Digital self-determination is a multidisciplinary concept derived from the legal concept of self-determination and applied to the digital sphere, to address the unique challenges to individual and collective agency and autonomy arising with increasing digitalization of many aspects of society and daily life.
Origins
There is no philosophically or legally agreed-upon concept of digital self-determination yet. Broadly speaking, the term describes the attempt to comprehensively project the pattern of human self-determination (as first explored in disciplines like philosophy and psychology, and in the law) into the digital age.
The concept has been included in an official document for the first time by ARCEP, the French Telecoms Regulator, in a section of its 2021 Report on the State of the Internet, exploring the work on "Network Self-determination" conducted by Professor Luca Belli.
Self-determination
Philosophy
The concept of self-determination relates to concepts of subjectivity, dignity, and autonomy in classic central-European philosophy and derived from Immanuel Kant's conception of freedom. Self-determination presupposes that human beings are entities capable of reason and responsibility for their own rationally chosen and justified actions (autonomy), and ought to be treated accordingly. In formulating his categorical imperative (kategorischer Imperativ), Kant suggested that humans, as a condition of their autonomy, must never be treated as a means to an end but as an end in itself. The pattern of self-determination similarly aims at enabling autonomous human beings to create, choose and pursue their own identity, action, and life choices without undue interference.
Psychology
In psychology, the concept of self-determination is closely related to self-regulation and intrinsic motivation, i.e., engaging in a behavior or activity because it is inherently rewarding to do so, as opposed to being driven by external motivations or pressures, like monetary incentives, status, or fear. In this context, self-determination and intrinsic motivation are linked to feeling in control of one's choices and behavior and are considered necessary for psychological well-being. Self-determination theory (SDT), first introduced by psychologists Richard Ryan and Eduard Deci in the 1980s,Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1980). Self-determination theory: When the mind mediates behavior. The Journal of Mind and Behavior, 33-43.Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum. and further developed through the 1990s and 2000s, has been largely influential in shaping the concept of self-determination in the field of psychology. Ryan and Deci's SDT proposed that individuals' motivated behavior is characterized by three basic and universal needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness.Ryan, R. M.; Deci, E. L. (2000). "Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being". American Psychologist. 55 (1): 68–78. PMID 11392867. Autonomy refers here to the need to feel free to decide one's course of action. Competence refers to the need to have the capacity and skills to undertake and complete motivated behavior in an effective manner. Finally, relatedness refers to the need to experience warm and caring social relationships and feel connected to others. According to SDT, all three needs must be fulfilled for optimal functioning and psychological well-being. However, other psychologists like Barry Schwartz have argued that if self-determination is taken to extremes, freedom of choice can turn into the "tyranny of choice".Schwartz, B. (2000). Self-determination: The tyranny of freedom. American psychologist, 55(1), 79. In this view, having too much autonomy and too many choices over our course of action can be perceived as overwhelming, make our decisions more difficult, and ultimately lead to psychological distress rather than wellbeing.
Law
Human rights In international law, the right of a people to self-determination is commonly recognized as a ius cogens rule. Here, self-determination denotes that a people, based on respect for the principle of equal rights and fair equality of opportunity, have the right to freely choose their sovereignty, international political status, economic, social, and cultural development with no interference. In the framework of the United Nations, fundamental rights like self-determination are mainly defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Informational self-determination in German law The concept of informational self-determination (informational Selbstbestimmung), considered as a modern fundamental right which protects against unjustified data processing, has featured prominently in the German Federal Constitutional Court's (Bundesverfassungsgericht) jurisprudence and might be the most direct precursor and inspiration to the concept of digital self-determination.Kocharyan, H., & Vardanyan, L. (2024). The Right to Be Forgotten as a Legal Instrument for Expanding Informational Self-Determination in the Digital Age? Constitutional Discourse. https://constitutionaldiscourse.com/the-right-to-be-forgotten-as-a-legal-instrument-for-expanding-informational-self-determination-in-the-digital-age/Vardanyan, Lusine; Hamulak, Ondrej; Kocharyan, Hovsep "Fragmented Identities: Legal Challenges of Digital Identity, Integrity, and Informational Self-Determination" European Studies, vol. 11, no. 1, Sciendo, 2024, pp. 105-121. https://doi.org/10.2478/eustu-2024-0005
In 1983, the Bundesverfassungsgericht ruled that "in the context of modern data processing, the general right of personality under Article 2.1 in conjunction with Article 1.1 of the Basic Law encompasses the protection of the individual against unlimited collection, storage, use and sharing of personal data. The fundamental right guarantees the authority conferred on the individual to, in principle, decide themselves on the disclosure and use of their personal data." (Volkszählungsurteil, headnote 1).
