
Beatriz Gonçalves Crisóstomo Esteves – IMEC Postdoctoral Researcher, Ghent University
Emilio Davila – Head of ICT Standardisation Sector, European Commission, DG CNECT
Florian Feillet – European Affairs Manager, Orange’s Brussels Office / Chair of the Sustainability Working Group, Connect Europe
Gregorio Pellegrino – Chief Accessibility Officer, Fondazione LIA – Accessible Italian Books Foundation
Ilaria Mariani – Researcher, Department of Design, Politecnico di Milano
Lorraine Finlay – Human Rights Commissioner, Australian Human Rights Commission
Sandra Feliciano – Chair, ETSI CYBER-EUSR / Liaison & Delegate, ISO
Moderator: Silvana Muscella – CEO, Trust-IT Services

16:15 – Conclusion and final remarks
Aleksandra Orr – Career Diplomat – Permanent Mission of Poland to UN Office in Geneva

#EU #HumanRights #Standardisation #ICT

1:23 pm on November 8, 2025 · ai (68), eff (15), human rights (8)

WEBCAST NOV 13 – EFFecting Change: This Title Was Written by a Human

by
ISOC LIVE

ISOC LIVEYOUTUBE | REGISTER | ADD TO CALENDAR | PERMALINK

On Thursday November 13, 2025 at 10:00-11:00 PST (18:00-19:00 UTC) the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) hosts the 9th event in its EFFecting Change livestream series, with the theme ‘This Title Was Written by a Human‘. Generative AI is like a Rorschach test for anxieties about technology–be they privacy, replacement of workers, bias and discrimination, surveillance, or intellectual property. Panelists discuss how to address complex questions and risks in AI while protecting civil liberties and human rights online.

SPEAKERS
Katharine Trendacosta – Director of Policy and Advocacy, Electronic Frontier Foundation
Tori Noble – Staff Attorney, Electronic Frontier Foundation
Pamela Samuelson – Professor of Law , University of California at Berkeley
Şerife (Sherry) Wong – Principal Artist, Icarus Salon

#EFFectingChange #AI #HumanRights @EFF @k_trendacosta @PamelaSamuelson @sherrying

10:53 pm on October 31, 2025 · human rights (8), ICANN (195), NCSG (2), RDRS (4)

RECORDING: ICANN 84 – DNS Security Without Sacrificing Rights: HRIA on RDRS

by
ISOC LIVE

ISOC LIVEYOUTUBE | PATREON | TRANSCRIPT | ARCHIVE | PERMALINK

On October 25, 2025, the Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group (NCSG) in the Generic Name Supporting Organization (GNSO) hosted a session at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Annual General Meeting, in Dublin, Eire – ‘DNS Security Without Sacrificing Rights: HRIA on RDRS‘

The Registrant Data Request Service (RDRS) is a pilot project — ICANN’s first effort, since WHOIS was disrupted by the GDPR — to centralize and standardize the triage of requests for non-public registration data. It does this by providing a unified form and routing system that directs such requests to participating (opt-in) registrars.

In August 2025, the GNSO Standing Committee delivered its report on the RDRS, which was then open for public comment, until just days prior to this meeting (October 20).

By creating a common pathway for registrars to receive requests, RDRS raises fundamental questions about how disclosure decisions are made: when does a requester’s “legitimate interest” outweigh the registrant’s right to privacy, and how should the fundamental rights balancing test be applied across jurisdictions? This session provided an initial human rights impact assessment of the system, asking what aspects of disclosure triage can be standardized in a rights-respecting way beyond the form itself. This session aimed to go beyond the report and situate the conversation on broader challenges, such as cases where abuse is real but not obvious outside certain linguistic or cultural contexts (e.g. phishing against banks that are household names in one market but obscure elsewhere); the uneven practices of registries and registrars regarding disclosure.

Subsequent to this meeting (October 30), ICANN issued an RDRS Policy Alignment Analysis, which is open for public comment until December 9.

SPEAKERS
Rafik Dannak – NCSG
Reg Levy – Tucows / RrSG
Alan Woods – Clean DNS
Sarah Wyld – Tucows / RrSG
Thomas Rickert – eco Association
Michele Neylon – Blacknight / RrSG
Michaela Shapiro – NCSG
Naoum Mengoudis – Hellenic Police
Manju Hatolkar – GNSO
Beth Marty – name.com / RrSG
Sebastien Ducos – GNSO RDRS Standing Committee
Moderator: Farzaneh Badiei – NCSG

#ICANN84 #RDRS #HumanRights

2:49 pm on May 12, 2024 · digital transformation (1), disinformation (5), human rights (8), isoc ch (1)

WEBCAST MAY 15 – ISOC Switzerland Public Policy Sessions 2024

by
ISOC LIVE

ISOC LIVEOn Wednesday May 15 2024 at 13:00-18:00 CEST (11:00-16:00 UTC) the Internet Society Switzerland Chapter (ISOC-CH) hosts a public event ‘Public Policy Sessions 2024‘ at the Switzerland Innovation Park in Biel/Bienne.

