LI Membership Digitalisation Survey Worldwide (Nov-Dec 2019) The (mis)-use of digital technology today has not only upset the traditional political balance of power but given rise to widespread human rights violations. To better understand these trends & devise effective solutions the Liberal International Human Rights Committee and our partners Freedom Foundation Africa have teamed up – and brought in the help of the LI membership. The survey received a high number of responses in a very short time, and the results were clear – of those who responded only 1 in 3 LI member parties have a clear policy on digitalisation. The following questions were asked in the short survey: Q1. What do you (or your party) see as being the top three threats to human rights and politics posed by digitalisation today? - Fake news - Electoral fraud - Privacy and government surveillance - Lack of accountability or regulation (for example, by online platforms) - Censorship (for example, by a country or state) - Harassment of political candidates / trolling - Unequal access of digital services - Other (please specify)… Q2. What do you (or your party) believe to be the best tools to combat the threats highlighted in Q1? Q3. Does your party have a policy position on the (mis)use of technology? If yes, when was this last updated? (It would be helpful if you could email this to mikaela@liberal-international.org) Q4. What do you (or your party) see as being the top three opportunities for politics today offered by the development of digitalisation? - Increasing individuals’ ability to assert and exercise their human rights, through easier access to information and raising awareness - Making it easier for individuals and organisations to report human rights violations - Lower barriers for people to access and spread information and exercise their freedom of expression - Opportunities for people to organise and unite via online platforms to exercise their freedom of assembly and protest - Higher visibility, reach and impact for the work of human rights organisations and activists - Higher participation in public affairs among the population, with lower thresholds and increased accountability of public services - Other (please specify)…
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