Abstract
Export of cyber technology can undermine human rights in countries of destination. In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, political controversies have arisen around EU-exported cyber surveillance technology, which allegedly helped autocratic states monitor and arrest dissidents. While cyber technology is indispensable to our lives, it can be used to suppress the right to privacy, the freedom of expression and the freedom of association, not only in the EU, but also in the countries it trades with. The EU has taken a proactive role in reforming the export of human rights-sensitive cyber technology. In September 2016 the European Commission proposed the integration of human rights due diligence in the process of export control. The Commission’s proposal, however, invited strong contestations both from industry and Member States. Essentially, dual-use export control has developed in order to mitigate military risks. Attempts to integrate human rights risks in export control have thus invited discomfort among stakeholders. This paper unpacks normative tensions arising from the EU’s attempts to integrate human rights risks in its export control regimes. By so doing, the paper highlights fundamental tensions embedded in the EU’s value-based Common Commercial Policy, of which dual-use export control forms an integral part.
Highlights
The export of cyber technology can bring both benefits and harms to destination countries
In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, political controversies have arisen around EU-exported cyber surveillance technology, which allegedly helped autocratic states monitor and arrest dissidents
While cyber technology is indispensable to our lives, it can be used to suppress the right to privacy, the freedom of expression and the freedom of association, in the EU, and in the countries it trades with
Summary
The export of cyber technology can bring both benefits and harms to destination countries. Given that the EU’s dual-use export control forms an integral part of the EU’s Common Commercial Policy, such trade control ought to be carried out ‘in the context of the principles and objectives of the Union’s external action’, as provided in Article 207 TFEU. Included in such principles is the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms.. Political controversies levelled against the misuse of EU-originated cyber technology in non-EU countries have led to the European Commission’s proposal submitted in September 2016 to ‘recast’ existing Council Regulation (EC) No 428/2009, which governs the EU’s dual-use export control.. The three-fold tensions highlighted in this paper can likewise exist in other domains of the EU’s Common Commercial Policy such as the conclusion and implementation of international trade agreements, in which the EU, according to Article 207 TFEU, ought to integrate human rights and fundamental freedoms
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