The outgoing United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of expression, Ms Irene Khan, has warned that the growing convergence of State authority and the power of dominant technology companies is creating a global “crisis of expression” that threatens democracy, media freedom, and the ability of people to form independent opinions.
In her final report to the UN Human Rights Council at the end of her six years as Special Rapporteur, Ms. Khan argued that the digital information environment is increasingly being shaped by a small group of governments, technology platforms, and artificial intelligence companies whose commercial and political interests are eroding freedom of expression, information integrity, and human rights.
The Special Rapporteur called on governments and other stakeholders to resist what she described as the concentration of informational power in the hands of a few dominant actors, stressing that there are no gaps in international human rights law but that “What is missing is the political will and collective strength to build a global strategy to resolve a global crisis.”
The 18-page report noted that the alignment of State and corporate power has narrowed civic space while amplifying disinformation, hate speech, and incitement, weakening democratic institutions and increasing distrust, polarization, and violence.
According to the Special Rapporteur, the consequences are not borne by those who profit from digital technologies but by journalists whose livelihoods are undermined, women who are silenced online, children who are exposed to harmful digital environments, and citizens of countries around the world whose access to trustworthy information is increasingly compromised.
A central theme of the report is the unprecedented influence exercised by what she described as “tech oligarchs”, made up of a small number of powerful owners of digital platforms and AI companies who make decisions affecting billions of users without meaningful democratic oversight or accountability.
The Special Rapporteur warned that these actors now wield greater influence over global information flows than traditional media owners ever possessed, while often escaping responsibility for the societal consequences of their decisions.
The report cited recent policy changes by major technology companies that relaxed content moderation and reduced independent fact-checking, arguing that such decisions were taken without adequate human rights due diligence despite their far-reaching implications for online discourse.
It also expressed concerns about AI-powered information services that combine content generation with platform control, warning that they pose significant challenges for transparency, accountability, and information integrity.
The Special Rapporteur expressed particular concern about the deteriorating state of journalism worldwide, although she acknowledged that digital technologies have expanded opportunities for investigative reporting, cross-border collaboration, and audience engagement.
She noted that journalists now face escalating levels of physical violence, imprisonment, surveillance, online abuse, and economic insecurity while AI-generated search summaries and platform algorithms are diverting audiences away from news organisations, reducing advertising revenues and placing increasing pressure on media outlets to prioritise speed and virality over accuracy and public-interest reporting.
The report highlighted the growing crisis facing local journalism, noting that media organisations are struggling financially in more than 160 countries and that “news deserts” continue to expand in many parts of the world.
At the same time, it observed that new forms of journalism, including subscription-based platforms and individual journalist creators, are emerging as alternative models for reaching audiences, although they also present challenges relating to editorial standards and accountability.
The report cited Nigeria as a country where news creators have become particularly influential with the rise of the online journalist influencer, or “news creator”, which is gaining traction, especially in many countries in the Global South.
The Special Rapporteur said: “In Nigeria, over 60 per cent of individuals now report paying attention to such creators”, adding that “The impact of journalist influencers has been such that over three quarters of publishers around the world now indicate that they want their staff to behave more like personality-based creators.”
The report also examined growing efforts by governments to regulate digital platforms, cautioning that although there is a need for oversight, regulation can become a tool for suppressing lawful expression if it lacks independence, transparency, and adherence to international human rights standards.
The Special Rapporteur drew a contrast between regulatory initiatives designed to improve platform accountability and measures that effectively facilitate censorship or excessive State control over online information.
Addressing children’s rights in the digital environment, the report warned against blanket age-based bans on social media, arguing that such restrictions may be disproportionate, discriminatory and ineffective.
Instead, it called on governments to require technology companies to embed child safety into the design of digital platforms and AI systems through robust human rights due diligence and age-appropriate protections.
The report also drew attention to the emerging risks posed by generative AI systems, including chatbots, capable of forming manipulative relationships with children and tools capable of generating harmful or sexualised content involving minors.
The Special Rapporteur urged States, international organisations, civil society, researchers, and independent media to build broad coalitions to defend freedom of expression and restore healthy information ecosystems, arguing that although international human rights standards already provide an adequate legal foundation, stronger political commitment and collective action are needed to ensure meaningful corporate accountability.
She proposed measures such as independent regulation of digital platforms, stronger data protection laws, effective human rights due diligence requirements for technology companies, greater interoperability and data portability to reduce dependence on dominant platforms, and policies that promote competition, media pluralism, and innovation in the AI sector.
The report also highlighted emerging alternatives, including decentralised digital platforms and community-driven information initiatives, as evidence that more democratic and human-centred digital ecosystems are possible.
