Digitalisation affects public values and fundamental rights. New technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), immersive technology, and neurotechnology offer many opportunities to improve people’s lives. AI can assist doctors in making better diagnoses. Augmented reality (AR) glasses provide construction workers with better information about dangerous situations on site. Neural implants can make it easier for Parkinson’s patients to move in some cases.
It is crucial to realise the potential benefits of these technologies. However, there are also risks associated with deploying technology. Often, their use involves extensive collection of personal data which poses risks to individuals’ privacy. Techniques can also be designed to manipulate people into actions such as making purchases or staying long on an app. The deployment of a technology can have unintended side effects, such as the spread of misinformation.
Safeguarding values and rights
The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK) works with other stakeholders (such as scientists, civil society, and local governments) to safeguard public values and fundamental rights. This is done by researching the opportunities and risks of digitalisation, developing legislation and policy, promoting Dutch positions internationally, and engaging with citizens.
Research
Research is the foundation of policy. This includes research commissioned by BZK as well as third-party research. For example:
- Tech studies: explorations of the impact of new technologies on human rights, such as the Techscans Immersive Technologies conducted by the Rathenau Instituut and Generative AI on behalf of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations.
- Public polls: research into how citizens view public values and digitalisation, such as the study by the University of Amsterdam in 2023 (Do We Really Care? Public Values and Digital Technology in the Netherlands – SPUI25).
- Research on specific impacts of technology, such as on well-being: on 3 April 2023, the Trimbos Institute, together with the State Secretary for Digitalisation Alexandra van Huffelen, launched the Expert Centre on Digitalisation and Well-being.
Legislation and policy
Fundamental rights are enshrined in the Dutch Constitution and international human rights treaties. When it comes to deploying technology, several other legal frameworks are also important, including:
- The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which contains extensive provisions for organisations on collecting, processing, storing, and managing personal data. The rules apply to all organisations that process personal data of individuals in the European Union, regardless of whether those organisations are based in the EU or outside.
- The Digital Services Act (DSA), which regulates the obligations of digital services, including digital platforms and marketplaces, that act as intermediaries connecting consumers with goods, services, and content.
- The AI Act, the first AI law in the world, contains rules for the use of artificial intelligence in the EU. The regulation uses a risk-based approach – the greater the risks of an AI to fundamental rights, the stricter the requirements for the AI.
Additional policy is being developed on various themes, such as children’s rights in the digital world. The aim of the policy is to develop instruments to safeguard the rights of children in the digital world, in addition to legislation such as the GDPR, DSA, and the European Directive on Audiovisual Media Services. For example:
- The Code for Children’s Rights is a tool that helps developers of online services embed children’s rights in the design of an online service or product. The code provides design principles.
- The Children’s Rights Impact Assessment (CRIA) helps organisations develop online products or services for children to identify opportunities and risks of the product or service and mitigate risks.
- Youth Council on Digitalisation: In 2023, the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, in collaboration with UNICEF, established the Youth Council on Digitalisation. This council advises the State Secretary of BZK four times a year on the opportunities and risks associated with digitalisation for children and young people.
In addition, digital commons are promoted. These include open-source software and hardware, open data, as well as open educational materials and open standards. Digital public goods offer a means for the government to promote alternatives and become more independent from non-value-driven providers. They are part of the digital infrastructure that is not solely in the hands of market parties. Generating public value is central here. Values-driven alternatives are important in a digitalising society, especially where private service providers fail to safeguard public values. Digital commons have a democratic and open nature, providing a structure in which public values, democratic decision-making, and (technological) sovereignty are central.
International
The rules for technologies are mainly determined in the international arena. That’s why it’s important to promote and assert the Netherlands’ positions and policies in international forums. The Netherlands participates in committees of the Council of Europe on human rights and digitalisation and various working groups within the European Commission.
