Human rights applied to encryption are a concept of freedom of expression, where encryption is a technical resource in the implementation of basic human rights.
With the evolution of the digital age, the application of freedom of speech has become more controversial as new technologies and restrictions arose, along with governmental and commercial interests. From a human rights perspective, there is a growing awareness that encryption is a core component in realizing a free, open, and trustworthy Internet.
Human rights are moral principles or norms, that describe certain standards of human behaviour, that are regularly protected as legal rights in municipal and international law. They are commonly understood as inalienable, fundamental rights "to which a person is inherently entitled simply because they are a human being". Those rights are "inherent in all human beings" regardless of their nationality, location, language, religion, ethnic origin, or any other status. They are applicable everywhere, at every time and are universal. They are egalitarian in the sense that they are the same for everyone.
Cryptography is a long-standing subject in the field of mathematics and computer science. It can generally be defined as "the protection of information and computation using mathematical techniques." In the OECD Guidelines, encryption and cryptography are defined as follows: "Encryption" refers to the transformation of data by the use of cryptography to produce unintelligible data (encrypted data) to ensure its confidentiality. "Cryptography" refers to the discipline, that embodies principles, means, and methods for the transformation of data to hide its information content, establish its authenticity, prevent its undetected modification, prevent its repudiation, and prevent its unauthorized use. Encryption and cryptography are often used synonymously, although "cryptography" has a broader technical meaning. For example, a digital signature is "cryptography", but not technically "encryption".
The human rights aspects related to the availability and use of a technology of particular significance for the field of information and communication are recognized in many places. Freedom of expression is recognized as a human right under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recognized in international human rights law in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Article 19 of the UDHR states that "everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference" and "everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice".
Overview
Since the 1970s, the availability of digital computing and the invention of public-key cryptography have made encryption more widely available. Previously, strong versions of encryption were the domain of nation-state actors. However, since the year 2000, cryptographic techniques have been widely deployed by various actors to ensure personal, commercial, and public sector protection of information and communication. Cryptographic techniques are also used to protect the anonymity of communicating actors and privacy more generally. The availability and use of encryption continue to lead to complex, important, and highly contentious legal policy debates. There are government statements and proposals on the need to curtail such usage and deployment in view of the potential hurdles it could present for access by government agencies. The rise of commercial services offering end-to-end encryption and the calls for restrictions and solutions in view of law enforcement access are pushing towards more and more debates around the use of encryption and the legal status of the deployment of cryptography more generally.
Encryption, as defined above, refers to a subset of cryptographic techniques for the protection of information and computation. The normative value of encryption, however, is not fixed but varies with the type of cryptographic method that is used or deployed and for which purposes. Traditionally, encryption (cipher) techniques were used to ensure the confidentiality of communications and prevent access to information and communications by others and intended recipients. Cryptography can also ensure the authenticity of communicating parties and the integrity of communications contents, providing a key ingredient for enabling trust in the digital environment.