Today, the Global Network Initiative (GNI) and the Digital Trust & Safety Partnership (DTSP) are releasing a high-level summary of key themes, learnings, and recommendations from the Rights & Risks Forum held in Dublin in April, 2026.
The Forum was designed to encourage online services and platform companies to maintain a strong focus on the protection of fundamental rights, especially freedom of expression and privacy, at the centre of digital safety risk assessment methodology and practice. It focused on how technology companies can appropriately assess and mitigate risks to fundamental rights, taking into account responsible business conduct guidance, diverse regulatory requirements and expectations, trust barriers, and practical considerations.
This year’s program contextualized rights protection and risk management amidst a changing global environment that is shaping the design and implementation of regulatory frameworks. Discussions highlighted how, in the regulatory discourse, contested definitions of systemic risk threaten to eclipse human rights concepts. Against a backdrop of democratic backsliding, participants highlighted that the perception of digital spaces as inherently risky may provide cover for political abuse and government overreach. Participants argued that insufficient attention is currently given to practical implementation of the risk-based regulatory approach. Especially given the proliferation of online safety laws with distinct risk management requirements, the regulatory focus on risks can lead to restrictions or removals of lawful content. Participants also unpacked the ways in which shrinking civic space impacts risk identification and mitigation.
More than 90 experts from around the world attended the Forum. In addition to the organizers, participants included company practitioners from DTSP and GNI member companies, civil society experts, academics and independent researchers, and international organisation experts. In order to encourage candid discussion, government officials and regulators were not invited to the Forum.
This report highlights more than 50 recommendations drawn from the discussions. Examples include:
- Governments should explicitly center democratic values and international human rights standards within the text, design, and enforcement of risk-based public policies and regulations.
- Companies should base their approaches to risk management in international human rights law and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), independently of whether they are complying with legal obligations or conducting a voluntary assessment.
- Experts in business and human rights should do more to clarify how risk management frameworks can be legally and intellectually grounded in human rights.
The recommendations are ideas that emerged from the Forum’s discussion and are relevant for companies, governments and civil society to consider as they work to deliver effective regulation, risk management, and better experiences for people across the world.
DTSP and GNI look forward to continuing these conversations.
If you are interested in engaging further on this work, please reach out to us at info[at]globalnetworkinitiative.org and contact[at]dtspartnership.org.