**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
November 30, 2022
Contact: Anna Lee Nabors, comms@rankingdigitalrights.org
Telcos are less transparent than their Big Tech peers, despite perpetuating the same human rights harms as digital platforms; Spain’s Telefónica tops RDR’s first Telco Giants Scorecard.
Washington, D.C. — On Monday, Ranking Digital Rights will launch its first Telco Giants Scorecard, which evaluates and scores major global telecommunications companies (telcos) on more than 250 aspects of company policies that affect people’s human rights, focusing on corporate governance, freedom of expression and information, and privacy.
Though Big Tech companies have stolen the spotlight in recent discussions of the ills of our information systems, our findings show that telecommunication companies are perpetuating the same digital rights harms and facing far less scrutiny. Telcos are also disclosing significantly less information about their policies and practices than Big Tech companies. As the primary providers of internet access across the globe, the effects of their policies and practices on digital rights are in desperate need of renewed attention.
“Big Tech platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Apple have dominated media coverage of social technologies in recent years, but when telecommunications operators, as bona fide utilities, fail to commit to human rights and policy transparency, they can cause exponentially more harm,” says RDR Director Jessica Dheere. “Around the world, telcos are most people’s first and only point of access to the internet, and when that access is revoked or the information it leads to is distorted, such as through zero rating or targeted advertising, it can cause irreparable damage not just to people’s rights but to their lives.”
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The RDR Telco Giants Scorecard analyzes the policies of 12 of the biggest global telecommunications companies headquartered in 10 different countries on five continents. The Scorecard is a part of the RDR Corporate Accountability Index, which also includes the Big Tech Scorecard that ranks 14 of the world’s most powerful social media and e-commerce platforms. Every company we rank has its own report card that offers a detailed look at highlights from the past year, key takeaways, recommendations, and changes.
Spain-based Telefónica came out on top. But South Africa’s MTN and Mexico’s América Móvil led on improvements by increasing the transparency of their policies significantly. Both companies cited RDR’s standards as the roadmap for their new transparency reporting. The changes in their scores reflect the improvements that are possible when companies prioritize human rights.
This kind of transparency is the essential first step toward accountability and improvements in this area are vital. UAE-based e& (formerly Etisalat), as well as Qatari company Ooredoo, which is currently offering free SIMs to World Cup visitors, came in at the bottom of our ranking once again as they continue to lack any substantive form of transparency.
U.S.-based company AT&T made modest improvements, but not enough to move up to second place. Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning federal abortion rights, AT&T declined to clarify how its policy on government demands for user information would be applied to abortion-related cases.
Telcos’ Negative Human Rights Impact
Overall, the companies we ranked showed improvements in all three categories in our ranking system: governance, freedom of expression, and privacy. But these improvements were primarily led by just a few companies, with freedom of expression remaining a serious blind spot for all organizations. This is particularly true in two areas with risks to human rights more commonly associated with platforms: algorithmic systems and targeted advertising. Technology in both of these areas is evolving rapidly, with strong incentives at present for telcos to exploit their large troves of data by engaging further in surveillance-based, behavioral advertising.
Telcos, whose operations are much more intimately tied with governments, also perpetuate harms that digital platforms do not. Governments, especially in authoritarian and authoritarian-leaning regimes, have been ordering telcos to shut down their networks with increasing regularity. Recently, such blackouts have been used in an attempt to quell protests in Iran. Net neutrality is another weak point for freedom of expression, with all but U.S. company AT&T offering a zero-rating program. These programs exempt access to, and usage of, certain services, apps, or content from a user’s data consumption or data cap. Though zero rating has come under increased regulatory scrutiny in Europe, its harms will likely continue unabated in the Global South, where many individuals rely on zero-rating programs like Meta’s Free Basics to access the web.
This year, our research has highlighted a number of events that illustrate the potential human rights risks posed by telcos. These include:
– Norway’s Telenor sold its Myanmar subsidiary after the military junta seized power and began ordering that the company spy on citizens and shut down the internet. The operation was sold to Lebanese company M1, which later transferred 80% of the company to a Myanmar conglomerate with ties to the military junta. The sale led to an uproar from civil society.
– In the Global South, and particularly in Africa, governments have begun forcing companies to push users off of their plans if they refuse to link their government ID or biometric data to their SIM cards. This has affected millions of users so far. While distinct from shutdowns, these disconnections still have important negative impacts on freedom of expression, and the verification process poses immense privacy risks.
– The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the court decision protecting the right to abortion. This decision not only threatens fundamental reproductive rights in the United States, but also has potential far-reaching impacts on privacy rights. Data that tech and telecommunications companies collect from users, including search history, messages, and geolocation information, could be weaponized against abortion patients as “evidence” in criminal investigations. Companies like AT&T have been slow to respond to concerns.
– Tourists are piling onto Ooredoo’s networks, as Qatar hosts the 2022 FIFA World Cup this November-December. Ooredoo has remained the worst-scoring company since we began ranking it in 2017. Among other things, the company is opaque about how it handles government demands for customer data, though Qatar is infamous for surveillance. Ooredoo is also offering a free Hayya SIM card for those using Qatar’s Hayya app (mandatory for all visitors), but the company is requiring the use of sophisticated AI technology to onboard customers that includes biometric facial data.
If you’re interested in obtaining embargoed materials ahead of Monday’s release, please write to us at: comms@rankingdigitalrights.org.
You can also contact us to speak directly with an expert:
EXPERTS
Jessica Dheere, Director, @jessdheere
Florida, USA; EDT (GMT – 5)
Areas of Expertise
- Corporate accountability in the digital age
- Business and human rights
- Algorithmic content-shaping and the targeted advertising business model
- Global trends in freedom of expression and privacy
- RDR Index findings and positioning
Nathalie Maréchal, Policy Director, @marechalphd
Washington DC, USA; EDT (GMT – 5)
Areas of Expertise
- Corporate accountability in the digital age
- Business and human rights
- Algorithmic content-shaping and the targeted advertising business model
- Global trends in freedom of expression and privacy
- Why RDR was created, and its global vision and mission
- Geopolitical lens on business and human rights
Jan Rydzak, Company and Investor Engagement Manager, @ElCalavero
Washington DC, USA; EDT (GMT – 5)
Areas of Expertise
- Network shutdowns
- Content moderation
- Role of investors/ESG/SRI
- Transparency reporting
- Human rights due diligence
- Disinformation and crisis
- Analysis of company announcements and news
- United Nations and technology
Ranking Digital Rights is an independent tech policy research and advocacy program at New America in Washington, D.C. We evaluate the world’s most powerful companies on their publicly disclosed policies and practices affecting users’ freedom of expression and privacy. Now in their seventh year, our rankings have seen companies progressively commit to protecting users’ rights in greater numbers. Visit us online at rankingdigitalrights.org or follow us on Twitter @rankingrights.org.
ABOUT NEW AMERICA: New America is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy institute dedicated to renewing America in the digital age through big ideas, technological innovation and creative engagement with broad audiences. To learn more, please visit us online at www.newamerica.org or follow us on Twitter @NewAmerica.
