Opportunities and Challenges in
Southeast Asia, 2019 (Bangkok, Thailand)
17
Table 2: What is Digital Rights? Overarching Statements and Specific Rights and
Issues Collected from Focus Group Discussions
A. Overarching statements
B. Specific rights and issues
1. Human rights as it is effected in
digital space and technologies
2. Ensure human rights online are
same as offline
3. Civil, human, labour, consumer
rights in the digital environment
4. Digital rights are human rights
5. Basic principles protecting
representational entities in digital
spaces
6. Protecting the analogue by
protecting the digital
7. My rights (currently given and
fighting for) being reorganised on
the Internet and other ICTs
8. Based on the Internet Rights &
Principles Coalition, Philippine
Declaration on Internet Rights and
Principles
9. Rights that protect against
violations of freedoms upheld
10. Rights by design
B1
B2
B3
B4
B5
B6
B7
B8
B9
B10
B11
B12
B13
B14
B15
B16
B17
B18
B19
B20
B21
B22
B23
B24
B25
B26
B27
B28
Access to government and other services
online
Access to information
Access the Internet
Access to hardware/software
Right to assemble
Freedom of expression online
Privacy and data security
Control and ownership over personal and
organisational information
Consumer rights added to digital devices
Robust copy left/right understanding, and
more access to porn
Right to seek joy and pleasure
Right to be consulted on policy issues
Informed consent on participation
Safety to participate
Right to exist free from violence
Digital governance
Right not to be discriminated
Right to information (fair use)
Access for all
Right to understand, know, access, create,
control the digital (environment,
infrastructure, things)
Privacy from the onset
Right to publish without interference or fear
of reprisal
Right against hateful speech, harassment
The right to know how our data is used
Data flow
Digital inclusion
Data protection
Freedom from surveillance
From discussions on the overarching statements, some observations arose, forming
the initial thoughts on the conceptual framework. A key point that stood out is that
the distinction between “digital” and “online” was not always clear. Two pairs of polar
opposites were often mentioned: online versus offline, and digital versus analogue. In
some groups not much distinction was made between the first pair and the second pair,
conflating online with digital, implying offline as analogue. However, some groups did
unpack these concepts, with the participants emphasising that digital and online are
distinct. For example, a respondent stressed that a key card or a facial recognition system
to permit access to an office may not be “online” or connected to the wider Internet,