Digital rights and ethics
Digital rights and ethics: new challenges for a hyperconnected society
In the era of digitalisation, law needs to be adapted to protect and safeguard fundamental rights. Digital rights, closely linked to freedom of expression and privacy, are those that allow people to access, use, create and publish digital media, as well as access and use computers, other electronic devices and communications networks.
Digital technologies are transforming the way basic rights such as freedom of expression and access to information are exercised, protected and violated, and are also leading to the recognition of new rights. The law is therefore adapting to this new era with the development of digital rights and digital citizenship, allowing and regulating access to online information in a secure and transparent manner.
Technological advances are constant and each brings with it the need for a new regulatory framework.The hyperconnectivity that 5G facilitates, the collection of data with devices from the Internet of Things, the analysis of the same with Big Data and the use of Edge Computing for processing, among others, generate the need to regulate this traffic of information, guaranteeing the rights of individuals.
In addition to the evolution of the legislative framework, these advances also invite the development of digital ethics that prevent the violation of rights. Ethical considerations are relevant in cases such as the "digital will", which determines what to do with the digital presence of the deceased; "digital disconnection", which limits the use of digital communications outside working hours; or digital rights management (DRM), where authors' remuneration and free access to artistic works whose rights have already expired come into conflict.
What are digital rights and where do they come from? The origins of digital rights
Human rights are universal, indivisible and inalienable. While cyberspace offers many new opportunities, it also gives rise to new threats to the exercise and protection of these rights. There is broad consensus that the rights that protect people in offline environments should also do so in the digital realm. For this reason, in many cases digital rights do not involve the creation of new rights but rather the adaptation of existing ones such as freedom of expression and assembly or the right to privacy.
Cyber-rights recognise the right of individuals to access, use, create and publish digital media, and the right of access to the computers, electronic devices and telecommunications networks necessary to exercise them. One of the flagships in the defence of cyber-rights is the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a non-profit organisation founded by Internet activists John Perry Barlow, Mitch Kapor and John Gilmore.
In 1996, in an article entitled A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace
External link, opens in new window., Barlow highlighted the discrepancy between the fundamental rights enshrined in the US Constitution and the violation of citizens' rights on the Internet. For example, in the 1990s the postal service was inviolable, but email was not. The EFF's work defending these cases in court laid the foundation for the international recognition of cyber-rights.
Data protection in the digital age
The aim is to improve the protection of personal data. How?
Having the right to transfer data from one service provider to another.
Having the right to receive a notification if the data have been revealed.
Implementing more coherent legislation and more effective enforcement.
Setting limits on the use of automated data processing for decision-making.
Making it easy for anyone to access their own personal data.
Providing more, and clearer, information on data processing.
Having the right to rectify and delete data, including the right to be forgotten.
Requesting prior consent for the collection and processing of data.
Source: European Council.
What digital rights are for
Digital rights are simply an extension of the rights enshrined in the United Nations (UN) Universal Declaration of Human Rights as applied to the online world. Their primary aim is to guarantee access to the internet, preventing the so-called digital divide, and to ensure the appropriate use of the internet as a common good belonging to humanity.
However, the lack of an international consensus – beyond a resolution on human rights on the internet – has led each country to develop its own Charter of Digital Rights. Supranational bodies such as the European Union (EU) are proposing a common framework, at least regarding the right to the protection of personal data. For example, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into force in 2018 and obliges Member States both to safeguard citizens' personal data and to allow the free movement of data; or the Data Act, which came into force in 2024, and grants users access to and portability of data generated by devices connected to the Internet of Things (IoT). In the United States, by contrast, there is no federal data protection law, and each state applies different regulations. Worldwide, more than 120 countries have some form of legislation protecting personal data and access to information on the internet.
In 2022, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission spearheaded publication of the European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles for the Digital Decade. In line with technological advances, in 2024 the EU adopted the Artificial Intelligence Act, the world's first comprehensive regulation prohibiting AI applications posing an unacceptable risk (such as mass real-time facial recognition or social scoring) and granting citizens the right to transparency regarding content generated by this technology.
Types of digital rights
Although each country is developing its own Digital Rights Charter, there are some general guidelines that all countries follow and which we review below:
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Universal and equal access
People must be able to access the internet regardless of their income, geographical location or disabilities. The UN Human Rights Council recognises in a report that the right to access is essential for freedom of opinion and for reducing the digital divide.
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Freedom of expression, information and communication
Governments threaten these fundamental human rights online when they block websites or social networks – which constitutes a violation of the right to communication and freedom of association – or censor content, which runs counter to freedom of expression and information.
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Privacy and data protection
Citizens must have control over who stores their personal data and be able to delete it at any time. The right to privacy is threatened online by the theft of login details, the misappropriation of personal data and its use for financial gain, etc.
