About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

LOG IN
LOG IN


8 J. Nat'l Sec. L. & Pol'y 503 (2015-2016)
State Responsibility to Respect, Protect and Fulfill Human Rights Obligations in Cyberspace

handle is hein.journals/jnatselp8 and id is 514 raw text is: State Responsibility to Respect, Protect and Fulfill Human Rights Obligations in Cyberspace Gabor Rona* & Lauren Aarons** INTRODUCTION: TRANSLATING RIGHTS Debate over whether or not international human rights law applies to cyber- space and cyber-related activities has more or less been settled. It does apply, as it would to any other context. Yet, debate continues about the content and scope of application of international human rights law to cyberspace. It is one thing to say that cyber communications, for example, hold the same civil and political protection as their offline predecessors, but it's entirely another thing to say exactly what these protections are, where their limits may lie and the exact nature of the State's obligations to protect human rights vis-a-vis cyberspace. Indeed, there are a number of areas of controversy or confusion in the application of human rights law to cyberspace. Some reflect ongoing debates within the human rights legal field that pre-exist the emergence of cyber. These include questions concerning the relationship between human rights law and other international legal constructs such as the law of armed conflict, the territorial scope of application of human rights law obligations, and how to balance competing rights. But crucially, there are also a number of unique features of cyberspace that exacerbate these persistent tensions, or that call for the specific engagement/adaptation of human rights law to address new circum- stances. Aspects of cyberspace that to some extent present new challenges include the mobility of data online, the amount of personal detail individuals render vulnerable through cyberspace, and the potential of acts emanating from or involving cyberspace to cause grave disruption and harm to others. Indeed, some legal scholars argue that there comes a point in which analogies and adaptations from the offline world are no longer feasible or helpful, and that international human rights law is not equipped to regulate cyber.2 This article considers the content and scope of application of international human rights law applicable to cyberspace. Instead of addressing head-on whether international human rights law is well-equipped to regulate the online * Gabor Rona, formerly the International Legal Director of Human Rights First, is a Visiting Professor of Law at Cardozo Law School, where he teaches Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law. ** Lauren Aarons has an LLM from Columbia University and a MPhil from the University of Oxford. The authors thank Leigh Rome for her invaluable assistance. © 2016, Gabor Rona & Lauren Aarons. 1. While the term cyberspace and online are narrower than cyber-related activities or cyber, these terms will be used interchangeably in this paper. 2. See, e.g., Ashley Deeks, An International Legal Framework for Surveillance, 55 VA. J. INT'L L. 2 (2015).