Open AccessBusiness, Human Rights and a New Social Contract in the Digital Age Abstract
Author(s) -
Yulia Razmetaeva
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
fìlosofìâ prava ì zagalʹna teorìâ prava
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2707-7039
pISSN - 2227-7153
DOI - 10.21564/2707-7039.1.247482
Subject(s) - negotiation , legitimacy , cyberspace , social contract , law and economics , business , power (physics) , human rights , treaty , public relations , field (mathematics) , politics , political science , law , sociology , the internet , computer science , physics , mathematics , quantum mechanics , world wide web , pure mathematics
The article is devoted to the problem of concluding a new social contract in the digitalage, taking into account the its peculiarities and the complex challenges in the field of business andhuman rights. The issues of the need to renegotiate such an agreement, the composition of the partiesand its basic conditions are considered. It is emphasized that the almost uncontrolled activities andgrowing power of companies are not the only, but one of the most important reasons for revisingthe contract.The article argues that the features of the digital age that affect the reasons for the conclusionand content of a new social contract are as follows: a significant part of all activities of entities takesplace in cyberspace or has an online component; digital tools are extremely common in both publicand private life; data become key to any economic, social, political activity; the amount of data ishuge, and the speed of their spread is incredibly high; the development of societies is uneven, andit is exacerbated by the digital divide; the power of business structures is growing, including theirability to modify the behavior of users of digital tools.The main threats to the existing social contract are a significant imbalance between the rights andobligations of the parties, the ineffectiveness of instruments to control its observance, the asymmetryof power, and the formation of a regulatory framework by companies against their role in the privatesector. Attempts to include business in the treaty, leaving human rights and justice at the center,including legitimacy and the negotiation of conditions with equal participation of individuals, civilsociety, companies and governments, are considered.The reasons for the potential loss of power of the existing social contract in the digital age are given,including the examples exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The article emphasizes the need toreconcile the responsibilities of participants, as well as to take into account the consequences of the