Human Rights Research Group » Net Of Rights

The Human Rights Protocol Considerations Research Group in the IRTF is chartered to research whether standards and protocols can enable, strengthen or threaten human rights, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), specifically, but not limited to the right to freedom of expression and the right to freedom of assembly.
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Net of Rights is a short documentary film which explores the relation between Internet protocols and the promotion and protection of Human Rights.
Internet Engineers have defined the Internet as a network of networks, providing connectivity for all users, at all times, for any content. Internet connectivity increases the capacity for individuals to exercise their rights, the core of the Internet, its architectural design is therefore closely intertwined with the human rights framework. However, the assertion that technology and the design of standards and protocols is a ethically neutral task are still commonplace. The series of interviews recorded during the 92nd meeting of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), held in Dallas, Texas, in March 2015, demonstrated that this belief in the neutrality of standards and protocols is starting to change. It is becoming more apparent that promoting an open, secure, unfiltered and reliable Internet is essential for the rights to privacy, expression and assembly. But how can these concepts be addressed on the protocol level?
Production Niels ten Oever
Research and script for interviews
Interviewer Niels ten Oever
Editing Marina Oriente
Script writing Daniel Castro, Niels ten Oever, Joana Varon and Camila Agustini
Camera Marina Oriente
Sound Design Iuri Oriente
Animations Fabio Cacossi
Narration Carla Matero
This film is a collaboration between Article19 and Coding Rights.
This film was made possible with the financial support from the Ford Foundation and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and travel support by Global Partners Digital.
This film is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
develops and promotes voluntary Internet standards, to identify, and proposing solutions to, pressing operational and technical problems and opportunities in the Internet. It is an open standards organization, with no formal membership or membership requirements. All participants and managers are volunteers, and you can participate!
promotes research of importance to the evolution of the Internet by creating focused, long-term Research Groups working on topics related to Internet protocols, applications, architecture and technology.
wants the Internet to stay open and free for everybody. You can participate!