European or Universal? The European Declaration of Digital Rights in a global context

Abstract

This paper examines the potential universality of the European Declaration of Digital Rights, which was proposed to protect fundamental rights within the European Union. The investigation provides insights regarding the status of the Declaration as a position statement with a limited binding character, although it could serve as a reference point for future legislation at various levels. Digital Rights (DR) have the character of general principles, and the challenge in implementing them is the question of enforceability. The paper also considers universality in its philosophical, social, ethical, and legal dimensions. Cultural and contextual differences present a challenge to establishing a globally accepted and similarly interpreted set of fundamental rights. Moreover, social values and familiarity with technologies may highly influence social opinion. Additionally, the interpretation of ethical principles varies across different societies, for whom the question of DR is not uniformly relevant or urgent.  Legitimacy is a crucial factor in universality, and Peter Wahlgren’s model provides a useful analytical framework that includes political, legal, cultural, functional, and internal rationalities that are crucial facets of legitimacy. The paper suggests two paths for future discussions of universality in DR: a normative approach that focuses on identifying fundamental and universal values, and an empirical approach that seeks values that are widely accepted and uses them as criteria for universality.