Freedom of expression
For further reports & articles, see the Resource Centre’s general section on Denial of freedom of expression.
1. Tools & guidance
2. Examples of uses
1. Tools & guidance
Employment & recruitment agencies, Information & communication technology (ICT), Oil & gas: Development of guidance for 3 sectors - being carried out by Shift, Institute for Human Rights and Business, for European Commission. Final guidance expected to be approved & published Feb-Apr 2013.
“Applying the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights to the ICT Industry: Version 2.0: Ten Lessons Learned”, BSR, Sep 2012
“For ICT companies, the biggest human rights-related risks and opportunities will likely include, but not be limited to…Freedom of expression.”
“Telco Action Plan – Respecting Human Rights: Ten Steps and Implementation Objectives for Telecommunications Companies”, Access, 23 May 2012
“Telcos shall:Operate in a manner that respects the fundamental human rights of all users, including the rights of freedom of expression, access to information, and privacy.”
For further tools & guidance, see the Resource Centre’s Tools & Guidance Portal.
2. Examples of uses
"US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor", US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor, 1 May 2013
“How Microsoft Did It: Implementing the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights”, Dan Bross, Microsoft Corporate Citizenship, 4 Dec 2012
“Many of Microsoft’s products help foster free expression…We are…obliged to adhere to local law wherever we do business.”
“TeliaSonera partners with the Danish Institute for Human Rights for support and review of its corporate human rights work”, TeliaSonera, 17 Jul 2012
“DIHR will develop a tool tailored to TeliaSonera and its human rights risk profile. It will include freedom of expression and privacy issues.”
“Digital Freedom in International Law: Practical Steps to Protect Human Rights Online”, Ian Brown & Douwe Korff, Global Network Initiative, 14 Jun 2012
The report “attempts to tackle some of the most difficult questions around protecting rights to freedom of expression and privacy in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Sector.”
“The media and human rights: Is there a role for governments?”, Graham Minter, Day Associates, 1 Nov 2011
“The Silicon Valley Standard”, Access, 28 Oct 2011
“Coming to the table – a time for media firms to respect human rights?”, Lucy Amis, Day Associates, 26 Oct 2011
“Yahoo! And Youtube: Balancing Human Rights and Business”, Carnegie Council workshop with Julia Kennedy (Carnegie Council), Rachel Davis (Shift), Susan Morgan (Global Network Initiative), Ebele Okobi-Harris (Yahoo!), Abbi Tatton (YouTube)[M2]
Related stories and components
Ethical Procurement is a No-Brainer…and Legal
Author: Mark Taylor, The Laws of Rule
In short, there is no legal obstacle to including human rights in ethical procurement rules, nor in excluding businesses who don’t meet human rights standards. The only obstacle is politicians who would rather drag their feet. [refers to Lundin...
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How Microsoft Did It: Implementing the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
Author: Dan Bross, Senior Director, Microsoft Corporate Citizenship
The new Guiding Principles challenges us, as well as other global companies, to move beyond from an issue-specific approach to human rights and toward a more systematic approach that considers all business activities across all human rights. In...
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[PDF] Applying the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights to the ICT Industry: Version 2.0: Ten Lessons Learned
Author: Business for Social Responsibility (BSR)
This briefing paper has been written to provide insight for information and communications technology (ICT) companies on how to apply the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights...Since we published the original version of this briefing in...
TeliaSonera partners with the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) for support and review of its corporate human rights work
Author: TeliaSonera
TeliaSonera has engaged the Danish Institute for Human Rights to support and review its human rights impact assessment. DIHR will develop a tool tailored to TeliaSonera and its human rights risk profile. It will include freedom of expression and...
- Related in-depth areas: Europe & Central Asia Freedom of expression Information & communications technology Privacy
- Related companies: TeliaSonera
[PDF] Digital Freedoms in International Law: Practical Steps to Protect Human Rights Online
Author: Ian Brown & Douwe Korff, Global Network Initiative
While states are responsible for protecting human rights online under international law, companies responsible for Internet infrastructure, products and services can play an important supporting role. Companies also have a legal and corporate social...
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- Related in-depth areas: Civil society recommendations to governments Freedom of expression Information & communications technology Privacy
- Related companies: Amesys (part of Bull) Blue Coat Bull Google Intel McAfee (part of Intel) Microsoft Nokia Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) (joint venture Nokia and Siemens) Siemens TeliaSonera Twitter Vodafone YouTube (part of Google) ZTE
[PDF] Telco Action Plan - Respecting Human Rights: Ten Steps and Implementation Objectives for Telecommunications Companies
Author: Access
...In early 2011, Access (AccessNow.org) drafted a 5-step Action Plan to assist telcos seeking to conduct their operations in a way that ensures the protection of fundamental human rights. The initial Telco Action Plan was developed, in part, as a...
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- Related in-depth areas: Business action Freedom of expression Information & communications technology Privacy
The media and human rights: Is there a role for governments?
Author: Graham Minter, Day Associates
[Scroll down] Lucy Amis has usefully drawn attention to the failure of parts of the media industry to live up to its role in advancing…human rights…For governments, this poses difficult dilemmas. Is more regulation part of the answer?...The problem...
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- Related in-depth areas: Freedom of expression
The Silicon Valley Standard [blog entry]
Author: Access
One of the objectives of the Silicon Valley Human Rights Conference is the creation of a Silicon Valley Standard (SVS). This is a principled statement incorporating the issues discussed at the 2011 Silicon Valley Human Rights Conference. The document...
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Coming to the table – a time for media firms to respect human rights?
Author: Lucy Amis, Day Associates [UK]
The media provide an essential vehicle for freedom of expression globally…Yet until the News International [part of News Corp.] phone-hacking scandal resurfaced this year…we had lost sight of the fact that media organisations are major multinational...
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- Related in-depth areas: Freedom of expression Information & communications technology
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[video] Yahoo! and YouTube: Balancing Human Rights and Business
Author: Rachel Davis, Susan Morgan, Ebele Okobi-Harris, Abbi Tatton, Julia Taylor Kennedy at Carnegie Council workshop
Ebele Okobi-Harris [of Yahoo!]: [I]f we're talking about privacy and free expression, there is absolutely no country in the world that allows for a completely uncensored Internet...Julia Kennedy [of YouTube (part of Google)]:...[W]hat we're trying to...
- Related in-depth areas: 2011 Freedom of expression Privacy Short videos & news items UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights - Events
- Related companies: Google Yahoo! YouTube (part of Google)