34 Dictating the Internet: worsen pressure, intimidation and security risks they face offline. In a report released in 2019, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders highlighted increased harassment, incitement to violence and attacks online against women human rights defenders in particular, including shaming, attacks on honour, threats of sexual violence, verbal abuse and doxxing – where private information about a person is disseminated online without her consent.90 In December 2018, the UN Special Rapporteur and four rapporteurs with regional mandates on human rights defenders also recognized increased threats faced by human rights defenders online.91 The UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders provides that States must act to protect and support human rights defenders in their work, through adopting necessary legislative, administrative or other measures to ensure protection of their rights to association, assembly and political participation, among others, not only offline but also online.92 ix. International standards and commentary pertaining to internet restrictions and shutdowns Internet shutdowns – banning access to the internet in general or restricting access to specific online platforms – have emerged as a blunt tool used by governments around the world to protect national security and public order at the risk of violating a wide range of rights.93 Today, individuals rely on the internet not only to communicate with others, but also for a vast array of services and transactions, all of which are impacted 90 91 92 93 Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, A/HRC/40/60, 10 January 2019, Available at: https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G19/004/97/PDF/ G1900497.pdf?OpenElement United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, Special Rapporteur of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) on Human Rights Defenders, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, First Deputy Director of OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders of the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights (IACHR), ‘Joint Statement: 20 years on from the adoption of the UN Declaration on Defenders: The protection of human rights defenders is non-negotiable’, 18 December 2018, Available at: https://www.coe.int/en/ web/commissioner/-/20-years-on-from-the-adoption-of-the-un-declaration-on-defenders-theprotection-of-human-rights-defenders-is-non-negotiable Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, A/ RES/53/144, December 1998, Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Defenders/ Declaration/declaration.pdf In 2016, RightsCon Brussels, which brought together stakeholders from the policy, human rights and ICT sectors, defined an internet shutdown as “intentional disruption of internet or electronic communications, rendering them inaccessible or effectively unusable, for a specific population or within a location, often to exert control over the flow of information… (which) include blocks of social media platforms, and are also referred to as “blackouts,” “kill switches,” or “network disruptions”.” See Access Now, ‘The State of Internet Shutdowns around the World: The 2018 #Keepiton Report’ (‘Access Now 2018 report’), p2, Available at: https://www.accessnow.org/cms/ assets/uploads/2019/06/KIO-Report-final.pdf