The Global Network Initiative (GNI) is pleased to welcome Factum, the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI), and Sanjana Hattotuwa to its growing membership. Factum and OONI bring valuable expertise to GNI’s NGO constituency, and Sanjana Hattotuwa strengthens GNI’s Academic constituency. GNI’s Executive Director Jason Peielemeier welcomed all three new members, “GNI is incredibly pleased that Factum, OONI, and Sanjana Hattotuwa are joining. Their expertise will enrich all of our members’ understanding of digital policy developments in South Asia, as well as around network disruptions and related measurements. We are very excited to welcome them into our growing, multistakeholder network.”
Factum is a Sri Lanka-based independent policy implementer and think-tank that offers critical insights, analyses and perspectives on International Relations, Tech Cooperation, Strategic Communications, Digital Content Interventions, and Climate Outreach.
“Factum is pleased to become Sri Lanka’s first organization to be accepted as a GNI member. We look forward to learning from and sharing with fellow GNI members how best to navigate state engagement and platform accountability in upholding FoE and FoA without infringing on digital rights and dignity.”
– Omar Rajaratnam, Executive Director/ Co-Founder
The Open Observatory of Networks Interference (OONI) is a non-profit free software project that empowers decentralized efforts to document internet censorship worldwide through open-source tools, real-time data, and research. Through the OONI Probe app and global community contributions, over a billion network measurements from 200+ countries have been published to help track, analyze, and report censorship events. 
“We are excited to join the Global Network Initiative in support of a shared commitment to protecting digital rights and internet freedom worldwide. As part of the GNI community, we look forward to contributing our expertise in internet censorship measurement and collaborating to defend a free and open internet.”
– Maria Xynou, OONI Director of Strategic Engagement.
Sanjana Hattotuwa is an independent expert studying the causes, effects, and impact of information disorders on democracy, institutions, and social cohesion. He founded and served as Editor of Groundviews in Sri Lanka, and serves as a Special Advisor to the ICT4Peace Foundation.
“It is such a privilege to support Global Network Initiative’s vital work in safeguarding human rights within our increasingly contested, and challenging digital lives, and landscapes. My research has documented how complex information disorders, and platform failures disproportionately harm communities in the Global South, where democratic institutions face autocratic pressures now worryingly mirrored in the Global North as well. GNI’s multi-stakeholder approach is a unique, and vital framework to ensure that technology companies recognise, and meaningfully address real, and lasting harms – both offline, and online – impacting communities, identities, and societies where fevered digital transformations intersect with fragile governance structures.”