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13 Jul 2021

Access Now and Ranking Digital Rights ask 26 ICT companies to make key human rights improvements based on 2020 benchmark

Ranking Digital Rights

In May 2021, Access Now wrote to the leaders of 26 internet, mobile and telecommunications companies asking for at least one timely and achievable improvement, a recommendation based on what Access Now sees as the most acute issues facing at-risk users (including journalists, activists, human rights defenders, and members of oppressed and marginalized communities).

The letters drew on the findings from Ranking Digital Rights' 2020 Corporate Accountability Index. In these letters Access Now urges each company to review their performance, provide a public response to the findings, and commit to one specific improvement. More information is available here.

Just three companies responded to their letter by Access Now's June 1 deadline: Verizon Media, Kakao, and Vodafone. Access Now subsequently received responses from Microsoft, Telenor, and Twitter in early June.

In late June, the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre wrote to the remaining 20 companies to draw attention to the open letter from Access Now on each company's performance in the Corporate Accountability Index and the priority recommendation for action. Responses and non-responses are listed below.

As we've done previously, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre is publishing Access Now's letters and the company responses and non-responses below.


Letters

Alibaba: letter; no response

Amazon: letter; response

America Movil: letter; response

Apple: letter; discussed but no formal response

AT&T: letter; response

Axiata: letter; no response

Baidu: letter; no response

Bharti Airtel: letter; no response

Deutsche Telekom: letter; no response

Etisalat: letter; no response

Facebook: letter; no response

Google: letter; no response

Kakao: letter; response

Mail.ru: letter; no response

Microsoft: letter; response

MTN: letter; response

Ooredoo: letter; no response

Orange: letter; response

Samsung: letter; no response

Telefonica: letter; response

Telenor: letter; response

Tencent: letter; no response

Twitter: letter; response

Verizon Media: letter; response

Vodafone: letter; response

Yandex: letter; no response

Company Responses

Amazon.com View Response
Alibaba Group

No Response

América Móvil View Response
Apple

No Response

Axiata

No Response

Baidu

No Response

Bharti Airtel

No Response

Deutsche Telekom

No Response

Etisalat

No Response

Meta (formerly Facebook)

No Response

Google (part of Alphabet)

No Response

VK (formerly Mail.ru)

No Response

Ooredoo

No Response

Orange View Response
Samsung Electronics

No Response

Telefónica View Response
Tencent

No Response

Yandex

No Response

Timeline