Human Rights Defenders and the Right to Digital Privacy and Security

Digital technologies, such as mobile phones and the internet, provide new opportunities for Human Rights Defenders to mobilise people, coordinate activities, uncover and document abuses, publish find ings, and engage new audiences. However, with these new opportunities come new risks as well. This chapter examines the right to and need for private digital communication as part of freedom of expression in the context of carrying out human rights work. Drawing on their experiences at Tactical Technology Collective, an international non-government organisation, the authors argue that the most effective means to address the digital privacy needs of people who are defending human rights is to provide a range of support − including awareness raising media, how-to toolkits, and hands-on training − that assist Human Rights Defenders to identify and then address digital risks by changing behaviours in ways most appropriate to their local context.