digital due process

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

the application and adaptation of due process principles — notice, opportunity to be heard, fair and impartial decision-making, and access to effective remedies — to government surveillance of digital communications and data, and to automated digital systems that make consequential decisions affecting individual rights; in the law enforcement context digital due process concerns whether traditional legal standards requiring judicial authorisation for searches adequately protect the vast quantities of sensitive personal information now stored digitally — from emails and messages to location histories and financial records — from government access without sufficient oversight; in the administrative and algorithmic decision-making context it concerns whether individuals receive adequate notice of automated decisions affecting their rights, meaningful opportunity to challenge them, and access to human review; digital due process is a field in rapid development as both government surveillance capabilities and algorithmic decision-making systems expand