The Business & Human Rights Dimension of the Digital Services Act
Type
case study
Date Issued
2023-08-31
Author(s)
Abstract
The development and deployment of digital products and services by technology companies is at present largely unregulated when it comes to preventing and mitigating adverse impacts on human rights. Until recently, the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) have predominantly been the basis for voluntary efforts to identify, prevent, and mitigate harms related to digital technologies. Emerging company practice demonstrates the relevance of the UNGPs for regulatory measures efforts to acknowledge these voluntary efforts and build upon them. At the same time, several regulatory proposals targeting technology company conduct that are currently in the drafting or more advanced stages of negotiantion in this context. The standards of such endeavours set varying expectations that technology businesses must meet. The UNGPs can lend a helping hand in providing an anchor and analytical lens for technology company regulation, and the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) acts as a pertinent example of how the UNGPs can help inform regulations. The objective of the UNGPs in enhancing standards and practices in relation to Business and Human Rights (BHR) is aimed at achieving tangible results for affected individuals and communities.
This study provides a brief introduction into the field of BHR and its role in contemporary technology regulation, connecting the discourse around BHR to the core elements of the DSA regarding its design. The aim is not a comprehensive mapping of the DSA against the whole spectrum of the UNGPs. Rather we focus on the distinct features of the DSA that bear a strong resemblance to the character of the UNGPs when it comes to stakeholder engagement, risk assessment, transparency, and access to remedy. The UNGPs have undoubtedly set an international standard of how human rights ought to be protected with regards to corporate conduct. Therefore, the objective of this study is to showcase to which extent the provisions in the the DSA may relate to the UNGPs. Hence, this study does not analyse the entire DSA instead picks out the elements found within the DSA provisions that echo with the UNGPs.
This study provides a brief introduction into the field of BHR and its role in contemporary technology regulation, connecting the discourse around BHR to the core elements of the DSA regarding its design. The aim is not a comprehensive mapping of the DSA against the whole spectrum of the UNGPs. Rather we focus on the distinct features of the DSA that bear a strong resemblance to the character of the UNGPs when it comes to stakeholder engagement, risk assessment, transparency, and access to remedy. The UNGPs have undoubtedly set an international standard of how human rights ought to be protected with regards to corporate conduct. Therefore, the objective of this study is to showcase to which extent the provisions in the the DSA may relate to the UNGPs. Hence, this study does not analyse the entire DSA instead picks out the elements found within the DSA provisions that echo with the UNGPs.
Language
English
Publisher
Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte
Publisher place
Berlin
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open.access
Name
The-Business-Human-Rights-Dimension-of-the-Digital-Services-Act.pdf
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857.06 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
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