Organisations & initiatives
Organisations & initiatives working on Internet Governance. (Featured in alphabetical order)
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Organisations & initiatives working on Internet Governance. (Featured in alphabetical order)
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Access Now is an international non-profit, human rights, public policy, and advocacy group dedicated to an open and free Internet. Access Now hosts the RightsCon Summit Series each year, and also initiated the #KeepItOn campaign against Internet shutdowns.
They also produce reports and briefings, such as the following resource:
26 recommendations on content governance: A guide for lawmakers, regulators, and company policy makers
Access Now Position Paper: Understanding the “Right to be Forgotten” Globally
Human Rights in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Proposals for Regulating Internet Apps and Services: Understanding the Digital Rights Impact of the “over-the-top” (OTT) Debate
Transparency Reporting Index
The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) is an international network of organizations that was founded in 1990 to provide communication infrastructure, including Internet-based applications, to groups and individuals who work for peace, gender equality, human rights, protection of the environment, and sustainability.
They have multiple publications and other resources relevant to journalists and media development organizations such as:
Feminist Principles of the Internet
Global Information Society Watch (GIS Watch)
The Broadband Commission on Sustainable Development – a joint International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and UNESCO venture that publishes an annual report titled “The State of Broadband“
The Council of Europe produces many relevant resources on Internet freedom, freedom of expression, algorithm transparency, and more.
They also host specialised working groups, such as:
Draft recommendation on promoting a favourable environment for quality journalism in the digital age
Draft study on media and information literacy in the digital environment
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also advocates for Internet freedom.
No press freedom without Internet freedom
DiploFoundation is a non-profit foundation established by the governments of Malta and Switzerland. Diplo works to increase the role of small and developing states, and to improve global governance and international policy development.
One of its initiatives, the GIP Digital Watch observatory, is a comprehensive Internet governance and digital policy observatory that provides monthly updates about digital policy as well as tracks issues and policy developments. Some of their resources include:
Contribute to the DiploFoundation blog
DiploFoundation’s IG acronym glossary
Monthly briefings
Read the Introduction to Internet Governance (7th edition) e-book (for free)
Sign up for one of their online courses, such as the Introduction to Internet Governance
Stay updated with upcoming Internet policy events
Subscribe to the newsletter
Freedom House has multiple resources relevant to Internet freedom, including:
The Global Internet Governance Academic Network (GigaNET) is an international association of academic researchers.
Members include researchers from a wide range of disciplines and locations who are contributing to research, teaching, and engagement in local, regional, and international debates on Internet governance.
Launched in 2008, the Global Network Initiative (GNI) is a multi-stakeholder initiative that helps companies respect freedom of expression and privacy rights when faced with government pressure to hand over user data, remove content, or restrict communications.
For more information, see the GNI Principles and their Country Legal Frameworks Resource (CLFR). GFMD became an official member of GNI in June 2019.
Additional resources include:
Content Regulation and Human Rights: Analysis and Recommendations (briefing)
Global Partners Digital (GPD) is a social purpose company working to protect and promote human rights values online, and the governance processes that uphold and further these values. Their two main priorities are to grow the number of civil society groups engaging in the internet policy and governance arena, and to make governments, public authorities, international institutions, and businesses aware of the benefits of internet policies and governance processes that promote and protect human rights. Relevant resources include:
A Rights-respecting Model of Online Content Regulation by Platforms
Content regulation laws threaten our freedom of expression. We need a new approach
Framework for Multistakeholder Cyber Policy Development
GPD’s Organisational Development Framework
GPD’s response to David Kaye’s report on platform content regulation
GPD’s response to the UK’s Online Harms White Paper
How to Engage in Cyber Policy video series
Some thoughts on the updated UN Resolution on Human Rights and the Internet
Travel Guide to the Digital World: Cybersecurity Policy for Human Rights Defenders
World Map of Encryption
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is the organisation responsible for operating the Domain Name System (DNS), which is essentially the equivalent of the Internet’s phone book – holding the registry of all Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and domain names. It is governed by an international, multi-stakeholder community. ICANN holds three meetings each year, rotating among the different regions. For more information, see the following resources:
Apply for the ICANN Fellowship program if you’d like to be introduced to ICANN and want to take part in its work
ICANNWiki – A non-profit organisation dedicated to providing a community-developed wiki on ICANN and Internet governance
Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) list of stakeholder groups and constituencies
GNSO document archive
GNSO Projects List – a compilation of all active and/or open projects within the GNSO
Join a working group – e.g., the Middle East and Adjoining Countries Strategy Working Group (MEAC-SWG)
Learn about how to write ICANN policy via the Noncommercial User’s Constituency’s (NCUC) Policy Writing Course
Participate in meetings remotely
Read the ICANN beginners guide
Submit a public comment
Visit ICANN Learn and take a free course
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a professional body that primarily works at the physical (infrastructure) layer of the Internet. It develops international standards for modern telecommunications and ICT hardware, such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and is a key area of engagement vis-à-vis strengthening Wi-Fi security standards.
