GNI 2011 Annual Report

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Protecting and Advancing Freedom of

Expression and Privacy in Information and

Communication Technologies

2011 Annual Report

www.globalnetworkinitiative.org


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T H E G L O B A L N E T W O R K I N I T I A T I V E

HIGHLIGHTsGNIs key achievements rom the past year include:

7 The frst assessments o our three ounding companiesGoogle, Microso t, and Yahoo!wereconducted during 2011 and early 2012. This report details that process and its preliminary conclusions andexplains how the assessments will in orm GNIs uture work.

7 GNI gained nine new participant organizations rom six countries. New members include academic orga-nizations, investors, and civil society groups rom Argentina, Denmark, India, Sweden, the United Kingdom,and the United States. Two companies, Evoca and Websense, joined GNI in 2011, the rst new corporatemembers since the ormation o the initiative.

7 We increased our ocus on policy engagement and learning. We responded at key moments to eventsin Egypt, the United Kingdom, and the United States, raising our collective voice on issues ranging romintellectual property to intermediary liability. GNI hosted learning calls on topics including governmentjurisdiction over data and cloud computing and organized an emerging issues discussion series on accountdeactivation and content removal.

7 We produced original research on the human rights risks acing ICT companies. We publishedProtecting Human Rights in the Digital Age, a report by corporate responsibility consultancy BSR, and wecommissioned a new research project on the interconnection o reedom o expression, privacy, law en orce-ment, and national security. As part o the research, we held discussion orums with governments, compa-nies, and civil society in London, Washington, and New Delhi.

7 GNI presented at high-profle international ora , including events at the European Parliament on humanrights and the ICT sector and on Internet regulation and companies sel -governance. We participated inpolicymaking consultations with the United Nations, the Council o Europe, and the Organization orEconomic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In September, GNI hosted its rst workshop at theInternet Governance Forum in Nairobi, Kenya.

7 Senior government o fcials highlighted GNI in public statements , including Dutch Foreign Minister UriRosenthal, European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes, Swedish Minister o Foreign A airs CarlBildt, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague, and U.S. Secretary o State Hillary Rodham Clinton.


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TABLE OF CONTENTs | 1

TABLE OF CONTENTsHighlight inside cover

The Beneft o GNI Member hip 1

Me age rom E ecutive Director su an Morgan 2

Me age rom Independent Chair Jerm n Brook 3

Our Work 4

I) seeding a Global standard or Free E pre ion and Privac in the ICT sector 4

II) Helping Technolog Companie Chart an Ethical Path Forward 6

III) U ing Our Collective Voice to Change Polic and Advance Human Right Worldwide 13

The Future o GNI 16 About GNI 17

THE BENEFITs OF GNIMEMBERsHIP

For companies:7 Build global public trust in your brand by demon-

strating you care about users rights around theworld

7 Manage company risk exposure and improvedecision-making through GNI Principles, guide-lines, and accountability

7 Bene t rom a unique opportunity to work throughcomplex issues and learn in a sa e space, gaininginsight rom other companies, civil society, inves-tors, and academic participants

For all stakeholders:7 Work with a unique coalition o experts on a

pressing and complex global challenge

7 Engage in public policy as part o a

diverse coalition7 Demonstrate leadership in a critical area o

social policy

7 Build a global standard or corporate responsibilityin the ICT sector

To nd out more, go to www.globalnetworkinitiative.org


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2 | 2011 ANNUAL REPORT


MEssAGE FROM

ExECUTIVE DIRECTORsUsAN MORGAN

T he human rights implications o in ormation and communicationtechnologies (ICTs) are in the global spotlight in an unprecedentedmanner. The catalytic role that technology has played in supporto democratic aspirations in the Middle East and around the world isundeniable, but so too are the uses o technology by governments to aid insurveillance and the suppression o rights. We welcome the growing inter-

national consensus around business and human rights, as well as the collaborative e orts o some governments,

companies, and civil society groups to promote an open Internet.

The Global Network Initiative (GNI) brings together companies, civil society organizations, investors, andacademics to orge a common approach to these challenges. In a pivotal year, we:

7 Pioneered the independent assessment o our ounding companiesGoogle, Microso t, and Yahoo!ontheir implementation o the GNI Principles.

7 Expanded our membership, gaining nine new participants in six countries, including companies romdi erent areas o the ICT sector and civil society, investors, and academics rom around the world.

7 Contributed to global policy debates and the development o international standards on human rights andInternet governance.

7 Raised our collective voice at key moments, rom the Internet shutdown in Egypt to the battle over copyrightlegislation in the United States.

7 Conducted cutting-edge research and real-time learning on ree expression and privacy in the tech sector.

GNI builds upon similar e orts in other sectors that have come under scrutiny with regard to human rightsissues. Our ambitions are substantial, refecting the scale and scope o the challenges acing the ICT sector.Although we are pleased with our progress in terms o growth and internationalization, there is clearly a longway to go. We welcome eedback and constructive criticism as we continue our work.

