Freedom is the institutional and legal protection against unjustified external interference with what people may say, do, or believe.
In international law, these are expressed as concrete rights, such as the freedoms of expression, association, movement, religion, and privacy. In AI contexts, freedom is at stake when governments or platforms restrict speech, enable pervasive surveillance, or impose blanket rules that are not lawful, necessary, and proportionate.
Data-protection rules, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), strengthen freedom from unwarranted surveillance and misuse of personal data by giving people enforceable controls over data collection and processing.
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