Philosophically, the right to informational self-determination is deeply rooted in the Bundesverfassungsgericht's understanding of inviolable Human Dignity (Article 1 of the Grundgesetz) as a prohibition of human objectification (in German: Objektformel; see for example n°33 of BVerfGE 27, 1 - Mikrozensus). This understanding refers back to the late 18th-century German philosophy of Enlightenment. The Volkszählungsurteil was inspired by the concern that modern data processing technology could lead to a "registration and cataloging of one's personality in a manner that is incompatible with human dignity" (Volkszählungsurteil, headnote 4). In this view, human beings, due to their inviolable dignity, may never be treated like depersonalized and objectified resources that can be harvested for data. Instead humans, due to their capacity for autonomy, are self-determined agents possessing a significant degree of control over their informational images.
Self-determination in the digital sphere
The increasing digitization of most aspects of society poses new challenges for the concept and realization of self-determination.Remolina, Nydia and Findlay, Mark James, The Paths to Digital Self-Determination - A Foundational Theoretical Framework (April 22, 2021). SMU Centre for AI & Data Governance Research Paper No. 03/2021, http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3831726 While the digital sphere has ushered in innovation and opened up new opportunities for self-expression and communication for individuals across the globe, its reach and benefits have not been evenly distributed, oftentimes deepening existing inequalities and power structures, commonly referred to as a digital divide. Moreover, the digital transformation has enabled, oftentimes unbeknownst to individuals, the mass collection, analysis, and harvesting of personal data by private companies and governments to infer individuals' information and preferences (e.g., by tracking browsing and shopping history), influence opinions and behavior (e.g., through filter bubbles and targeted advertisements), and/or to make decisions about them (e.g., approving or not a loan or employment application), thus posing new threats to individuals' privacy and autonomy.Center for Humane Technology, “Ledger of Harms”, https://ledger.humanetech.com/, accessed May 22, 2021.
Although the definition of digital self-determination is still evolving, the term has been used to address humans' capacity (or lack thereof) to exercise self-determination in their existence in and usage of digital media, spaces, networks, and technologies, with the protection of the potential for human flourishing in the digital world as one of the chief concerns.Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, Digital Self-Determination call for participants (2021) <https://cyber.harvard.edu/story/2021-02/call-participants>, accessed May 5, 2021,
Starting in the 2010s, a few multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral initiatives around the world have been working on developing a theoretical framework for the concept of digital self-determination.
In 2015, the Cologne Center for Ethics, Rights, Economics, and Social Sciences of Health, housed at the University of Cologne (CERES), conducted a study to help define digital self-determination and develop metrics to measure its fulfillment.Cologne center for ethics, rights, economics, and social sciences of health, "Digital self-determination", https://ceres.uni-koeln.de/en/research/projects/digital-self-determination, accessed May 22, 2021, Their study report defines digital self-determination as "the concrete development of a human personality or the possibility of realizing one's own plans of action and decisions to act, insofar as this relates to the conscious use of digital media or is (co-)dependent on the existence or functioning of digital media".
In 2017, Professor Luca Belli presented at the United Nations Internet Governance Forum the concept of Network Self-determination as the "right to freely associate in order to define, in a democratic fashion, the design, development and management of network infrastructure as a common good, so that all individuals can freely seek, impart and receive information and innovation." Arguing that the right to network self-determination finds its basis in the fundamental right to self-determination of peoples as well as in the right to informational self-determination, Belli posits that network self-determination plays a pivotal role allowing individuals to associate and join efforts to bridge digital divides in a bottom-up fashion, freely developing common infrastructure. The concept gained traction at the Latin American level, starting to form a core element of research and policy proposals dedicated to community networks.