This report sets out GNIs progress since our Inaugural Report, ocusing on the di erence we are making in

seeding a global standard or ree expression and privacy, helping companies to chart an ethical path orward,and using our collective voice to change policy and advance human rights worldwide.

Susan Morgan


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MEssAGE FROM GNI ExECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND INDEPENDENT CHAIR | 3


MEssAGE FROM

INDEPENDENT CHAIRJERMyN BROOKs

A ter a year serving as the rst independent chair o the GNIBoard, I am pleased to report that GNI is making great progresswith its multi-stakeholder approach to a demanding new area: theresponsibilities o ICT sector companies or the human rights o theirusers. As companies ranging rom telecommunications to web services

grapple with the human rights implications o their work, they are recognizing the value o credible voluntarycorporate action.

From my own previous experience in business and civil society, GNI has created something unique: a perma-nent dialogue among business, NGOs, investors, and academia as both a learning plat orm and a orumcommitted to nding solutions to human rights challenges in the ast-moving ICT world. It is there ore notsurprising that GNI has also gained recognition rom governments and international organizations worldwideas a model or how the ICT sector can proactively engage on ree expression and privacy concerns. In 2011, GNIhas grown both in size, with new members joining rom Europe, India, and Latin America, and in maturity,with the ounding companies undergoing the rst-ever process o independent assessment o their work to dateto implement the initiatives Principles, a crucial landmark.

As GNI is poised or urther growth in 2012, it is important that we proactively prepare or the implicationso the massive increases in mobile access across emerging economies. These will create huge opportunities or

users, but will also trigger new challenges as governments attempt to manage and control newly connectedpopulations. These issues can only be addressed through rank and inclusive dialogue among stakeholders.

In line with its growth, GNI has made progress on a very modest budget in pro essionalizing its organization andadding sta . Enormous thanks are due to the members o the Board, who have worked unstintingly at meetingsto drive orward our initiative during the year, presented GNIs perspectives at numerous con erences, contrib-uted to policy statements, and provided advice to non-member companies operating in di cult circumstancesunder autocratic regimes. Thanks also go to the Open Society Foundations and the MacArthur Foundation,which have provided critical unding and institutional support. Above all, thanks go to our small executiveteam, without whose e orts neither our expansion nor the assessment process could have been achieved.

Jermyn Brooks


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OUR WORK

The work o GNI gained momentum and globalrelevancy during 2011. The role o ICTs inconnecting activists and catalyzing protest

in the Middle East and North A rica has been welldocumented, as has regimes use o these technolo-gies to crack down on activists.1 In the a termath o revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, investigativejournalists and activists ound evidence that Westerncompanies were among the vendors o the technolo-gies used by states to monitor their citizens, raisingnew questions about these companies human rightsobligations.2 These stories have prompted renewedinterest in both the United States and Europe inregulatory measures around exports o ICT productsand services.

The challenges o navigating the nexus o humanrights and technology are too complicated or anysingle company or human rights activist to managealone. GNIs comparative advantage is the pooledexpertise and resources o its participants. In thisreport, we describe the highlights rom the past yearand key challenges or the uture.

I) Seeding a Global Standard forFree Expression and Privacy inthe ICT SectorGNI aims to set a global standard or the ICT sectoron reedom o expression and privacy. This is acomplex and dynamic challenge.

GNI is ounded upon Principles on Freedom o Expression and Privacy that all its participants

commit to uphold. These Principles are based oninternationally recognized laws and standards orhuman rights, including the Universal Declaration o Human Rights (UDHR), the International Covenanton Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the Inter-national Covenant on Economic, Social and CulturalRights (ICESCR).

The Principles, as well as the accompanying Imple-mentation Guidelines that set out in greater detailhow participating companies will implement thePrinciples in practice, were the product o two yearso extensive negotiations among the companies, civilsociety organizations, investors, and academics thatculminated in the ormation o GNI in 2008.

Addressing Challenges Acrossthe SectorGNI addresses ree expression and privacy risks orcompanies at all points along the ICT value chain,rom manu acturers o hardware to providers o telecommunications and web services. To this end,GNI has been engaged in dialogue with companiesacross the ICT sector since its inception in 2008.To urther this work and to highlight the issuesthat are aced across the sector, we commissionedProtecting Human Rights in the Digital Age, areport by Dunstan Allison Hope o the corporate-responsibility consultancy BSR, which was publishedin February 2011.3

Increasing MembershipGNI conducted extensive outreach around the worldto raise awareness o our approach and expand ourmembership across all constituencies, gaining ninenew participants in six countries. The two companiesthat joined GNI in 2011 are the rst new corporatemembers since the ormation o the initiative. In

July, start-up company Evoca became the rst non-ounding company to join GNI, demonstrating thatour Principles are relevant to newer rms as well aslarger, established multinationals.

