The complex relationship between human rights and digital technology is relatively new in the literature. It was only with the Arab Spring and the so-called “Facebook Revolution” that scholars started to explore the impact of information and communication technologies on grassroots politics and social movements, the role of digital technology in constructing new human rights norms and standards, and the associated new sets of challenges and opportunities. This review demonstrates to what extent the digital revolution recently witnessed has not only produced new forms of grassroots politics, activism, governance – and even warfare – but also created new ethical challenges that defy existing human rights norms and standards.
Dina Mansour-Ille