G6(a). Remedy

The company should have clear and predictable grievance and remedy mechanisms to address users’ freedom of expression and privacy concerns.

Elements:

1. Does the company clearly disclose​ it has a grievance mechanism(s) enabling users to submit complaints if they feel their freedom of expression and information rights have been adversely affected by the company’s policies or practices?
2. Does the company clearly disclose​ it has a grievance mechanism(s) enabling users to submit complaints if they feel their privacy has been adversely affected by the company’s policies or practices?
3. Does the company clearly disclose​ its procedures for providing remedy for freedom of expression and information-related grievances?
4. Does the company clearly disclose​ its procedures for providing remedy for privacy-related grievances?
5. Does the company clearly disclose​ timeframes for its grievance and remedy procedures?
6. Does the company clearly disclose the number of complaints it receives related to freedom of expression?
7. Does the company clearly disclose the number of complaints it receives related to privacy?
8. Does the company clearly disclose​ evidence that it is providing remedy for freedom of expression grievances?
9. Does the company clearly disclose​ evidence that it is providing remedy for privacy grievances?

Clearly disclose(s) — The company presents or explains its policies or practices in its public-facing materials in a way that is easy for users to find and understand.

Grievance — RDR takes its definition of grievance from the UN Guiding Principles: “[A] perceived injustice evoking an individual’s or a group’s sense of entitlement, which may be based on law, contract, explicit or implicit promises, customary practice, or general notions of fairness of aggrieved communities.” (p. 32 of 42.) Source: “Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations ‘Protect, Respect and Remedy Framework,” 2011,http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/GuidingPrinciplesBusinessHR_EN.pdf.

Remedy — “Remedy may include apologies, restitution, rehabilitation, financial or non-financial compensation and punitive sanctions (whether criminal or administrative, such as fines), as well as the prevention of harm through, for example, injunctions or guarantees of non-repetition. Procedures for the provision of remedy should be impartial, protected from corruption and free from political or other attempts to influence the outcome.” (p. 22 of 27.)

Source: “Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, John Ruggie. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations ‘Protect, Respect and Remedy’ Framework,” 2011.

http://business-humanrights.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/ruggie/ruggie-guiding-principles-21-mar-2011.pdf

Indicator guidance: Human rights can only be protected and respected if people have redress when they believe their rights have been violated. This indicator examines whether companies provide such remedy mechanisms and whether they have publicly disclosed processes for responding to grievances from individuals who believe that the company has violated or directly facilitated violation of their freedom of expression or privacy.

We expect companies to clearly disclose a grievance mechanism enabling users to submit complaints if they feel their freedom of expression and privacy have been infringed by the company’s policies or practices. To receive full credit on Element 1, a company’s grievance mechanism does not have to explicitly state that it applies to freedom of expression and privacy related complaints. However it should be clear that this mechanism can be used to file any type of human rights-related grievance. We also expect a company’s grievance mechanism to be clearly accessible to users. In addition, the company should explain its process for providing remedy to these types of complaints, and disclose evidence of doing so. Companies should describe clear timelines for addressing each stage of the grievance and remedy processes. These standards are outlined in Principle 31 of the U.N. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which states that businesses should publish clear, accessible, and predictable remedy procedures.

• Company terms of service or equivalent user agreements
• Company content policies
• Company privacy policies, privacy guidelines, or privacy resource site
• Company CSR/sustainability report
• Company help center or user guide
• Company transparency report (for the number of complaints received)
• Company advertising policies