Evoca is a cloud-based voice-to-web service thatmakes it easy to record and publish anyones voice.Evoca is a plat orm or ree expression, and so GNIis a natural t or us, Evoca CEO Murem Sharpesaid. As an early stage web services company, we

1. See Leila Hassanin, Egypts 25 January Revolution: The Role o the Internet and Mobile Technology in Social Resistance andPublic Demonstrations, Global In ormation Society Watch 2011, available at http://www.giswatch.org/en/2011.

2. In particular see Bloomberg News Wired or Repression series, available at http://topics.bloomberg.com/wired- or-repression, andthe Wall Street Journal Censorship, Inc. series, available at http://topics.wsj.com/subject/C/censorship-inc/6743.

3. Dunstan Allison Hope, Protecting Human Rights in the Digital Age: Understanding Evolving Freedom o Expression and PrivacyRisks in the In ormation and Communications Technology Industry, BSR, February 2011, available at http://www.globalnetworki-nitiative.org/cms/uploads/1/BSR_ICT_Human_Rights_Report.pd .


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to the editor, Collaborating over Human Rights. 7 The letter responded to Skapinkers commentson the risks acing Internet and telecommunica-tions companies by noting that those companiesseeking an ethical course o action need not actalone and re erencing the work o GNI.

Engaging with CompaniesGNIs Governance Charter allows or the develop-ment and adaptation o the Implementation Guide-lines as we receive eedback rom stakeholders and asnew issues emerge.8

In 2011, GNI has continued to pursue dialogue acrossthe ICT sector, but also increased engagement with

speci c telecommunications rms. GNI believes thatthe time is now right to address issues in this part o the sector. Our goal in doing so is to demonstrate thevalue o GNI membership or these companies.

Questions around dual-use hardware technologies,such as routing and network equipment that canbe used or censorship and surveillance purposes,continue to be a di cult challenge, with new legisla-tion proposed in both the European Parliament andthe US Congress that aims to restrict the export o these technologies to oppressive governments. Thesequestions have been raised during GNI implemen-tation dialogues, and we will continue to pool ourexpertise to explore ways orward.

Providing Practical Recommendationsfor Companies, Governments, andCivil Society There are legitimate reasons or companies, lawen orcement agencies, and governments to cooperatein monitoring online activity, such as removingimages o child exploitation or con ronting raud,terrorism, or crime. However, there are instancesin which government requests can be overly broad,vague, or illegitimate, harming the human rights o users. Finding the balance between these priorities isnot easy.

In late 2011, GNI commissioned a new researchproject to explore the interconnection o reedom o

expression, privacy, law en orcement and nationalsecurity and develop recommendations or corporate,government, and civil-society stakeholders. GNI iscollaborating with Ian Brown o the Ox ord InternetInstitute and Douwe Kor o London MetropolitanUniversity and has held discussion orums in London,Washington, and New Delhi.

II) Helping Technology Companies Chart an EthicalPath ForwardGNI bridges the gap between corporate respon-sibility and accountability by o ering a practical

ramework through which companies can imple-ment the Principles. Its unique credibility is basedupon the inclusion o stakeholders rom civil society,academics, and investors and the transparency thatcomes rom public reporting on the independentassessment process.

First, this section o ers an update on implementa-tion progress since the last report, including sharedlearning. Second, it reports on the ndings o theinaugural independent assessments o GNIs threeounding companies conducted during 2011.

Implementation UpdatesGNIs 2010 report detailed the steps taken by thethree ounding companies toward putting thePrinciples into action. During 2011, the companiescontinued implementation as they prepared or assess-ments. Highlights o the past year include:

G ooGleDuring the Internet shutdown in Egypt, describedin more detail later in this report, Google worked

together with engineers at Twitter and SayNow, acompany that Google had just acquired, to developSpeak2Tweet, an application that allows anyone totweet using only a voice connection. 9 This tech-nology allowed Egyptians to communicate usingsocial media during the shutdown, with thousands o spoken tweets posted in the ollowing days.

7. See http://www.globalnetworkinitiative.org/newsandevents/GNI_Letter.php.

8. See Governance Charter, available at http://www.globalnetworkinitiative.org/charter/index.php.9. See http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/some-weekend-work-that-will-hope ully.html and http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2011-02-04-google-egypt-twitter-tool_N.htm.


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OUR WORK | 7


In 2010 Google built an online Transparency Reportas a deterrent to censorship and to educate usersand others. The company made enhancements to itduring 2011. These include adding graphs or eachregion that show tra c patterns or all products inaggregate, as well as greater detail on the reasonswhy governments request content to be removed andon the percentage o user data requests that Googlehas complied with in whole or in part. 10 Google alsobegan to disclose the number o users or accountsthat are speci ed in those requests. 11

M icrosoft

As reported last year, Microso t aced a challenge inRussia regarding intellectual property rights en orce-ment actions against the media, 12 NGOs, and othercivil society organizations. In collaboration withHuman Rights First (HRF), Microso t met in all2010 with a ected individuals and gathered advicerom them on both the challenge and the outlineso a response. Microso t responded by creating atemporary, unilateral license or so tware already inuseand made this program broadly applicable tocivil society organizations. Microso t also partici-pated with HRF in a Moscow session to announceand explain the program to Russian civil societyorganizations, and in meetings with Russian and US

o cials to describe the license program and oversightgoing orward.

