Digital human rights: Legal debates and emerging foundations under the international bill of human rights
Article / Journal
Author(s) / editor(s):
Mohammad Alsharif & Hussein Hnit
Year: 2026
Language(s): English
Abstract:
This article argues that digital rights should be recognized as foundational human rights rather than merely secondary or derivative protections. Although they are closely connected to established rights—such as freedom of expression, communication, access to information, and peaceful assembly—their central role in contemporary digital life gives them independent normative significance.
Drawing on international legal frameworks, particularly the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the analysis presents the digital environment as an essential space in which fundamental freedoms are exercised. It also responds to concerns about “rights inflation,” arguing that recognizing digital rights expands the accessibility and effectiveness of existing human rights rather than weakening them.
The article concludes that digital rights should be integrated into evolving universal human-rights frameworks and considered essential for promoting equality, participation, and social justice in the digital age.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2025.102160
Post created by: Virginia Signorini