A/HRC/50/56 23. Due to the scale and cross-border reach of the digital ecosystem and its products and services, it will often be necessary to involve a broad range of States to achieve efficacy in addressing human rights risks associated with digital technologies. 24. There is a strong need for collaboration and alignment at the regional and global levels to avoid fragmented regulatory and policy approaches. In light of this, the Guiding Principles reinforce the fundamental importance of multilateral and multi-stakeholder approaches to protect against, prevent and remediate human rights impacts associated with business. An example of a multilateral approach includes the Freedom Online Coalition, a government alliance aiming to achieve a multilateral consensus on Internet freedoms.21 The Coalition seeks to promote the development of norms regarding the practical application of the State duty to protect to digital technologies. 4. Stakeholder reflections on the State duty to protect in the technology sector 25. While the increasing attention of policymakers and lawmakers to the adverse impacts of digital technologies on human rights have been welcomed, stakeholders have voiced concerns about how this issue is being approached. Concerns include allegations that some regulatory attempts intended to address adverse impacts on users of digital products and services might instead make it more difficult for intermediaries to respect the rights of their users, because of broad and vague definitions and scope; excessive penalties, including significant liability for company personnel; and requirements to remove content under strict timelines or by means of automated tools without attention to necessary safeguards.22 26. The State-business nexus has increasingly come to the attention of various stakeholder groups, raising concerns of a lack of human rights protection when States have outsourced to, or contracted technology companies for, public services.23 For example, for the delivery of social services, public authorities are reportedly increasingly relying on technological systems developed by private actors. 24 Another area of concern is the use, development, production, sale and export of surveillance and facial recognition technology for identification purposes by both State agencies and private sector actors.25 27. In order to provide enhanced clarity for those working on regulatory proposals regarding business conduct in the technology sector, the B-Tech Project is developing a guidance tool aimed at allowing policymakers and other key stakeholders to assess whether regulatory or incentive-based initiatives directed at technology company conduct align with the Guiding Principles. The purpose of the guidance tool will be to inform the choice of design and policy options or instruments for draft legislation and incentive-based initiatives aiming at ensuring that technology companies respect human rights.26 C. Corporate responsibility to respect human rights (pillar II) 28. The Guiding Principles set out a principled approach for all companies to prevent, mitigate and address human rights harms to people from business activities.27 For technology 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 6 https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/Business/B-Tech/b-tech-blog-policycoherence-nhris-tech.pdf. See https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/Freedom-Online-Coalition.pdf. See https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/Global-Network-Initiative.pdf. See https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/International-Organization-of-Employers.pdf. See https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/AlgorithmWatch.pdf and https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/CIPESA.pdf. See https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/PrivacyInternational.pdf and https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/Amnesty-International.pdf. See also https://www.geneva-academy.ch/news/detail/426-bridging-governance-gaps-in-the-age-oftechnology-a-discussion-on-the-state-duty-to-protect; https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/202202/CDT-B-Tech-CDT-GA-UNGPs-DSA-Consultation-14-Sept.docx; https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-02/B-Tech_BHR_Forum_Building_Blocks.pdf; and https://www.geneva-academy.ch/news/detail/517-placing-human-rights-at-the-centre-of-new-techregulations. See also https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/Business/B-Tech/keycharacteristics-business-respect.pdf.