Cities join forces to protect citizens’ digital rights

Global – The cities of New York, Amsterdam and Barcelona are the founding members of the Cities Coalition for Digital Rights, a new initiative pledging to protect citizens’ rights when using the internet.

Working from the idea that human rights must also pervade digital spaces, the coalition will collaborate on a set of shared policies on equal access to the internet, privacy and data protection. Other policies will cover participatory democracy, diversity and inclusion, as well as ethical digital service standards.

‘The City of Amsterdam feels the responsibility to found this global cities movement, and demonstrate that cities lead the way in human-centred innovation,’ explains Touria Meliani, Amsterdam Deputy Mayor. The founding member cities will also work to recruit other cities to the Coalition.

As cities gather more of citizens’ data from online platforms and smart sensors, the debate over digital human rights will intensify. For more on the development of future cities, explore our Branded Cities report.