Conectas takes part in an IACHR hearing on digital platforms; find out how to watch it
This hearing will gather civil society organizations to discuss the accountability of digital platforms and the protection of human rights in the Americas
This photo illustration shows a woman checking the settings of the messaging application WhatsApp, in Bangalore on October 25, 2022, after the application was hit by a global outage, according to reports by monitoring site Downdetector and user complaints on social media. (Photo by Manjunath KIRAN / AFP)
Next Tuesday (4th), Conectas will be part of the thematic hearing “Accountability of digital platforms and their impact on human rights”, promoted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), an autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS) responsible for promoting and protecting human rights in the Americas.
The organization is part of a coalition of entities in Latin America and the United States that will bring concerns to the Commission on the work of major technology companies and their impacts on fundamental rights.
Representing Conectas, Julia Mello Neiva, director of Democracy and Human Rights Movements will be one of the lecturers in the hearing, held in a hybrid modality. Other participating organizations include Dejusticia (Colombia), CELS (Argentina), Artigo 19 Brazil and South America, Instituto Alana, Red PaPaz (Colombia), and Tech Justice Law (United States).
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The discussion will take place at a moment in which national courts and international bodies seek to define parameters for the accountability of digital platforms when it comes to personal data processing. The hearing is expected to contribute to the construction of an inter-American data protection standard that also governs the accountability of technology companies in the face of human rights violations.
The organizations highlight that there is ample evidence of the relationship between massive personal data harvesting, platform design based on compulsive engagement mechanisms, and impacts on mental health. Given this scenario, they defend the strengthening of national legal frameworks and the effective enforcement of rules to ensure the protection of people’s rights before major technology platforms.
The hearing will be transmitted live through the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights channel on YouTube, allowing interested people to follow the discussions on regulatory challenges and human rights protection in the digital realm.
Service
Thematic hearing: Digital platform accountability and its impact on human rights
Date: August 4, 2026
Time: 12h (Brasília time)
Production: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)
Transmission: live through the IACHR channel on YouTube.