Over the course o the past year, Microso t andHRF have continued to collaborate regarding newcases o selective en orcement and their resolution.The partnership between Microso t, HRF, and localRussian organizations enabled swi t identi cationo cases, timely intervention by Microso t to in ormauthorities o the license, and prompt resolution,including dismissal o charges and the return o seizedcomputers and so tware. Microso t and HRF continueto collaborate to ensure awareness o the program andto smooth the path or a transition to a permanentso tware donation program.

Yahoo !

Yahoo! recognizes that the simple act o making onesvoice heard is, or women around the world, itsel a revolutionary act. In recognition o this, Yahoo!

launched the Change Your World series in Cairo, anevent created to shine the light on women who areusing the Internet and digital media to change theworld and to identi y areas where companies can usetheir technology and plat orms to ampli y womensvoices. Moderated by noted journalist and activistMona Eltahawy, the Cairo event brought togetherpolitical activists, womens rights advocates, entrepre-neurs, journalists, technologists and women leadersrom across the Middle East and North A rica.Yahoo! will host a Change Your World event inWashington, DC on May 18, 2012, as well as in Brazilin the all o 2012.

In October 2011, in response to the Flickr removalo images o purported members o Egyptian securityorces, Yahoo! hosted a Visual Media Summit. Theevent convened a small group o company representa-tives, including legal and policy directors, technolo-gists, and project managers, civil society actors, andscholars and practitioners to discuss issues o sa ety,privacy, and human rights in visual social media.Proposed next steps include working towards sharedstandards or policies and practices related to visualmedia and multi-stakeholder engagement to shapepolicy and educate users about the human rightsissues implicated by the use o visual media.

Shared LearningGNI provides opportunities or members to workthrough complex issues with other participants ina sa e, con dential space. During 2011, GNI hostedlearning calls on topics ranging rom the challengesinvolved in implementing the Principles to questionso government jurisdiction over data, especially in thecase o cloud computing.

In addition to internal learning calls, GNI also

organized an Emerging Issues discussion series onaccount deactivation and content removal by plat-orms that host user-generated content. Participantsincluded both GNI members and external representa-tives rom industry, civil society, the investor commu-nity, and elsewhere. Based in part on the learningseries, two GNI members, the Center or Democracyand Technology and the Berkman Center at Harvard

10. See http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/real-time-tra c-graphs- or.html and http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/updated-and-more-detailed-transparency.html.

11. See http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/more-data-more-transparency-around.html.12. See GNI Inaugural Report 2010, p. 19, available at http://www.globalnetworkinitiative.org/cms/uploads/1/GNI_annual_report_2010.pd .


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GNI Around

the World1 Buenos Aries, Argentina

The Center or Studies on Freedom o Expression and Access to In ormation (CELE),at the University o Palermo School o Law,became the rst Latin American member o GNI.

2 Brussels, BelgiumGNI participated in several events at theEuropean Parliament in 2011. In May, SusanMorgan gave a presentation on the interplaybetween human rights and ICT. In December,Jermyn Brooks was a eatured speaker on apanel related to Internet regulation and the role o

sel -governance by companies.3 Copenhagen, DenmarkInternational Media Support (IMS), aninternational NGO based in Denmark that worksto support local media in countries a ected byarmed confict, human insecurity and politicaltransition, joined GNI in July 2011.

4 Cairo, EgyptGNI issued a statement on the Mubarak governments Internet shutdown: GNI isdeeply concerned that the people o Egypthave been denied access to Internet andtelecommunications services. In 2012, GNIconducted a eld visit to Egypt to ollow up onthese issues.

5 Geneva, SwitzerlandGNI wrote to the UN Working Group on Businessand Human Rights to propose that the issues o ree expression and privacy in the ICT sector bea ocus or the working group. GNI attended therst meeting o the Working Group in Geneva onJanuary 20, 2012.

6 Islamabad, PakistanGNI issued multiple statements o concern whenthe Government o Pakistan issued a request orproposals (RFP) to build and implement a newsystem or Internet ltering capable o blocking

undesirable content on the scale o up to 50million URLs. Given the Pakistani governmentsprevious use o Internet ltering, GNI encouragedcompanies not to respond to this RFP.

7 Paris, FranceGNI participated in OECD meetings on theInternet economy and on the revised OECDguidelines or multinational corporations.

8 New Delhi, IndiaIndia became a ocus country or GNI a terthe government issued new rules aroundintermediary liability or Internet companiesin April 2011, which were ollowed by courtcases brought against ICT companies over

objectionable content. GNI held a researchconsultation in New Delhi in March 2012 and theCentre or Internet & Society became GNIs rstIndian member organization.

