UN Considers Online Anonymity a Basic Human Right

The ability to use the Internet anonymously and encrypt your data and communications are necessary and should be a protected human right, states a report by the UN Human Rights Council, which was presented on May 28. This was reported on by the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group.

Anonymization and encryption tools were called “necessary for the exercise of the right to freedom of opinion and expression in the digital age.”

The paper notes that, although those tools can be used by criminals to commit crimes, it is like how the same phone can be used both in order to plan a crime and report it to the police.

If we adopt a ban on encryption and anonymity according to the wishes of those who are fighting against a marginal minority of terrorists and criminals, the rights of many more people will be violated. Journalists, NGOs, members of ethnic and religious groups, activists, students, artists, and other people who may be exposed to a variety of persecution and harassment may be in extremely vulnerable positions. Ordinary citizens have a right to expect that their data is safe and that their correspondence is read by no one but the immediate recipients.

Various agencies and heads of state have repeatedly spoken of the fact that modern encryption tools allow terrorists and criminals to avoid responsibility and impede the work of security services.

American President Barack Obama has repeatedly stated the need to introduce a “backdoor” into communication programs and popular applications for smartphones.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, in his election campaign, vowed to promote a ban on online communication tools that encrypt their traffic and do not have a “backdoor” for special services. He won the elections.

The Director of the FBI has complained to the US Congress about Apple and Google, which have agreed to implement encryption by default in their future mobile products.

China remains the most famous fighter against anonymity in the world. VPNs, Tor, and other encryption methods are prohibited there and identity disclosure is required for any activity on the Internet. 

In Russia, encryption on the internet has not officially been banned. However, Roskomnadzor has supported the idea of a banning of anonymizers and is trying to stop the spread of similar information on how to bypass blocked sites.