13:00 Official Welcome
Bernie Höneisen, Internet Society Switzerland Chapter (ISOC-CH)
13:10 Introduction to ISOC / ISOC-CH
Markus Kummer, Internet Society Switzerland Chapter (ISOC-CH)
13:30 Digital Integrity
Monica Amgwerd, Pirate Party Switzerland
14:00 Digitalisation in the Swiss Justice
Patrick Münch, Hochschule Luzern
15:00 Combating Disinformation and its Conflict with Human Rights
Introduction – Volker Birk, Internet Activist
Legal Perspective – Dr. iur. Elif Askin, University of Zurich
Historical Overview – Dr. Richard Hill, Association for Proper Internet Governance
Current Situation Concerning Internet Platforms – Philippe (Pipo) Burger, Pirate Party
Q&A – Monica Amgwerd, Pirate Party Switzerland

LIVESTREAM https://livestream.com/internetsociety/isoc-ch-public-policy2024

REAL TIME TEXT https://bit.ly/4blUr7I

TWITTER #PublicPolicy @ISOCSwitzerland @BielBienne_off @Initiative_DI @hslu @monica_amgwerd @piratenZH @_ElifAskin @UZH_ch #disinformation #humanrights

SIMULCASTS
https://twitter.com/ISOC_Live
https://www.twitch.tv/isoclive
https://www.facebook.com/liveisoc/ (AI Captions)

ARCHIVE
https://archive.org/details/isoc-ch-public-policy2024

ADD TO CALENDAR https://calndr.link/event/iYOcjYNUyC

12:37 pm on November 17, 2014 · accountability (5), governance (62), human rights (8), iiep (4), isoc-dc (75)

WEBCAST TODAY: #HumanRights, Accountability, and Internet Governance @isocdc @iiepgw #ig

by
ISOC DC Human Rights in IG

ISOC DC Human Rights in IG Today, Monday 17 November 2014 the Greater Washington DC Chapter of the Internet Society (ISOC-DC) and the Institute of International Economic Policy (IIEP) present Human Rights, Accountability, and Internet Governance . This free luncheon seminar considers how recent proposed changes in Internet governance will affect human rights online and how Internet governance institutions and processes might be made more accountable to netizens. Panel: Ambassador David Gross, Wiley Rein; Danielle Kehl, Open Technology Institute, New America Foundation; Manu Bhardwaj, United States Department of State; Robert Guerra, Founder & Executive Director, Privaterra; Member, ICANN Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC); Andrea Glorioso, European Union Delegation to the United States. Moderator: Susan Ariel Aaronson, Research Professor of International Affairs, The George Washington University. The event will be webcast live on the Internet Society Livestream channel.

What: Human Rights, Accountability, and Internet Governance
Where: Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University, Washington DC
When: Monday 17 November 2014 12-30pm-2pm EST | 17:30-19:00 UTC
Webcast: https://new.livestream.com/internetsociety/humanrights
Twitter: @isocdc + #humanrights

4:02 pm on February 20, 2014 · human rights (8), internet freedom (81), rebecca mackinnon (13)

VIDEO: Rebecca Mackinnon ‘Playing Favorites’ about online threats to #humanrights #netfreedom @rmack

by

Rebecca Mackinnon is a senior research fellow at the New America Foundation, where her work focuses on holding technology companies accountable to universally recognized human rights standards on free expression and privacy. She is currently working with the University of Pennsylvania and Internews on a new project called Ranking Digital Rights. She recently wrote an article for Guernica Magazine Playing Favorites giving some details of the project’s theme – how the power of big online companies and governments to change local Internet experiences could threaten human rights worldwide. New America Foundation have now posted a video in which she talks about the article.

View on YouTube: http://youtu.be/edUlS_BnA3Y
Transcribe on AMARA: http://www.amara.org/en/videos/X74G4zzz5xYD/
Twitter: @rmack

2:55 pm on July 21, 2013 · frank larue (1), human rights (8), internet freedom (81), new america foundation (14), open technology institute (1), oti (20), rebecca mackinnon (13), surveillance (38)

VIDEO: Safeguarding Human Rights in Times of Surveillance @oti #netfreedom #Q4LaRue

by

On July 16 2013 the Open Technology Institute and Global Partners presented Safeguarding Human Rights in Times of Surveillance in Washington DC. The event’s featured speaker was Frank La Rue, U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression. His talk was followed by a roundtable discussion with Rebecca Mackinnon, Cynthia Wong, and Carolina Rossini, moderated by Gene Kimmelman. Video is below.

View on YouTube: http://youtu.be/FC9daaaaznI
Transcribe on AMARA: http://www.amara.org/en/videos/dsvs5yGV5U8X/
Twitter: #q4larue

5:10 pm on December 9, 2011 · human rights (8), isoc (166), net freedom (7), open internet (25), un (41)

@InternetSociety Supports UN Human Rights Day Focus on Social Media #netfreedom

by

[Geneva, Switzerland – 09 December 2011] – The Internet Society welcomed the focus of today’s United Nations Human Rights Day event highlighting the transformational role of the Internet and social media applications in giving voice to people around the world. The Internet Society is a strong advocate of an open and accessible Internet, and sees the Internet as an enabler of human rights.

The influence of the Internet and social media on the ability of citizens to connect, share ideas, and join communities is undeniable. In 2011, popular movements in the Middle East and North Africa demonstrated the Internet’s power to enable individuals to exercise their fundamental rights, in particular the right to freedom of expression as well as the right to peaceful assembly and association. In this context, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights also points to the role of social media in peaceful protest movements in many other cities across the globe.

These events illustrate the powerful impact of social media by generating awareness of and support for efforts of people from all walks of life seeking to bring about change, unconstrained by borders, time, and distance.

Read more