New technologies and the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association

Abstract

The thesis analyses the international human rights law framework on the exercise of the freedom of peaceful assembly and the freedom of association at a universal and regional European level, to assess whether the current international law regime covers the exercise of these two rights in the online context and with the use of new technologies. While applying the current framework to the online exercise of these rights, the thesis identifies those areas where international human rights law would require adaptation in order to ensure the respect, protection and fulfillment of these important political rights. The thesis provides examples of how people organize and collectively express themselves online, that is assemble and associate, with a particular focus on political parties. The areas identified and analysed in the thesis can generally be summarized as; the need to re-assess the core, and thus, the definition of these two rights in their online manifestation; the nature of the Internet and social media as a new space on which these fundamental rights are exercised; the private enforcement of fundamental rights by Internet intermediaries and the responsibility of the State in this regard; the limitations already placed over the exercise of assembly and association online, such as the use of algorithms, take-down and regulation of content; State restrictions already placed over the exercise of these rights online such as filtering and shut-down of the Internet; and the potential evolution of a new ‘right to the Internet’. The thesis proposes that the human rights framework contains the resilience and flexibility to face this changing environment for the exercise of rights and with the requisite adjustments, can serve to protect the exercise these fundamental political rights online.