Issues and topics featured
Six civil society organizations with outstanding expertise on freedom of expression and privacy issues in the ICT sector add their diverse perspectives and expertise to the GNI community.
The Citizens Protection (Rules Against Online Harm) 2020, approved by the Government of Pakistan on 21 January 2020, creates significant risks for the privacy and free expression rights of ICT users both within and outside of Pakistan.
Two recent rulings by the Court of Justice of the European Union — Google vs. CNIL and Glawischnig-Piesczek vs. Facebook — fail to sufficiently consider freedom of expression and privacy risks when EU countries' domestic authorities assert global authority and jurisdiction over online content. Greater efforts at intergovernmental and multistakeholder deliberation are needed to determine the appropriate scope of application for domestic legal orders on global internet companies.
GNI is deeply concerned about reports of network disruptions across India, including in New Delhi, amid mass protests. GNI urges the government to consider its international commitments to freedom of expression and the risks disruptions pose for public safety, health and emergency services, the economy, and the news media.
As the practice of human rights due diligence takes root in the technology sector, how can companies keep pace with new risks to freedom of expression and privacy? Read GNI members' lessons learned from ten years of HRDD and thoughts on the road ahead in the 2019 learning forum event report.
“GNI welcomes WOUGNET’s policy advocacy and gender perspective on the use of technology, which will enrich our endeavors to protect the rights of freedom of expression and privacy around the world,” said GNI Executive Director Judith Lichtenberg.
The new and improved GNI Country Legal Frameworks Resource (CLFR) is Live! The CLFR centralizes and facilitates search and comparison across a repository of more than 50 country-specific reports on governments' authorities to access user data or restrict communications.
“Ericsson's membership is a testament to their corporate commitment to protect and advance freedom of expression and privacy globally, bringing valuable expertise on vendor-specific issues on ICT and human rights to GNI,” said GNI Executive Director Judith Lichtenberg. Ericsson joins after participating as an observer.
Starting in March 2020, the new Independent Chair will be prepared to dedicate at least one-fifth of their time to working closely with the GNI Board, Executive Director and staff, participants and other stakeholders to strengthen GNI as a global standard and force for freedom of expression and the right to privacy across the ICT sector.
We are concerned that the approach outlined in the White Paper is both too broad and unnecessarily vague. We ask the government to take the time necessary to narrow and flesh-out its approach in more detail, in broad consultation with all stakeholders and before moving forward with legislation, in order to protect freedom of expression online, promote innovation and competition, and provide the coherence and certainty that the government seeks to deliver.
