THREAD on biz, human rights and tech. 1/ On this 70th anniversary of the UDHR’s adoption by UNGA, connecting dots from UDHR to tech today. UDHR-> ICCPR-> UNGPs-> GNI Principles-> #tech company human rights commitments, infrastructure, and decisions. #UDHR: un.org/en/universal-d…
2/ UDHR is unique in modern int'l political system (post-1648) b/c rights declared inherent in all people based on human dignity, not derived from god, a king or the state. For provisions that we relate to the tech sector today, see Articles 12 (privacy) and 19 (free expression).
3/ In the ICCPR, as one of the UDHR's implementing treaties, see Articles 17 (privacy) and 19 (free expression), which we similarly relate to the tech sector today. #ICCPR: ohchr.org/EN/Professiona…
4/ UNGPs, endorsed unanimously by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011, = state duty to protect human rights + corporate responsibility to respect human rights + concurrent obligations to provide access to remedy. #UNGPs: ohchr.org/Documents/Publ…
5/ Standards enumerated in UDHR, ICCPR (and ICESCR), and UNGPs are incorporated into @theGNI Principles on Freedom of Expression & Privacy, an MSI launched in 2008 during the UDHR’s 60th year. GNI Principles: globalnetworkinitiative.org/gni-principles/
6/ GNI also gives tech companies practical human rights guidance through @theGNI Implementation Guidelines on how to meet the standards set out in the GNI Principles. globalnetworkinitiative.org/implementation…
7/ GNI’s executive director, Judith Lichtenberg, notes @theGNI is the only #MSI dedicated to free expression and privacy in the tech sector and has helped shape rights-respecting laws/policies globally. medium.com/global-network…
8/ @dunstanhope of @BSRnews emphasizes @theGNI as a place for innovation re next generation technologies and for mapping human rights centered decision-making to new challenges and opportunities. medium.com/global-network…
9/ @gbengasesan of @ParadigmHQ recommends @theGNI as a platform for productive discussion and policy advances between tech companies and civil society, including on some of Africa's most vexing digital rights challenges: medium.com/global-network…
10/ @guyberger of UNESCO emphasizes @theGNI’s role in meaningful stakeholder engagement and argues multi-stakeholder elaboration of int'l human rights standards for the digital age is essential: medium.com/global-network…
11/ @pielemeier, @theGNI’s policy director, reflects on an @FO_Coalition
panel and the importance of keeping human rights top of mind in a new 5G environment of advanced connectivity, speed and capacity: medium.com/global-network…
panel and the importance of keeping human rights top of mind in a new 5G environment of advanced connectivity, speed and capacity: medium.com/global-network…
12/ @David_MSullivan, @theGNI's learning director, discusses network disruptions as key human rights issues on which GNI has focused attention and advanced policy and collaborative problem-solving: medium.com/global-network…
13/ See @theGNI member Microsoft's President @BradSmi reflect on UDHR’s 70th, including the significance of bringing together broader groups of stakeholders in #tech: blogs.microsoft.com/today-in-tech/…
14/ See UN Special Rapporteur @davidakaye's 2018 report on tech company online content moderation approaches and the intersection with human rights issues, referencing @theGNI freedex.org/a-human-rights…
15/ See @rankingrights Corporate Accountability Index building on @theGNI Principles. Roadmap re responsible decision-making on free expression and privacy and an additional element of transparency / accountability even beyond @theGNI. RDR: rankingdigitalrights.org
16/ As members of @theGNI, tech companies have a responsibility to architect, implement and audit responsible / human rights decision-making. business-humanrights.org/en/commentary-…
17/ What does human rights centered and responsible decision-making look like in the tech sector around free expression and privacy? Here’s a practical and programmatic model based on experience from a decade inside a tech company: business-humanrights.org/sites/default/…
18/ Listen to @GlobalPartnersD podcast where @CBradleyTweets and I discuss various practical ways tech companies can and should operate in ways that respect human rights. gp-digital.org/multimedia/in-…
19/ Companies must build robust internal systems of responsible decision-making: (i) committing publicly and at an executive level to human rights; (ii) supporting a dedicated and cross-functional human rights team;
20/ (iii) committing to high-level human rights principles and developing detailed operational guidelines to support those principles; (iv) creating an internal inventory system to identify intersection points with human rights risks, then developing paths for issue escalation;
21/ (v) conducting human rights impact assessments; (vi) engaging regularly and meaningfully with internal and external stakeholders; and (vii) developing an accountability framework that involves internal and external assessment.
22/ This system architecture doesn’t give a tech company the answer to every content moderation question or every data transfer conundrum, but it gives a company a foundation and process to make repeatable, scalable, and responsible decisions.
23/ During the UDHR’s 70th year, let’s connect more dots from UDHR to ICCPR to UNGPs to GNI Principles to responsible company decision-making. Which companies should join @theGNI? What does responsible company decision-making look like day-to-day re free exp. and privacy? END.