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Right to anonymity
The right to anonymity and to encrypted communications is particularly under threat in those countries that prohibit the sending of encrypted messages and communications, something that is necessary for carrying out reliable and secure transactions on the internet.
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Right to be forgotten
It is the right to have a person's private information removed from internet search results, databases and directories. The EU currently recognises this under the GDPR as the “right to erasure” and it has also been invoked in other countries, including Argentina, the United States, South Korea and India.
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Protection of minors
Governments must protect children online – for example, in the case of harmful or illegal content affecting minors – and also ensure that companies provide the means to guarantee safe access without infringing on children's rights.
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Intellectual property
Society must guarantee authors recognition of their artistic or literary works and the right to be remunerated for their use while at the same time ensuring free access to works that are already in the public domain. The emergence of content generated by artificial intelligence has threatened this right and calls for a reinterpretation of current legislation.
Digital ethics and responsible use of the internet
The internet has changed the way we interact, our consumption habits and our very way of being. Nowadays, immediate access to information and the loss of our privacy form part of our daily routine.
The debate over the meaning of "digital ethics" and what it entails remains open. From a contemporary and global perspective, it is understood as the social code necessary to resolve the problems caused by the widespread use of the internet. What do we mean by this? Intellectual property rights, security breaches, the limits of freedom of expression, the regulation of large corporations, work-life balance, behaviour on social networks and, of course, the privacy of our personal data.
In this context, Jonathan Zittrain, a Harvard professor of internet law and author of The Future of the Internet – And How to Stop It, argues that it would be ideal for the large companies that are omnipresent in our lives to adopt what he calls an ethic of loyalty towards their users. “We need them to see us not just as individuals to whom they can sell adverts, but also to help us and treat us as people.” These debates gained momentum after several companies were penalised over security issues relating to data collection. Frameworks such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Digital Services Act in the European Union now legally require platforms to assume this responsibility, prompting debate about the ability of states to maintain and enforce these regulations in the face of rapid technological change.
Cybersecurity and how to act if digital rights are violated
Cybersecurity is essential to ensure the freedom of individuals to exercise their digital rights, for example by preserving their privacy through encryption of communications. But how should we act if digital rights are violated? That is, when a company sells or discloses our personal data or there is unauthorised access, among others. In most countries with cyber-rights legislation, such offences can be brought to court. In the case of the EU, the member countries have bodies such as the European Data Protection Committee (EDPC) or authorities like the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) that investigate and prosecute infringements, imposing sanctions that can reach hundreds of thousands of euros for the most serious ones.
Digital ethics in business and institutions
Digital ethics is a strategic pillar that underpins digital trust and guides companies away from pursuing growth at any cost. From a responsible perspective, data is not an unrestricted commercial commodity, but an asset protected in the interests of privacy, user self-determination and the minimisation of data collection.
Algorithmic transparency and accountability prevent technology from operating without oversight and oblige organisations to explain how they automate their processes and to accept the consequences of their systems' operations.
Some companies have digital laboratories to promote dialogue and research aimed at understanding new habits in digital environments. For example, this enables the regulation of artificial intelligence to ensure its responsible use, harnessing its potential without compromising people's integrity. These actions strengthen digital trust between providers and users, and it becomes clear that security is a key asset within organisations.
New challenges for digital rights
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Artificial intelligence and automated decision-making: The advancement of automated systems requires the implementation of clear mechanisms for transparency and explainability, ensuring that algorithms operate without discriminatory bias and that there is effective human oversight of decisions.
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Massive use of personal data: The collection of personal information requires user control through informed consent while respecting the principles of data portability to ensure that only strictly necessary data is processed.
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Disinformation and algorithmic manipulation: The flow of algorithm-driven content poses a dilemma between freedom of expression and access to accurate information, demanding greater accountability from digital platforms regarding the spread of fake and polarising news.
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Digital identity and cybersecurity: It is essential to strengthen user protection systems against growing risks such as identity theft, financial fraud and the theft of login credentials.
Iberdrola's commitment to cybersecurity and digital rights
At the Iberdrola Group, we believe it is important to build trust in digital environments. The integrity of systems, data and online interactions fosters social cohesion and enables the responsible adoption of technological innovations.
Cybersecurity is essential for evolving and providing increasingly secure services and operations while cyber-resilience ensures the continuity of prevention and response efforts for digital infrastructure. At the Iberdrola Group, these are key to modernising our services. We have a Security Policy that strengthens our capabilities in protection, detection and response.
Furthermore, we are the first European energy company to obtain Europrivacy data-protection certification, and we hold international certifications in this field that reaffirm our commitment to building trust both internally and externally.
We work to improve privacy, security and responsible innovation. We focus our efforts on creating a secure environment for the company and its users. We ensure that new technologies, artificial intelligence and data are used for the benefit of our customers and society.