Preamble

Who are “we”?

We are a group of engaged students who's generation has experienced never ending integration between our online and offline privacies

Who are we addressing?

Who are we addressing:
  1. Those who have a stake in the digital world, which is everyone.
    1. After all, people who may be impacted by the effects of digital technology whether or not they directly or deliberately engage with it.
    2. The increasing complexity and integration of these digital technologies and systems have connected everyone on earth by direct inclusion of effects of the systems like climate change and political maneuvering.
  2. Those who abuse the systems we and the world have become dependent on either for personal or organizational benefit or malicious intent.
  3. Those who have the outsize power to shape the digital and physical world.

On whose behalf?

On behalf of the American population who uses the internet. We chose only to for US as there are many cultural and judicial differences between countries. We can only speak on behalf of our experience. Different governments would have different policies on internet usage.

With what effect? - Beginning of a conversation between different agents about human rights online
- Promote a practice of awareness & conciousness
- Propose online rights, keeping offline rights in mind
- Spark creativty
- Create a form of accountability & transparency

On what authority? - We are not interacting with the internet conciously (privacy issues, environmental conseqences)
- We are aware of these issues and hope to create a better future
- No one really has authority...
- And these are standard rather than enforced laws
- Open source means inclusivity
- While everyone's opinion is valid, we recognize that those who are comfortable with the internet will be the ones largely represented
- We do not hold a universal perspective, therefore these are not universal rights
- We resign authority -> We are biased, though recall the section above
- We have the authority to think creatively and with agency
- ... Circular arguement 😅😅😅

Notes:
- Because of the format of our document, we acknowledge that those who currently do not have access to the digital resources may not be able to participate in this discussion.
- And we do realize that everyone has a equal right to digital resources.
- Though, this does not mean equal participation

For what purpose?

    We write this document for the purpose of maximizing the good and minimizing the harm arising from global, interconnected digital systems, illustrated in the following but not exhaustive list:
  1. The benefits of such systems are distributed equitably among all its direct and indirect participants as opposed to being concentrated among the hands of the powerful, rich, or influential.
  2. Human rights in the offline world are adequately protected online as often digital actions affect the material non-digital world. However, we recognize that the digital realm continuously introduces new phenomena that will reshape existing understandings of all human rights.
  3. Digital freedoms are ensured for all that may be affected whatsoever by the ever-expanding digital world.
  4. Protection from harmful manifestations of digital power given existing imbalances in power and freedoms manifested from the physical world.

Declaration Sections