4. LEGAL FRAMEWORK This chapter outlines the international human rights laws and standards which are most relevant to Meta’s operations in Myanmar. The chapter begins by outlining international human rights standards as they pertain to corporate actors. It then considers the application of these standards to the use of algorithmic technologies by technology companies. It then surveys international human rights law and standards regarding the right to remedy for individuals and communities whose rights have been impacted by corporate actors. Finally, this chapter proves an overview of international human rights law and standards pertaining to “hate speech” and advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (advocacy of hatred). 4.1 BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS STANDARDS All companies have a responsibility to respect all human rights wherever they operate in the world and throughout their operations. This is a widely recognized standard of expected conduct as set out in international business and human rights standards, including the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UN Guiding Principles) and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (OECD Guidelines).56 The corporate responsibility to respect human rights is independent of a State’s own human rights obligations and exists over and above compliance with national laws and regulations protecting human rights.57 UN Guiding Principle 13 outlines that companies’ responsibility to respect human rights entails a requirement to “avoid causing or contributing to adverse human rights impacts through their own activities, and address such impacts when they occur; and seek to prevent or mitigate adverse human rights impacts that are directly linked to their operations, products or services by their business relationships, even if they have not contributed to those impacts.” 58 The UN Guiding Principles establish that to meet their corporate responsibility to respect human rights, companies should have in place ongoing and proactive human rights due diligence processes to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address their impacts on human rights. When conducting human rights due diligence, a company may identify that it may cause or contribute to – or already be causing or contributing to – a serious human rights abuse through its own activities. In these cases, companies must cease or prevent the activities that are responsible for those adverse human rights impacts.59 Where impacts are outside of the business enterprise’s control but are directly linked to their operations, products or services through their business relationships, the UN Guiding Principles require the company to seek to mitigate the human rights impact by exercising leverage, or seek to improve leverage where leverage is This responsibility was expressly recognized by the UN Human Rights Council on 16 June 2011, when it endorsed the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UN Guiding Principles), and on 25 May 2011, when the 42 governments that had then adhered to the Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises of the OECD unanimously endorsed a revised version of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. See Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and other Business Enterprises, Human Rights Council, Resolution 17/4, UN Doc A/HRC/RES/17/4, 6 July 2011; OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, OECD, 2011, oecd.org/ corporate/mne 56 57 UN Guiding Principles, Principle 11 including Commentary. UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOHCHR), ‘Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework’, 2011, UN Doc HR/PUB/11/04, Principle 13 including Commentary, ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/GuidingPrinciplesBusinessHR_EN.pdf 58 UNOHCHR, Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework (2011), ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/GuidingPrinciplesBusinessHR_EN.pdf 59 THE SOCIAL ATROCITY META AND THE RIGHT TO REMEDY FOR THE ROHINGYA Amnesty International 18