9 Nairobi, KenyaGNI hosted The Business o Human Rights:Corporate Responsibility and ICTs, a workshopat the 6th Annual Internet Governance Forum2011, held September 27-30 at the UnitedNations O ce in Nairobi, Kenya.

10 The Hague, Netherlands The Dutch Ministry o Foreign A airs hosted aministerial con erence on Internet reedom in

The Hague on December 8-9, 2011. GNI wasmentioned in remarks by Dutch Foreign Minis terUri Rosenthal, U.S. Secretary o State Hillary

Rodham Clinton, and EC Vice President orthe Digital Agenda Neelies Kroes. GNI Boardmembers, including Independent Chair JermynBrooks, spoke at the event.

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11 Stockholm, SwedenSwedish investors Folksam and the Churcho Sweden joined GNI in 2011. In November,Swedens Ministry o Trade hosted a meetingwith technology companies and otherstakeholders on Internet reedom.

12 Bangkok, Thailand Thailand has been a major ocus o concernaround intermediary liability, with a number o high-pro le prosecutions under its ComputerCrimes Act and les majest laws orbiddingcriticism o the royal amily, including the case o

Chiranuch Premchaiporn, editor o the Prachatai.com website. In 2012, GNI will work togetherwith participant organizations to engage onthese issues.

13 London, United KingdomIn April, UK-based Index on Censorship becamethe rst non- ounding civil society organizationto join GNI. In August, GNI wrote to the UK Home Secretary regarding discussions dueto take place between the Government andICT companies ollowing the civil unrest inLondon and elsewhere. In November, GNIheld a consultation with a broad range o companies, government agencies, civil societyorganizations, and other stakeholders to beginour research project on balance points amongree expression, privacy, national security, andlaw en orcement.

14 San Diego, USA Websense, a San Diego-based global providero web, data, and email security, became theth company to join GNI in December.

15 San Francisco, USA As entrepreneurs, engineers, and activistsgathered or the inaugural Silicon Valley HumanRights Con erence on October 25-26, 2011,GNIs work was repeatedly highlighted asa crucial component o wider e orts tomanage the human rights implications o new technologies.

16 Washington, DC, USA On November 15, 2011, GNI wrote to the HouseJudiciary Committee to express its concerns

about the Stop Online Piracy Act. In December,GNI participated in the US-China InternetIndustry Forum. GNI also hosted a researchconsultation in Washington on January 20, 2012.

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University, published a report, Account Deactivationand Content Removal: Guiding Principles and Prac-tices or Companies and Users, in September 2011. 13

GNI members also bene t rom an in ormal network,with companies able to call upon civil society, inves-tors, and academics, and vice versa, or discussionsand to share in ormation relating to human rightsissues in ICTs.

Independent AssessmentGNI o ers a set o publicly available Principles andImplementation Guidelines, developed and supportedby diverse stakeholders and based on internationalhuman rights standards. While policy engagement

and learning are central GNI objectives, account-ability and credibility have been key considerationsdriving the development o GNI rom the outset,resulting in a process o independent assessment o company e orts to implement the Principles. Thissection outlines our progress on the assessments andhow they will in orm GNIs uture work.

In ormation on the GNI assessment process ispublicly available on our website in our GovernanceCharter and our Governance, Accountability, andLearning Framework. The assessment process is splitinto three phases:

7 Phase I consisted o sel -reporting by thecompanies, as detailed in GNIs 2010 report.

7 Phase II, described below, is an independent assess-ment o the policies, processes, and proceduresthat companies are putting in place to implementthe GNI Principles.

7 Phase III will look at speci c case examples tounderstand how the implementation is working

in practice.

The Phase II AssessmentsThe rst Phase II assessments o our three oundingcompanies, Google, Microso t, and Yahoo!, wereconducted during 2011 and early 2012. The devel-opment o the assessment processthe rst o itskindwas challenging. We have approached this

task conscious o the act that it would necessarily bea learning process, requiring the dedicated work o each o our constituencies, and that our e orts wouldevolve and strengthen over time.

The Phase II assessment process is a major steporward or GNI. For the rst time, third-party asses-sors received unprecedented access to these ICT

AssEssMENT

TEMPLATEThe assessment template required examinationo the ollowing:

Responsible Company Decision-Making7 Board review, oversight, and leadership

7 Human rights impact assessments

7 Partners, suppliers, distributors

Integration intoBusiness Operations7 Structure

7 Procedures

7 Employees

7 Complaints and assistance

Freedom of Expression7 Government demands, laws,

and regulations7 Communication with users

Privacy 7 Data collection7 Government demands, laws,

and regulations7 Communication with users

13. Erica Newland, Caroline Nolan, Cynthia Wong, and Jillian York, Account Deactivation and Content Removal: Guiding Principles

and Practices or Companies and Users, The Berkman Center or Internet & Society and The Center or Democracy & Technology,September 2011, available at http://cdt.org/report/account-deactivation-and-content-removal-guiding-principles-and-practices-compa-nies-and-users.


