This course explores the relationship between human rights, health, and technology in an increasingly digital world. It is designed as a self-paced introductory course for learners interested in digital rights and health, including public health professionals, human rights practitioners, policymakers, researchers, students, advocates, community organizers, and anyone seeking to better understand how digital technologies affect health, dignity, privacy, and well-being.
A central focus of the course is understanding digital rights as an extension of internationally recognized human rights. Learners examine the principles, guidelines, and emerging legal frameworks that shape digital rights and digital health, while considering both the opportunities created by digital transformation and the risks associated with surveillance, data exploitation, unequal access, misinformation, and the misuse of health technologies. The course also introduces frameworks for classifying digital health interventions and evaluating their legal, ethical, and social implications.
Through multimedia resources, interactive activities, and case studies from the Global South, participants explore how digital-rights challenges affect activists, communities, and human rights defenders in practice. Cases from Colombia and Vietnam address issues such as feminist digital advocacy, online public accountability, disinformation concerning HIV, and violations of privacy. Learners also engage with practical advocacy strategies and tools for influencing decision-makers, participating in international processes, and responding to digital-rights violations.
The course places particular emphasis on privacy and digital security. Learners examine common misconceptions about privacy, consider how surveillance and the collection of personal data affect individuals and communities, and explore protective practices that move beyond individual responsibility toward collective care and systemic change. Overall, the course equips learners with a practical foundation for recognizing digital-rights risks, analyzing their implications for health, and developing informed, participatory, and rights-based responses. It is especially relevant for people working in public health, digital health, human rights, technology governance, data protection, advocacy, community organizing, and related fields.