Given the growing number of GNI member companies, as well as changes to legal and regulatory frameworks in several key jurisdictions, GNI’s Board has decided that the next (fifth) assessment cycle will run until mid-2026, with independent assessments of GNI companies taking place on a rolling basis beginning in the second half of 2024 and running through the end of 2025. In addition, the Board has asked GNI’s Accountability Committee to make modifications to GNI’s Assessment Toolkit to reflect the need for assessments to be conducted in a tailored manner that takes into account overlaps with relevant reporting and due diligence requirements that each company may face. As we work through these changes, we anticipate that we will release a Request For Proposals for assessor accreditation and conduct assessor training in the first half of 2024.
About the GNI Assessments
The Global Network Initiative (GNI) is a multistakeholder organization made up of more than 90 leading organizations, including academics, civil society organizations, investors, and tech companies, with a mission to protect and advance freedom of expression and privacy rights. GNI’s diverse range of expert members come together to share information, learn, and collectively foster responsible business conduct and an appropriate role for government action.
Central to GNI’s work is the conduct of periodic, independent assessments of company members’ efforts to implement the GNI Principles on Freedom of Expression and Privacy and Implementation Guidelines. In December 2022, GNI completed its fourth independent assessment cycle. Information about prior assessment cycles, including each cycle’s respective public assessment report, can be found here.