Glasgow City Council is set to put digital rights centre stage as councillors debate a landmark motion at a full council meeting tomorrow – the second day of International Digital Rights Days.
The motion, lodged by Cllr Paul Leinster, Chair of the Digital Glasgow Board, calls on the council to “promote, enhance and expand the digital rights” of Glaswegians.
Although the city has acknowledged Digital Rights Days before, this will be the first time the issue is formally debated in the chamber, giving elected members the chance to underline the importance of online human rights in an increasingly digital society.
Digital Rights Days partly coincide with International Human Rights Day on 10 December and spotlight the rights people should enjoy in the digital spaces that shape so much of daily life.
Last year’s global programme – led by the Cities Coalition for Digital Rights and coordinated by Bordeaux and Porto – drew more than 2,350 in-person participants, reached 22,000 people online, and brought together over 20 cities and 30 partner organisations, including the European Commission and the Centre for Civil Liberties.
Across Glasgow, the occasion will also be marked by Working Together for Digital Inclusion in Glasgow, a joint event hosted by Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector, Glasgow City Council and Glasgow Life. It will bring together organisations tackling issues such as device and connectivity access, digital confidence, fragmented services and short-term funding.
Cllr Leinster said: “Digital rights are human rights and it’s never been more important that our citizens understand their rights in an increasingly online society. Whether it’s knowing how to stay safe or how our data is used, stored and deleted almost everyone is affected by these issues and it’s incumbent upon us as a council to educate our citizens about the rights they have.
“When we were writing a new Digital Strategy for Glasgow, we wanted to ensure that the digital and human rights of our citizens were at the heart of it and I’m proud that the document which will guide us through our digital transformation for the rest of this decade has those rights embedded within it.”
He added: “These rights encompass the protection of privacy, freedom of expression, and the right to access information online. They ensure that individuals can engage with digital platforms, participate in online communities, and share content freely and safely, without facing undue censorship, surveillance, or discrimination.”