Professor and Head of Department at the NCHR Gentian Zyberi recently delivered the 21st lecture in Nankai University’s “Business and Human Rights” series, focusing on digital technology and human rights. The event took place on 2 April. Zyberi was invited by Nankai University Human Rights Research Centre and Nankai Law School in Tianjin, China.
International law in a digital age
Professor Zyberi outlined how international law applies in the digital age, stressing that rights protected offline must also be safeguarded online, even as boundaries between public and private power become blurred.
He emphasized States’ duties to respect, protect, and fulfill human rights in the digital sphere, including regulating companies and reducing the digital divide. Technology companies, he noted, must respect human rights, conduct due diligence, and provide remedies in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Innovation and regulation
Drawing on cases from Europe, the Americas, and Africa, Professor Zyberi highlighted standards on surveillance, data protection, and the “right to be forgotten.” Looking ahead, he argued that innovation and regulation can reinforce each other and called for human rights to be embedded in technologies such as AI and algorithms. He urged a multi-stakeholder model of digital governance involving States, businesses, and civil society.
The seminar also featured comments and questions from five experts and scholars from Nankai University, Beijing Normal University, Tianjin University, the China National Textile and Apparel Council, and Hikvision, and attracted both graduate and undergraduate law students.
Visit to China
During his academic visit to China over the period 23 March to 3 April, Professor Zyberi has also given lectures and seminars at Peking University Law School, University of Chinese Academy of Social Science, China University of Foreign Affairs, and China Academy of Social Sciences.