BSR | Human Rights Impact Assessment: Facebook in Myanmar 38 NONDISCRIMINATION As specified in Article 2 of the UDHR, everyone is entitled to all human rights, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional, or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing, or under any other limitation of sovereignty. Risk / Opportunity Severity Factors Management Factors What is the potentially adverse human rights impact that might happen in the future? Scope (How many people could be affected by the harm/opportunity?) Likelihood (How likely is the impact to happen over next five years?) Scale (How serious are the impacts for the victim?) Attribution (How closely is Facebook connected to the impact?) Remediability (Will remedy restore the victim to same or equivalent position?) Content that intends to harass users, based on characteristics such as gender, religion, ethnicity, or political views, may be posted on the Facebook platform but not discovered and removed. Men may benefit more than women from the use of Facebook in Myanmar, via opportunities for social and economic participation and advancement. Misinformation and disinformation that is intended to promote discrimination on the basis of protected characteristics may be posted on the Facebook platform but not discovered and removed. Leverage (How much ability does Facebook have to effect change?) Scope: There are around 20 million Facebook users in Myanmar, all of whom are at risk of discrimination— though vulnerable groups, such as women, children, ethnic minorities, and political activists, face greater risks. Likelihood: Lack of digital literacy and the existence of political, ethnic, and communal conflict in Myanmar make the likelihood of these risks occurring higher than in many other markets. These risks are occurring today. Scale: The consequences for vulnerable populations can be severe and lead to violations of their right to life, liberty, and security of person. (See section on security risks, above.) Attribution: Facebook does not cause or contribute to these violations, but is linked to them via its products and services. Remediability: Access to remedy is available, most notably through the prompt removal of content. However, remedy is not guaranteed to restore the victim to the previous position—for example, bodily harm may already have occurred, the offending content may remain known, or content could be reposted. Leverage: Facebook has leverage available via implementation of the Community Standards, efforts to increase digital literacy, and raising awareness of the Community Standards. However, Facebook’s leverage is significantly curtailed by the historical, political, and conflictbased local context that is often the root cause of discrimination.