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
America Movil: letter; response
Apple: letter; discussed but no formal 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
Mail.ru: letter; no response
Ooredoo: letter; no response
Samsung: letter; no response
Tencent: letter; no response
Verizon Media: letter; response
Yandex: letter; no response