Olivia Martin
Access
Brussels, Belgium
It is the beginning of April. Whew. It still feels surreal that in two short months I will be on my way to Brussels, where I will spend the remainder of my summer break. This monumental change in the course of my life still feels new; every time one of my friends asks, “When are you heading to Brussels again?,” I experience the same joy I felt the moment I heard I had been awarded this fellowship.
Needless to say, I am excited for what is to come: spending 10 weeks in a hub of international politics, working alongside the inspiring European policy team at Access, an NGO focusing on digital rights. Digital rights—a field of much public debate on the part of politicians, activists, and members of civil society—serves to provide language and a framework to address human rights infringements online.
In my roles as a Gallatin student and a digital rights activist, it has become all too clear that many of my peers, as well as me, have become accustomed to life under a constant state of surveillance. Seemingly, our privacy is being infringed upon daily with and without our consent, and images and anecdotes posted online remain there in near-perpetuity, vulnerable to exploitation.
Here, we face a critical analysis of “light of day” human rights infringements, ones that have become so prevalent that their presence and effects have been normalized. Nevertheless, many people cannot afford to sit back and have their data taken from them. Many internet users live under oppressive regimes that will use the information gleaned from unwarranted surveillance to punish those living on the margins of society.
Recent legislation has been enacted to address the issue of privacy infringements, but because it is impossible to pin down a precise definition for the right, these laws can only address the issue in part. The right to privacy is not an absolute one, and the very essence of its temporality and material contingency runs my brain around and around in circles; however, this intellectual and urgent challenge motivates me to continue advocating for a cause that needs youth voices.
I plan to be one of those voices, speaking out in concert for the respect of human rights.