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OUR WORK | 11


sector companies to assess their policies and processesrelated to government requests a ecting ree expres-sion and privacy rights.

The GNI Board approved three core documents toguide the Phase II assessment process:

1. Independence and competency criteria, which setout the expectations or organizations conductingthe Phase II assessments.

2. An assessment template, which guided theprocess, including the preparation o a companyreport or the assessors outlining the steps takento implement the Principles, and the subsequentwork o the assessor.

3. A reporting ramework that lays out theexpectations or the assessors report.

A summary o these documents is available on theGNI website.

Using the independence and competency criteria,and in consultation with GNI, the companies eachappointed their assessors. The assessors met withGNIs Board at the beginning o the assessmentprocess and a ter their reports were prepared andperiodically with GNIs Executive Director.

Three assessors were selected or the Phase II assess-ment: law rm Foley Hoag LLP, whose corporatesocial responsibility practice conducted the work, andaccounting/consulting rms KPMG AG and Pricewa-terhouseCoopers LLP. The selection o assessors romdi erent pro essional elds allowed GNI to learn romvarying approaches within the guidance provided.GNIs purpose in the Phase II Assessment was todetermine whether the companies had the systems,policies and procedures in place to support the imple-

mentation o the Principles within their organization.As an initial set o assessments, these were not auditsor attestations by the assessors and did not result inthe issuance o an opinion.

The assessors have provided valuable eedback toGNI and the companies on a number o aspects o the process that will be used in uture Phase II assess-ments and incorporated into GNIs developmento Phase III.

Each company prepared a con dential report orthe assessor, based on the template provided byGNI. Upon completion o each assessment, a reportrom the assessors to each company was shared bythe company with GNIs Executive Director andIndependent Chair. GNIs Board received redactedversions o the reports to acilitate discussion o theoutcome o the assessments at the February 16, 2012,Board meeting.

GNIs

PRINCIPLEsThe GNI Principles establish aramework to provide directionto ICT companies on reedom oexpression and privacy.

Participating companies committo seek to avoid or minimise theimpact o government restric-tions on the reedom o expressionand privacy rights o their userswhen con ronted by governmentdemands inconsistent with inter-national standards. Participatingcompanies implement the Principlesby adopting responsible policies,procedures, and processes.

The Principles are publicly availableon GNIs website.


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GNIs Reporting on thePhase II AssessmentsIn each company the commitments made in joiningGNI contributed to enhanced policies and proce-dures relating to reedom o expression and privacy.Although each company is taking its own approachto implementation, all have enhanced existingpolicies and procedures and created new processesas steps toward ull implementation. The companiesound that the use o independent assessors o eredvaluable learning opportunities in re ning theirapproach to implementing GNIs Principles.

GNI noted that the assessment reports indicatedthe ollowing:

7 The companies have processes to review govern-ment requests related to reedom o expressionand privacy.

7 There is senior-level oversight o reedom o expression and privacy issues.

7 The companies are conducting human rightsimpact assessments to identi y circumstances whenreedom o expression and privacy may be jeopar-dized or advanced, and the development o appro-priate risk mitigation strategies may be needed.

7 The companies are communicating with sta onhuman rights issues and o ering related training.

7 Where they have operational control, the compa-nies have started to apply GNIs Principles to rela-tionships with partners, suppliers, and distributorsestablished since the ormation o GNI.

Each companys assessment produced di erent recom-mendations. The list below illustrates the types o recommendations that were made or companies

to consider:7 Engage more directly with human rights groups

and expert stakeholders to increase capacity whenconducting risk assessments.

7 Improve the sharing o in ormation on reedom o expression and privacy issues and trends to helppublic policy engagement with governments onthe most concerning issues.

7 Document the process or conducting humanrights impact assessments, updating it as newpolicy or legislative developments are identi ed.

7 Begin to review the e cacy o training in orma-tion on reedom o expression and privacy risks.

7 Taking a risk-based approach, review the policies

procedures and activities o vendors whosecontracts were in place prior to the ormationo GNI.

The assessors provided eedback or GNI that we willconsider in our uture work:

7 Develop recommendations around speci ctraining or Board Directors on reedom o expres-sion and privacy.

7 Develop recommendations regarding in ormation

sources or companies when conducting humanrights impact assessments.

7 Develop recommendations regarding the review o vendor contracts in place be ore GNI.

7 Consider how GNI members can collec-tively provide guidance to companies whenthey are responding to speci c requests in ashort time rame.

7 Develop recommendations on speci cdisclosures companies should make to usersregarding corporate policies and procedures orresponding to government demands to disclosepersonal in ormation.

