2017 Companies

In 2015, Ranking Digital Rights (RDR) launched its inaugural Corporate Accountability Index, which ranked 16 Internet and telecommunications companies.

For the 2017 Index, RDR has expanded the ranking to 22 companies, which includes all of the companies ranked in the 2015 Index as well as six new companies. In addition to Internet and telecommunications companies, this year’s Index will include companies that create mobile devices and products we call makers of “mobile ecosystems.” We also added several new services to companies we previously analyzed in 2015.

Companies are selected based on several factors, including geographic reach and the diversity of markets in which the companies are headquartered and operating.

Internet and mobile companies: the Index will examine company-wide policies and selected services, as specified below (*new to the 2017 Index):

*Apple (US) — iOS mobile ecosystem, iMessage, iCloud
*Baidu (China) — Baidu Search, Baidu Cloud, Baidu PostBar
Facebook (US) — Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, *Messenger
Mail.Ru (Russia) — VKontakte, Mail.Ru email, Mail.Ru Agent
Microsoft (US) — Bing, Outlook.com, Skype
Kakao (South Korea) — Daum Search, Daum Mail, KakaoTalk
Google (US) — Search, Gmail, YouTube, *Android mobile ecosystem
*Samsung (South Korea) — Samsung implementation of Android
Tencent (China) — QZone, QQ, WeChat
Twitter (US) — Twitter, Vine, *Periscope
Yahoo (US) — Yahoo Mail, Flickr, Tumblr
*Yandex (Russia) — Yandex Mail, Yandex Search, Yandex Disk (cloud storage)

Telecommunications companies: the Index will examine company-wide (global) policies plus up to three services (pre- and post-paid mobile, and fixed-line broadband) in the company’s home jurisdiction, as specified below (*new for 2017 Index):