[REPLAY] Standford winter webinar with Florence G’sell on “The Impact of Blockchains for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law”

To kick off 2023, Florence G’sell, holder of the Digital, Governance and Sovereignty Chair at Sciences Po participated in a webinar organized by the Program on Democracy and the Internet (PDI) at the Stanford Cyber Policy Center (CPC).

She presented the new report of the Council of Europe entitled “The Impact of Blockchains for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law“. This report was co-authored by Professor G’sell and Professor Florian Martin-Bariteau (Associate Professor of Law and Chair in Technology and Society, University of Ottawa). The session was moderated by Nate Persily of the Program on Democracy and the Internet.

Blockchain technology presents an opportunity for governments, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, industry stakeholders, and, more generally, members of the public to engage in the recognition of and respect for human rights as well as to resolve current human rights issues. Although the technology is most often associated with cryptocurrencies and other financial instruments or assets, development of decentralized applications and “smart contracts” also allows for the deployment of systems to manage anything from digital identities to medical records, land titles and zoning registries, intellectual property rights, digital identity, voting systems, supply chain and aid.

The report entitled “The Impact of Blockchains for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law” explores the risks and potential benefits of blockchain technology for democracy, human rights and the rule of law. It presents different use opportunities in line with the Council of Europe’s global democratic agenda to advance democratic functions and ensure accountability and transparency. The report also discusses some of the legal issues that may arise from the use of this technology, with emphasis on matters that may welcome leadership from the Council of Europe in regards to the protection of anonymity and privacy rights; the legal status of automated contracts and decentralized autonomous organizations; and the conflict of law and jurisdiction due to the distributed and global nature.