Jasmine McNealy Contributes to UN Human Rights Council Report

Jasmine McNealy, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications associate director of the Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project and Telecommunication associate professor, is a contributor to UCLA’s Promise Institute of Human Rights and the Center for Critical Internet Inquiry publication Human Rights, Racial Equality & New Information Technologies: Mapping the Structural Threats.

This document will inform a report by Tendayi Achiume, the UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, to be delivered to the UN Human Rights Council on July 16. It summarizes important highlights from leading researchers who are experts in their field and who have written extensively at the intersection of race and technology.

In McNealy’s article, “Amplifying ‘Otherness,’” she focuses on othering, “a system and structure that marginalizes and perpetuates inequality based on categories of identity, including religion, sex and race.” She argues that “emerging information technology is amplifying otherness through neglect, exclusion and disinformation, all of which have significant consequences.”

According to McNealy, “Legislation aimed at banning particular uses of technology and the deployment of harmful technology on the public is welcome. But even more impactful would be the passage or strengthening of laws aimed at remedying othering and historic and current impacts.”

Posted: July 8, 2020
Category: College News, Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project News
Tagged as: Jasmine McNealy, Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project