Abstract

The human rights challenges created by the use of online social media for political activism are the topic of this paper. Blogs, video, and social networking sites have all become important venues for political debate and organization, prompting retaliation from certain authoritarian nations. In an attempt to limit users' liberties, some authorities have implemented Internet blocking, filtering, or takedown procedures, as well as Internet monitoring (including mandatory data retention) or even shut down national networks. In many otherwise democratic countries, however, the employment of measures like blocking and monitoring still leaves a lot to be desired in terms of human rights. The body of principles that tries to guide legislation in Council of Europe member states is described. The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and accompanying case law, which were designed primarily for the offline world; additional conventions and resolutions, such as the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime; and a developing set of Internet governance principles are among its origins. Our findings point to three areas where solutions are needed: What are the Violations on Human Rights, Is the amendment on Information Technology Act is sufficient enough to curb the violations?

Keywords