Written Evidence Submitted by RAND Europe

Democratising access to digital spaces, technologies and services has significantly increased the number of actors that are able to leverage technological advances for a widening range of purposes. As a result, technological innovation has provided significant opportunities for global governance through democratising access to knowledge and information, as well as enabling new linkages between different actors and communities worldwide. Increasing connectivity has, for example, provided new opportunities for democratic participation and the exercising of freedom of opinion and expression through online platforms, as well as exchange of best practices among civil society organisations and others working to foster human rights in a digital age.