Democracy in the digital era and the threat to privacy and individual freedoms

Among other things, the resolution calls on the parliaments to take part in the development and implementation of an overall strategy to enable in the long run the whole population to enjoy the considerable benefits that the Internet can bring to economic, social, cultural and environmental life in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations. In addition, it encourages the parliaments to carefully review national laws and the practices of government agencies and/or surveillance organizations acting on their behalf so as to make sure that they comply with international law and human rights, especially as they relate to the right to privacy. In the broader context, it calls on the IPU to develop – in cooperation with relevant stakeholders capacity-building programmes for parliamentary bodies to observe the right to privacy and individual freedoms in the digital environment.