While the number of internet users has more than doubled in the past six years, global internet freedom has declined. Tech companies were once widely thought to be forces of liberation. In 2011, the Egyptian activist Wael Ghonim famously said: “If you want to liberate a society, just give them the internet.” Since then, the number of internet users worldwide has doubled from roughly two to more than four billion. Meanwhile, organizations that track global internet freedom, press freedom, and democracy all report alarming declines in these critical areas over the same period. Human rights, freedom, and democracy are under attack across the world. Attacks are enabled by the very technology that connects people and ideas across borders:

• [expand title=”Abuse and exploitation of user information ” alt=”Read More” elwraptag=”div” elwrapclass=”about_wrapper” tag=”span” targclass=”about_wrapper_content” trigclass=”arrowright”]Many internet platforms and services collect vast amounts of user information for commercial purposes. The revelation in early 2018 that the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica had gained access to personal information of more than 50 million Facebook users for the purposes of targeting them for a political campaign is just one example of what can happen when a company fails to respect and protect people’s privacy rights.[/expand]
• [expand title=”Disinformation campaigns and incitement to violence” alt=”Read More” elwraptag=”div” elwrapclass=”about_wrapper” tag=”span” targclass=”about_wrapper_content” trigclass=”arrowright”]Internet platforms failed to anticipate or assess the risks that their business models might empower speech that harms individuals and causes some people—even entire groups or communities of people—to be silenced or even killed.[/expand]
• [expand title=”Corporate opacity about who is silenced or who is amplified and why” alt=”Read More” elwraptag=”div” elwrapclass=”about_wrapper” tag=”span” targclass=”about_wrapper_content” trigclass=”arrowright”]Internet platforms set and enforce terms of service, governing what people can and cannot do on their platforms, that have generally been enforced unevenly and with little or no transparency, and with inadequate appeals mechanisms when users believe their rights have been violated. Nor have companies been accountable or transparent about what content is promoted and amplified or why.[/expand]
• [expand title=”A sharp increase in government censorship and surveillance” alt=”Read More” elwraptag=”div” elwrapclass=”about_wrapper” tag=”span” targclass=”about_wrapper_content” trigclass=”arrowright”]Many governments are forcing internet and mobile platforms to restrict or remove content and share user information to stifle independent journalism, political activism, religious debate, and other types of speech that should be protected under international human rights law.[/expand]
• [expand title=”Data breaches” alt=”Read More” elwraptag=”div” elwrapclass=”about_wrapper” tag=”span” targclass=”about_wrapper_content” trigclass=”arrowright”]Some companies work harder than others to protect users’ information from criminals or other entities with malicious intent. All can do more to earn our confidence that they are making the greatest possible effort. At the same time, many governments seek to outlaw or weaken encryption technologies that companies use to protect user information from unauthorized access.[/expand]
• [expand title=”The rise of network shutdowns” alt=”Read More” elwraptag=”div” elwrapclass=”about_wrapper” tag=”span” targclass=”about_wrapper_content” trigclass=”arrowright”]A growing number of governments are forcing telecommunications companies to throttle or even shut down service entirely during periods of unrest, elections, or even for trivial reasons. People are deprived of basic communication rights in cities where they increasingly depend on mobile technologies to function in all aspects of their lives.[/expand]