GNI Submission to David Kaye November 2016
In last years’ report to the UN Human Rights Commission, Professor David Kaye, UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, concluded that states pressure on telecommunications companies and Internet service providers (ISPs) to restrict freedom of opinion and expression “requires further documentation and scrutiny.”
In our input to David Kaye’s study, we demonstrate that the GNI Principles and Implementation Guidelines are relevant across the ICT sector as companies respond to government requests that can impact freedom of expression and privacy rights of users. Furthermore, our collaboration with the Telecommunications Industry Dialogue provides a uniquely authoritative voice for engagement with international institutions and governments.
GNI urges governments that have made commitments to human rights online to report on the requests they make of companies to take down content or produce user data and to make it legally possible for companies to report regularly to the public on the requests they receive.
The Telecommunications Industry Dialogue submission, which aligns with the GNI submission, can be found on the Industry Dialogue website.