A number o issues emerged during the PhaseII assessments. One issue that had already beenidenti ed in GNIs Governance Charter was therecognition that companies may be prevented romdisclosing certain in ormation by law, or may choosenot to disclose in ormation in order to preserveattorney-client privilege or protect trade secrets.Having met with the assessors and reviewed thereports, GNIs Board concluded that despite thesechallenges the assessments were rigorous and credible.

The Board recognized the need to preserve attorney-client privilege and protect trade secrets, but notedthat the assessment process could be improved in theuture by developing clearer guidance on the in or-mation that should be available in the reports to theull Board.

The assessment process also generated use uleedback on the assessment template, including arecommendation or more speci c de nitions o terms


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or police to be able to shut down online socialnetworking applications.16 In response to theseevents, on August 24 GNI wrote to British HomeSecretary Theresa May about the discussions betweenthe government and companies in the ICT sector. 17 From the letter:

Criminality and violence deserve bothcondemnation and prosecution underthe ull extent o the law. However whenconsidering next steps, and in particularthe development o any specifc proposalsrelating to communications technology and social media, we urge a Governmentresponse that protects legal due process

and internationally recognized humanrights and ree speech norms.

In the a termath o the riots, technology compa-nies were called be ore the Home A airs SelectCommittee or hearings on the relationship betweensocial media and mobile technology and lawen orcement. 18

The British government had already been pursuinginternational engagement on Internet-related issues,culminating in the London Cyber Con erence in

November 2011, at which the Foreign & Common-wealth O ce convened representatives rom 86 coun-tries, as well as government and civil society groups.Foreign Secretary William Hague mentioned GNI inhis closing remarks. In December, Minister o Stateor Foreign A airs Jeremy Browne, in an article orthe Hu fngton Post , said o GNI: It is currently oneo the ew initiatives that seeks to guide companieson Internet reedoms, and I am encouraging moreUK companies to join.19

Intellectual Property in the United StatesIn late 2011, legislation aiming to curb copy-right in ringement and protect intellectualproperty on the Internet was introduced in theU.S. Congress.20 Concerned about dangerousunintended consequences or reedom o expressionand economic innovation around the world, GNIaddressed the House Judiciary Committee in anOpen Letter on Freedom o Expression, IntellectualProperty and H.R. 3261, the Stop Online PiracyAct. 21 From the letter:

In shaping this legislation, we urgeCongress to ensure that ree speechand due process rights o individuals are

respected, and to shape a regime worthy o imitation and that Congress would becom ortable having mirrored by othergovernments.

Rising concern about SOPA and its companionlegislation in the Senate, the Protect IP Act (PIPA),culminated in an outpouring o protest in mid-

January 2012, with many popular websites goingdark in protest or encouraging users to contact theirrepresentatives in Congress. A ter both bills progresswas halted, GNI issued a statement urging a moreinclusive approach to balancing concerns about intel-lectual property with ree expression considerations. 22

International Policy DialoguesAn encouraging development during 2011 was theincreasing number o countries that are consideringree expression and privacy rights in the developmento national and international policy. Examples o thisinclude export controls under review in Europe and

16. Eric P anner, Cameron Exploring Crackdown on Social Media A ter Riots, The New York Times, August 11, 2011, available athttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/12/world/europe/12iht-social12.html?_r=1&scp=13&sq=Internet%20Censorship&st=cse.

17. See http://www.globalnetworkinitiative.org/newsandevents/open_letter.php.18. Financial Times, Twitter, Facebook and RIM ace more questions rom British MPs over riots, http://blogs. t.com/

ttechhub/2011/09/home-a airs-committee-riots/#axzz1kgYU I2Z19. Jeremy Browne, Human Rights Day: Many People Are Still Denied the Most Basic Human Rights on a Daily Basis, Hu ngton

Post, December 10, 2011, available at http://www.hu ngtonpost.co.uk/jeremy-browne/human-rights-day-many-peo_b_1139080.html.20. For more on this issue see http: //cdt.org/issue /digital-copyright.

21. See http://www.globalnetworkinitiative.org/cms/uploads/1/GNI_SOPA_letter_11.15_2.pd .22. GNI SOPA/PIPA statement, available at http://www.globalnetworkinitiative.org/newsandevents/GNI_Statement_on_Protecting_

Intellectual_Property_and_Upholding_Free_Expression_and_Innovation_Online.php


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THE FUTURE OF GNI2011 has been a pivotal year or GNI. We increasedour membership, began to demonstrate the potentialo multi-stakeholder collaboration around learningand policy, and pioneered the independent assess-ment o our member companies as a means o ensuring accountability. Still, much work remainsto be done.

Seeding a Global Standard forFree Expression and Privacy in

the ICT SectorIn 2012, we are poised or growth, continuing conver-sations with companies rom around the world andacross the ICT sector. In particular, we have estab-lished an observer status option or a limited numbero companies who are actively considering joiningGNI and interested in learning more about ourapproach. Observer companies will have the oppor-tunity to learn how GNIs Principles are implementedand see more closely how the organization works ora nonrenewable 12-month period. Our key objectives

or 2012 include:7 Increasing GNIs membership across all constitu-

encies, with a ocus on new members in devel-oping countries and emerging markets.

