Join GNI

GNI membership brings together individual experts (including academics joining in their personal capacity) and academic institutions, civil society organizations, tech companies, and investors worldwide to promote privacy and freedom of expression. All constituencies actively promote the GNI Principles and work collaboratively in a multistakeholder manner while maintaining distinct roles. For example:

Academics contribute analysis, research, and insight into trends to the work of GNI
Civil Society Organizations bring their in-depth knowledge and expertise on human rights along with direct connection to people on the ground in many countries around the world
Companies commit to implementing and upholding the GNI Principles within their organizations
Investors include consideration of the issues covered in the GNI Principles in their investment decision-making

Interested organizations and individuals are encouraged to contact GNI to express their interest in GNI membership before submitting a statement of intent (SOI). For questions and your interest, you may reach out to [email protected]

In this section

GNI Membership

The academic constituency is open to individual experts (including academics) joining in their personal capacity and academic institutions.

Individual experts, including academics

The academic constituency allows members to join in their personal capacity. Potential applicants may be academics affiliated with a university or other institution of higher education in a given country, dedicated to independent research and teaching in the university environment in areas related to GNI’s mandate. Potential applicants may also be independent experts who possess an appropriate work history and demonstrable expertise in human rights and/or the Internet and technology sector.

You can read about the membership requirements for academic individuals in English, Spanish, and French.

The academic constituency is also open to research centers, clinics, institutes, or other entities affiliated with a nationally or internationally accredited/ recognized degree-granting institution, or an organization that has a primary purpose and demonstrated track record of conducting public interest, academic research related to the areas of international human rights, business and human rights/responsible business conduct, and/or technology policy.

You can read about the membership requirements for academic institutions in English, Spanish, and French.

The civil society constituency is open to research or advocacy-oriented organizations working on human rights, media freedom, and/or tech policy issues at global, regional, national, or local levels.

You can read about the membership requirements for civil society in English, Spanish, and French.

The company constituency is open to tech sector entities who would benefit from implementing the GNI Principles and Implementation Guidelines. These may include equipment vendors, network operators, telecommunications or Internet service providers, and others providing cloud, cybersecurity, software, and private network services. Applicants to this constituency may apply first for a one-year “observer” status, allowing participation in GNI’s policy, learning, and framework (but not accountability) activities on a trial basis.

Companies pay annual membership fees on a sliding scale according to revenue. Observers pay a reduced amount equal to 30 percent of their assessed full membership fee. You can read about the membership requirements for civil society in English, Spanish, and French.

Learn more about the value of GNI membership for companies in this one-pager. Also read the one-pager in Chinese, French, Hindi, Malay, Portuguese, Punjabi, Spanish, and Swahili.