Personal safety and security must be respected, protected and fulfilled online.
What does this look like in a democracy?
Legal protections that address threats of physical, sexual, and psychological violence or harassment made online are established. Furthermore, protections exist against online disinformation or trolling campaigns that incite violence, discrimination, or hostility against individuals or groups.
Warning signs of an undemocratic internet:
- Reports from politically active women of online stalking, trolling, and blackmail generated in online spaces which have a gateway effect to in person and physical confrontation.
selected sources from international frameworks:
- Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression (16 May 2011), paragraph 81: “States have an obligation to protect individuals against interference by third parties that undermines the enjoyment of the right to freedom of opinion and expression."