Abstract/Summary

The use of operations in armed conflict that aim to shape a target audience's perceptions, attitudes, and behaviours is not new to the theory or practice of warfare. But digital technology has revolutionised the speed, scope, and scale at which such operations can be delivered and permit the creation of tailored psychological effects down to an individual level. However, as digital technology has evolved, the rules of the LOAC, which predate such technology, have remained essentially unchanged. Across eight sections, this paper considers the broad range of LOAC rules that regulate psychological operations delivered using digital means (‘digital psychological operations’) and the protections afforded to non-combatants from the more harmful applications of these tools and techniques. The first two sections consider the circumstances in which a DPO may amount to an ‘attack’ or ‘military operation’ under the LOAC. If these thresholds are reached, the rules applicable to targeting will apply. The third and fourth look respectively at the obligation to ‘respect’ and ‘ensure respect’ for the LOAC and the prohibition of acts or threats intended to spread terror among civilians. The fifth moves from obligations of general application to those concerning ‘protected persons’. How DPOs may implicate prohibitions related to collective penalties and measures of intimidation and terrorism is discussed before sections six through eight consider different aspects of the duty to treat protected persons humanely. This includes the explicit prohibitions of outrages upon personal dignity and the invitation of public curiosity. The paper concludes by observing that the rules are generally fit for purpose, but a lack of contemporary interpretative guidance hinders analysis. In the absence of authoritative insight grounded in the information age, less orthodox sources, like the policy decisions of companies such as Twitter, may be persuasive as they seek to limit the excessive digital ambitions of states in armed conflict.