ECNL Senior Legal Advisor Marta Achler’s piece discusses why the internet and the online spaces are a ‘lifeline’ for expression and assembly during the coronavirus pandemic. She writes that this lifeline is under threat and deserves much more protection and how there is an immediate opportunity to change that.

The coronavirus is a significant threat to public health; it does not need to be a significant threat to civic freedom. In this article, ICNL explores this tension and how governments can move quickly while upholding human rights in their response to a public health crisis.