Select and compare total company and service scores, as well as scores in our three top-level categories: governance, freedom of expression and information, and privacy. Click on “Change View” to see scores by service. Learn more about how we tally our scores on our Methods and Standards page.
Lenses are custom, thematically linked sets of indicators drawn from all three of our assessment categories. They allow you to gain a quick understanding of companies’ performance on key focal areas such as algorithmic transparency, government demands, and user agency.
Do companies conduct human rights impact assessments on their algorithmic systems? Do they disclose how they use and develop algorithms? The scores for this Lens are an average of the following indicators: G1, element 3; G4(d); F1(d); F2(d); F3(a), element 4; F3(c), element 4; F12; F13; P1(b); P2(b); and P7, elements 7 and 8.
What do companies say about how they enforce their own rules? How transparent are they about moderating content, terminating accounts, and suspending websites? This does not include actions in response to government demands. The scores for this Lens are an average of the following indicators: F1(a); F1(b); F1(d); F2(a); F2(b); F2(d); F3(a); F3(b); F4(a); F4(b); F4(c), elements 1, 2, 5, and 6; and F8.
How do companies collect, infer, share and retain user information? What options do they provide to their users with regard to accessing and controlling their own information? The scores for this Lens are an average of the following indicators: P3(a); P3(b); P4; P5; P6; P7; P8; and P9.
How do companies handle government demands for user information and for content restriction? What due diligence do they conduct and what efforts to understand the impact of laws and regulations do they disclose? The scores for this Lens are an average of the following indicators: G4(a); F5(a); F6; F8; P10(a); P11(a); P12, elements 1 and 3.
What processes do companies have to address private requests for content or account restriction and user data? What data do they disclose related to these requests? The scores for this Lens are an average of the following indicators: F5(b); F7; P10(b); P11(b); and P12, element 2
What measures do companies implement to monitor their security systems? How do they handle data breaches, handle security vulnerabilities, and encrypt user communications? The scores for this Lens are an average of the following indicators: P13; P14; P15; P16; P17 and P18. P16 and P17.
Do companies disclose their rules and polices around ad content and targeting? Are they clear about how those policies are in force and what due diligence they conduct? The scores for this Lens are an average of the following indicators: G4(c); F1(b); F2(b); F1(c); F2(c); F3(b); F3(c); F4(c); P3(a); P3(b); P4; P5; P7; P8, elements 5 and 6; and P9.
Do companies provide users with the means to protect their own rights? Do they disclose remedy mechanisms and make their policies accessible? Do they actively inform users of changes to policies and allow them to access and control their own data? The scores for this Lens are an average of the following indicators:G6; F1; F2; F8; P1; P2; P7; P8; P12; and P18
Company | ||
---|---|---|
Alibaba
| China | |
Alphabet
| USA | |
Amazon
| USA | |
Apple
| USA | |
Baidu
| China | |
ByteDance
| China** | |
Kakao
| South Korea | |
Meta
| USA | |
Microsoft
| USA | |
Samsung
| South Korea | |
Tencent
| China | |
VK
| Russia | |
X
| USA | |
Yandex
| Russia |
* Most companies’ scores dropped between 2019 and 2020 with the inclusion of our new indicators on targeted advertising and algorithmic systems. To learn more, please visit our Methodology development archive.
** The ownership structure of ByteDance and TikTok and the location of their headquarters are a matter of significant debate. ByteDance is based in Beijing, registered in the Cayman Islands, and has no single global headquarters, according to TikTok. TikTok itself has headquarters in Singapore and Los Angeles. TikTok states that the Chinese government has a 1% ownership stake in ByteDance. Information related to both entities’ governance structures is difficult to verify given ByteDance’s status as a private company