The Lawfare Podcast Lawfare Daily: The European Court of Human Rights Takes on Digital Rights in War, with Asaf Lubin and Deb Housen-Couriel
Aug 22, 2025
Asaf Lubin, a contributing editor at Lawfare and a law professor at Indiana University, and Deborah Housen-Couriel from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, delve into the European Court of Human Rights' recent ruling affecting digital rights in war. They analyze implications for privacy amidst conflicts, the challenges posed by Russia’s non-participation in legal cases, and the impact of data collection on civilians in Ukraine. Their insights highlight the evolving landscape of warfare and the urgent need for international legal standards on digital privacy.
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Court Treats Wartime Digital Privacy Seriously
- The Ukraine v. Russia judgment treated digital privacy during wartime as a substantive human-rights issue, not merely a technical side note.
- The court devoted extensive analysis and emphasized the case's unprecedented scope and significance.
Filtration Was Mass, Systematic, And Harmful
- Russia operated a compulsory, systematic "filtration" regime collecting phones, biometrics, and personal data from roughly a million Ukrainians.
- The court found those measures violated Article 8 and acted as a gateway to further abuses like disappearances and forced adoptions.
Yale Lab's Open-Source Mapping Informed The Case
- Asaf highlighted the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab's open-source work mapping filtration sites and practices.
- Their investigation informed the court's findings and showed positive uses of digital forensics in war crimes research.