Our Team

Principal Researcher

Yuval Shany

Prof. Shany oversees the work of the entire research team.

In addition, he explores the conditions in international law for recognizing new human rights, the adaptability of existing international human rights law to meet the challenges of the digital age

and the considerations relied upon by decision makers when selecting different right-protecting approaches.

He is also particularly interested in the right to a human decision maker.

Research Associates

Maria Varaki

Maria’s research addresses from a theoretical perspective the question if the state remains the beginning and the end point of reference for the protection of human rights.

while traditional human rights theories attributed. The central role to the state, the emergence of powerful non state actors that exercise elements of public power, invites a reassessment of the foundational conceptualization about the potential duty

holder(s). In this endeavor, several angles will be explored such as the concept of publicness and of governing space, the existence of HRs blackholes, the evolution of extraterritoriality (topos), the “risks” of self-regulation and the role of ethical

considerations within the broader context of what we call law of global governance.

Tomer Shadmy

Tomer Shadmy’s current research explores the construction of digital rights through non-human-rights law arrangements

These arrangements include technological design, private ordering, corporate governance, investment practices, and ethical mechanisms.

The study maps, conceptualizes, and problematizes the actual and potential use of these alternative sources for advancing the needs and interests served by digital human rights.

It also examines the interplay between these parallel tracks, as well as the pros and cons of advancing digital human rights through extra-legal arrangements.

Tamar Megiddo

Tamar Megiddo’s current research explores the limitations of human rights law in addressing and curbing the harms resulting from the international trade in spyware.

While human rights are apt to describe the relationship between a spyware target and the government spying on them and provide redress, this is arguably not the case with respect to the victim’s relationship with the state exporting or permitting the

export of military-grade spyware. It would often be difficult to attribute spyware-related violations of rights to the exporting government

and such abuse often takes place outside its jurisdiction and in a manner which would not meet the tests of extraterritorial jurisdiction.

Research Fellows

Amir Cahane

Amir’s research project, ‘Digital Rights and Surveillance,’ aims to review the evolving sphere of influence and reach of surveillance technology on digital rights,

and to examine whether existing legal frameworks award sufficient protection to individuals, and whether new digital rights require articulation.

The research project will explore these questions through the study of three surveillance measures: Counter-Encryption measures, social scoring systems and Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT).

Dafna Dror Shpoliansky

Dafna's research seeks to critically evaluate the normative gaps in the application of international human rights law in the digital environment.

In particular, it explores whether, and how, should international human rights law be adapted to provide an effective protection for individuals rights in the digital age.

Tal Mimran

Tal's research aims at exploring the role of new duty holders in the international plane - and particularly big-tech companies.

While International law is, by and large, a State-centric enterprise, we have witnessed in recent years that States growingly rely on big-tech companies in relation to cyberspace, including in connection to national critical infrastructures.

tates also rely on the private sector also in development of new technologies, with dual-use applications, and in their cyber-defense operations.

The role of Microsoft in Ukraine is a case in point.

Against this backdrop, Tal seeks to understand if the time has come to increase the role of tech-companies in international discussion concerning the application of law to cyberspace

and in the creation and maintenance of mechanisms that cope with the challenges and risks of the digital age.

Three Generations of Digital Human Rights