ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the responsibility of the European information and communication technology (ITC) companies to respect human rights. It explores the characteristics of the ICT sector and the connected risks on human rights. The author submits that, when dealing with ICT companies, the recommendations enshrined in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) – including the second pillar on corporate responsibility to respect human rights – should be coordinated with the EU General Data Protection Regulation and the European Convention on Human Rights. Against this backdrop, the chapter focuses on two specific practices carried out by European ICT companies and their consistency with the aforementioned legal framework: the international transfer of personal data to non-European countries and the handling by corporations of requests posed by governments to disclose personal data and conduct bulk collections.
