Following the global AI summit in Paris, today we are calling on the UK government to urgently develop and adopt a citizen-led UK Declaration of Digital Rights & Principles.

We agree with the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Peter Kyle, who on Monday said that: “Government does have agency in how technology is developed… We need to use that agency to reinforce our democratic principles, our liberal values and our democratic way of life.”

We welcome the government’s approach to unlocking the economic benefits of AI in the AI Opportunities Plan published last month. But we also need to ensure our rights and freedoms as UK citizens are extended into and protected in digital spaces. In the past 2 years, the EU, the UN and countries around the globe have adopted frameworks of digital rights. We must not be left behind.

With this in mind, we have issued an Open Letter calling on the government to:

Invite the public to have their say in a deliberative process that will shape the Declaration;
Establish a national digital rights network, including the rich diversity of civil society; legal and technological experts and academics; tech companies and industry representative bodies, to guide the Declaration’s development and ensure digital policy reflects the values of UK citizens;
Adopt the Declaration and integrate digital rights into future policy decisions.

The Declaration would not be legally binding, but would instead provide a set of cohesive, foundational and organising principles to help the government identify gaps in current legislation and guide future policymaking.

Through the development and adoption of the Declaration of Digital Rights & Principles, the UK can take an important step to build trust in our emerging digital policies and facilitate responsible innovation to drive growth that benefits us all – not just the few.

Our report, Advancing Digital Rights in 2025, takes a deeper look at the barriers and opportunities for advancing digital rights in the UK, EU and globally, written in partnership with the Oxford Martin School AI Governance Initiative.

To support our call, contact report lead author, Hannah Perry at: [email protected].