There is a clear link between human rights and technical standards setting. In this position paper, we list examples of how the two map, point to existing W3C work in this area, and provide concrete proposals to further the alignment between the W3C’s technical work and human rights.
Status of This Document
This section describes the status of this
document at the time of its publication. A list of current W3C
publications and the latest revision of this technical report can be found
in the
W3C standards and drafts index.
This document summarizes the Advisory Board’s current thinking, as of .
In October of 2025, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR issued Tech and Human Rights Study: Making technical standards work for humanity. This report was two years in the making, and progress on its development had previously been reported at the April 2024 W3C Advisory Committee meeting in Hiroshima. At that meeting, and in the final report, the OHCHR cited structural work in the W3C, specifically the Ethical Web Principles and the Code of Conduct, as key enablers linking the development of technical standards to human rights goals.
The Ethical Web Principles, developed by the Technical Architecture Group and subsequently elevated to the status of W3C Statement, states that one goal of the document is to put internationally recognized human rights at the core of the web platform. That wording was also quoted in OHCHR’s final report. The W3C Vision, led by the Advisory Board and also subsequently elevated to W3C Statement status, echoes these sentiments by stating that “the web is for all humanity”, that it is designed for the “good of all people,” and that it must be “safe to use.”
W3C as an organization has a strong track record of aligning our work with ethical / human rights goals. Accessibility and internationalization are two long-standing areas where W3C has created a reputation in this space. More recently, there has been work on privacy with the publication as a W3C Statement of the Privacy Principles and the creation of the Privacy Working Group. In some cases, W3C has addressed human rights issues after a technology was already deployed, for example mitigating privacy issues related to the use of the Geolocation API by requiring HTTPS. Work on web sustainability and societal impacts are some other burgeoning examples. Also, W3C is a non-profit with a responsibility to operate for the public good.
Other standards developing organizations and related groups have efforts around human rights as well:
As the UN report details, many regulatory and policy initiatives are founded in human rights. It therefore follows that technical standards which are also aligned with human rights will lead to greater alignment with global regulation, leading to easier adoption of W3C standards.
Overall, we need to normalize the linkage between technical standards and human rights and further integrate human rights into our culture and operations.
2. Examples of Specific Human Rights Mappings
The relationship between human rights and web standards is not only abstract. Many standards produced at W3C are related to specific human rights as outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Some examples of that mapping:
Article 3, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and the security of person”, is related to security and identity.
Article 5, “no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”, and Article 12, “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence…”, are related to web privacy, which is addressed in the Privacy Principles. Specifications in the area are being developed in the Privacy Working Group.
Article 19, “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression” is related to web privacy (“holding opinions without interference”), to the “one web” principle (“receive and impart information … regardless of frontiers”), to accessibility of authoring, and to open protocols to publish on the web (HTML, HTTP, ActivityPub). While not all of these specifications are developed at W3C, W3C can still play a role in raising human rights requirements.
Article 20, “Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.”, is related to web privacy since lack of privacy (surveillance) can have a chilling effect on association.
Article 21, “Everyone has the right to take part in the government…”, is related to accessibility and internationalization, as many interactions between citizens and governments are mediated via the web.
3. Proposed Actions
The following are concrete proposals for additional structural changes for the W3C that could help to further the goal of aligning the technical work program of W3C with the furtherance of human rights.
3.1 Periodic and Transparent Human Rights in W3C Standards Reporting
W3C should issue a public human rights transparency report every year that outlines technical reports, documents, and programs that can help advance human rights. It should also state the W3C’s plans for new documents and programs. In doing so, we should emphasize that the focus is on the standards we produce, reviews and responses. This report should also include information on already-deployed web technologies.
3.2 Human Rights / Societal Impact / Ethical Review Process
The wide review process of W3C should be expanded by adding more reviews which directly impact alignment with human rights. This should make use of existing consensus documents such as those coming out of the TAG and other groups, expanding beyond privacy, accessibility, and internationalization into areas such as societal impact.
3.3 Threats and Harms Community Group
It may be appropriate to create a Threats and Harms Community Group, with an explicit charter to develop documentation around threats and harms related to human rights issues. For example: human rights threat modelling, and principles, checklists, or questionnaires that could become part of wide review. A Community Group would have the advantage of open participation at no cost. This group should have participation from civil society groups.
3.4 Program to Increase Diversity of Participation (and Inclusion) in W3C
A structured program that could include fee waivers, funded fellowships, upskilling initiatives, mentorship, training, and institutional partnerships. The goal is to get more stakeholders involved at all stages, including during charter creation, and to empower groups to address social harms (see “Overcoming barriers to participation and inclusion” in the UN report).
3.5 Participation Program for Civil Society Groups
We need to encourage the participation of more civil society groups, for example by lowering barriers to membership for NGOs that are working towards the public good. This could also include allocating funding for participants of such groups to attend Working Group meetings or TPAC. We propose exploring this topic jointly between the AB and the Team to come up with a set of concrete proposals.