Human Rights apply online and offline alike. Learn about threats to human rights in the digital age and how human rights can be defended online. Explore issues such as online discrimination, predictive policing and mass surveillance with online courses that are free to audit.
Data Ethics, AI and Responsible Innovation (University of Edinburgh)
This online course which is taught in English and offered by University of Edinburgh tackles some of the human rights issues that will become increasingly important over the next years: Predictive policing, medical robots, smart homes and cities, artificial intelligences already have a significant impact in many societies. In this story-driven course you will look at real-world controversies and ethical challenges posed by big data, AI systems, and machine learning systems. You will explore case studies, structured around core concerns being raised by society, governments and industry, such as bias, fairness, rights, data re-use, data protection and data privacy, discrimination, transparency and accountability. The course takes roughly 20 hours to complete and is self-paced. While the course is available to audit for free, you can opt-in for a paid verified certificate.
Tech for Good: The Role of ICT in Achieving the SDGs (SDG Academy)
Tech for Good is an online course offered by the SDGAcademy. In this course you will explore what opportunities and challenges digital technologies present for the development of our society. The course covers a broad range of human rights-related issues including digital inclusivity, equity and access to services, universal health coverage, artificial intelligence and privacy rights. The course will also showcase how digital technologies are empowering billions of people around the world by providing access to education, healthcare and government services. This course is taught by a dozen instructors including thought leaders, change makers and subject matter experts from UNESCO, UNSDSN, Columbia University and AGESIC. The course takes roughly 40 hours to complete and is self-paced. While you can choose to audit the course for free, a verified certificate is available for an extra fee.
Privacy Law and Data Protection (University of Pennsylvania)
Privacy Law and Data Protection is a free online law course offered by the University of Pennsylvania in the United States. The four-week class provides learners with a broad introduction into privacy laws. You will learn about methods for protecting privacy using the Fair Information Principles, identify the laws and regulations that pertain to data protection and develop strategies for managing compliance issues related to privacy laws and data protection. The entire course takes roughly 12 hours to complete and is available to audit for free. You can choose to obtain a verified certificate for an extra fee.
Privacy in the Western World (EIT Digital)
EIT Digital is a pan-European organization whose mission is to foster digital technology innovation and entrepreneurial talent. In this course you will study recent events, case studies and court cases and discuss how they relate to our privacy rights and freedoms. The course which is taught in English and has subtitles in simplified Chinese takes roughly 5 hours to complete. In this course you will also learn about cybercrime, cyber-investigation, privacy and data protection. The sixth module of the course is specifically dedicated to International Cooperation and Human Rights. While you can study this course online for free, you need to pay a fee to obtain a verified certificate.
Digital Security and Human Rights (Amnesty International)
Digital Security and Human Rights is an online course offered by the human rights organization Amnesty International. The course takes roughly five hours to complete and consists of three parts: Digital Security and Human Rights; Reclaiming Our Rights, Freedoms and Privacy Online; Speaking up for Human Rights in the Digital Age. In this course you will explore how freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, the right to seek, receive and impart information and the right to privacy relate to the digital world. You will investigate major threats to human rights such as malware, phishing, mass surveillance and data retention and how human rights defenders respond to the challenges they face online. Each module of the course is accompanied by an action-oriented learning module where you can analyze, assess and improve your own digital security practices. This course is free to audit. You can opt-in for a paid verified certificate for an extra fee.
