Harms to individuals may not be immediately obvious. A human rights-based framework should be integrated throughout the DPI life cycle to anticipate, assess, and effectively mitigate any potential human rights harms and power differentials.

DPI should be introduced with a clear legal basis, with required legal and regulatory aspects embedded into its design, supported with capacity for sector specific tailoring (such as health), implementation, oversight and regulation by law.

All individuals, regardless of intersecting identities, should have unbiased access and equal opportunity. Risks due to the circumstances of all vulnerable communities, historically marginalized groups and those who opt-out should be mitigated.

DPI should be developed with democratic participation, have public oversight, promote fair market competition and avoid vendor lock-in. All partnerships should be transparent, accountable and publicly governed.

All individuals should have a choice of channels (digital/non-digital) to access and benefit from services enabled by DPI based on their individual capacity and resources. Access should not be limiting, conditional or mandatory — explicitly or in practice.

All stages of the DPI life cycle should centre on the needs and interests of individuals and communities at risk. They should participate at critical junctures and provide feedback actively in an environment of transparency and trust.

Ensure that everyone (especially indigenous communities with sui generis rights), on their own or with assistance, can take control of their data, promote their agency, exercise choice, and contribute to their society’s well-being.

The building blocks for safe and inclusive DPI:

• F1. Do no harm

• F2. Do not discriminate

• F3. Do not exclude

Complaint response and redress mechanisms, avenues for appeal without reprisal, supported by robust administrative and judicial review, should be accessible to all in a transparent and equitable manner during service delivery.

Inculcating foresight is key to anticipating and limiting long term and inter-generational harms. For example, mitigating the environmental impact with a net-zero strategy or minimizing resource needs with reuse of software.