7 Deepening GNIs relationships with companiesacross the ICT sector.

Helping Technology CompaniesChart an Ethical Path ForwardThe development o Phase III o the assessmentprocess will be a key priority in 2012. As GNIaccredits assessors and the ounding companiesprepare or Phase III, we have also commissioned astudy to in orm the development o a public engage-ment process that would enable the initiative to

seek eedback rom a broad set o stakeholders in atransparent and structured manner. In 2012, plannedactivities include:

7 Carrying out the rst Phase III assessments o ourounding companies to see how implementation o the Principles is working in practice.

7 Working with new company members on theissues and challenges they identi y.

Using our Collective Voice toChange Policy and AdvanceHuman Rights WorldwideAs GNIs membership grows, so too do the oppor-tunities to utilize the expertise and infuence o its participants in policy engagement around theworld. During 2012, we will dedicate time or sharedlearning and policy debates at Board meetings thatwill be open to all ull members and observers. Policypriorities will fow rom areas o consensus amongmembers; issues surrounding intermediary liability

in Thailand are one key priority that has alreadybeen identi ed. In June 2012, we will hold GNIsrst Multi-Stakeholder Learning Forum in Wash-ington, inviting participants rom around the world. 30 The orum will include public dialogue on GNIsPrinciples and shared learning rom implementa-tion; the launch o our research report on balancingree expression, privacy, national security, and lawen orcement; and private, con dential dialoguedialogue between GNI members relating to humanrights issues in ICTs.

7 Increasing our policy engagement with govern-ments on reedom o expression and privacy.

7 Dedicating time at GNI Board meetings toshared learning and policy debates with allGNI participants, and holding our rst Multi-Stakeholder Learning Forum.

30. See Implementation Guidelines or more on this activity.


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TABLE OF CONTENTs | 17

ABOUT GNIBoard of DirectorsGNIs Board o Directors unctions to urther thePrinciples and ensure that the organizations workul lls GNIs vision. In 2011, GNI appointed Indepen-dent Chair Jermyn Brooks. Jermyn serves as Chair o Transparency Internationals (TI) Business AdvisoryBoard and was Executive Director and Chie Finan-cial O cer o TI rom 2000 to 2003. He joined TIa ter a career with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP(PwC), which saw him elected worldwide chairman o the rm in 1997. In his time at PwC, he championed

the introduction o corporate social responsibilityissues into the rms strategies.

The current members o GNIs Board are:

Independent ChairJermyn Brooks

ICT CompaniesSteve Crown, Microsoft

Ebele Okobi, Yahoo!

Lewis Segall, GoogleFive seats remain open or uturemember companies.

Civil Society Organizations Arvind Ganesan, Human Rights Watch

Leslie Harris, Center for Democracy and Technology

Robert Mahoney, Committee toProtect Journalists

Meg Roggensack, Human Rights First

InvestorsBennett Freeman, Calvert Group(GNI Board Secretary)

Adam Kanzer, Domini Social Investments

Academics and Academic OrganizationsColin Maclay, Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Harvard University

Rebecca MacKinnon, New America Foundation(personal capacity)

Board members serve three-year terms, with eachconstituency nominating and selecting its members.2012 will be the nal year o the Boards rst term.The ollowing Board Committees carry out its work:

7 Executive and Management

7 Governance and Accountability

7 Outreach and Communications

7 Policy and Learning

The Policy and Learning and Outreach and Commu-nications committees are open to all GNI partici-pants, providing multiple avenues or members whodo not serve on the Board to make substantial contri-butions to our work.

Institutional Capacity GNIs institutional capacity grew signi cantly during2011, with the addition o new sta and broadenedsources o unding.

GNI is unded by contributions rom its members andthrough support rom private oundations. Companymembership ees are determined using a sliding scalebased upon annual revenues, while other participantspay a nominal ee o $100 to $1,000. In 2011, GNIalso received a capacity-building grant rom the OpenSociety Foundations (OSF) and a grant rom theMacArthur Foundation to support development o Phase III o the assessment process.

In June 2011, GNI became an independent nonpro torganization, receiving its 501(c)3 tax-exempt statusand separated administratively rom the Center orDemocracy and Technology (CDT). We continue toappreciate the support o key CDT sta , includingReid Day, Cyrus Nemati, and Portia Wenze-Danley.

In September, GNI added Policy and Communica-tions Director David Sullivan, the second ull-timesta er. GNI also bene tted rom the support o White& Case LLP de erred associate Bruce Wells andinterns Olivia Meng He, Joe Rosner, and Phil Zager.GNI is grate ul or the legal advice and support it hasreceived rom White & Case LLP.


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GNI 2011 Annual Report

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