The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) has multiple Internet governance-related resources, including:
Development and Access to Information
IFLA and the Information Society
What is Internet Governance?
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the United Nations body responsible for global radio spectrum and satellite orbit management. Working primarily at both the physical (infrastructure) and logical (protocols, standards, and applications) layers, it also develops certain technical standards that ensure networks and technologies seamlessly interconnect. Additionally, it works to improve access to ICTs to underserved communities worldwide. Key resources include:
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is a key organization involved in the development of technical standards and protocols – the basic traffic rules of the Internet that define how information travels across the network, and who can connect to whom and to what content. Housed within the Internet Society, the work of IETF encompasses protocols that range from Internet Protocol (IP), the basic language that enables two devices to communicate, to applications like email.
The Internet Governance Caucus (IGC) is a civil society network on Internet governance and Internet rights. It offers an open space where each group can present and advocate for the initiatives that they believe offer the best positive agenda for advancing broadly shared civil society interests in Internet governance. Participate by signing up for their mailing list.
The Internet Governance Project (IGP) is a leading source of independent analysis of global Internet governance. It is comprised of a group of professors, postdoctoral researchers, and students hosted at the School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology. For more information, see the IGP guide to Internet governance.
The Internet Society (ISOC) is a non-profit organisation that was founded in 1992 to provide leadership in Internet-related standards, education, access, and policy.
It features chapters all over the world, and ISOC members are involved in every aspect of Internet governance. Some of their resources include:
Apply for an ambassadorship to the IGF (when the call opens each summer)
Apply for a fellowship to attend one of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) meetings
Become a global member (for free) and join a chapter
Check out their publications, such as the 2017 Global Internet Report: Paths to Our Digital Future
ISOC’s online course “Shaping the Internet: History and Futures”
ISOC’s guide to the Internet ecosystem
Join the ISOC Policy or other mailing lists
Participate in an e-learning course as part of the Next Generation Leaders program (NGL)
Young journalists and students: apply for ISOC’s Youth@IGF programme (ages 18-25)
The Media and Development Forum (Forum Medien und Entwicklung – FoME) is a network of German institutions and individuals active in the field of media development cooperation. In addition to hosting an annual Symposium, they also feature many relevant resources and publications. You can also join their mailing list.
Mozilla is a non-profit technology organisation that is also heavily invested in digital policy discussions and protecting human rights online. In addition to creating technology like code, apps, and the Firefox browser, Mozilla also engages in policy development, advocacy, and curates resources like the annual Internet Health Report and related toolkits.
Human Rights & The Internet (HRI) is a special section of openDemocracy focusing on various technology-related rights issues.
The Open Internet for Democracy project is a collaborative initiative by the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), the National Democratic Institute (NDI), and the Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA).
It is endeavoring to build a network of open Internet advocates who champion the democratic values and principles that should guide the future development of the Internet.
Apply to be an Open Internet Leader
Democratic Principles for an Open Internet
Ranking Digital Rights (RDR) works to promote freedom of expression and privacy on the internet by creating global standards and incentives for companies to respect and protect users’ rights.
They fulfill their mission primarily by publishing the RDR Corporate Accountability Index, which evaluates the world’s most powerful Internet, mobile, and telecommunications companies’ disclosed policies and practices affecting users’ freedom of expression and privacy.
Reporters Without Borders (RWB), or Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF), is based in Paris, France, and promotes and defends the freedom to be informed and to inform others throughout the world. They have multiple publications, and also produce the annual World Press Freedom Index. Other resources include:
Digital Security for Journalists – A help desk featuring information on training, digital security guides, and FAQs/dangerous misconceptions
International Declaration on Information and Democracy: principles for the global information and communication space
Internet Governance – The Position of Reporters Without Borders
The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University publishes an annual Digital News Report, which tracks digital news consumption across countries, and provides timely data and analysis for industry, regulators, and academia.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has multiple resources that pertain to Internet freedom, freedom of expression, and more. They include:
Fostering Freedom Online: The Role of Internet Intermediaries
Freedom of Connection, Freedom of Expression: The Changing Legal and Regulatory Ecology Shaping the Internet
Internet Universality Indicators
Media Development Indicators: A Framework for Assessing Media Development
Steering AI and Advanced ICTs for Knowledge Societies: A Rights, Openness, Access, and Multi-stakeholder Perspective
UNESCO Journalists’ Safety Indicators
UNESCO Series on Internet Freedom
World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development
Established in 2009 by the inventor of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the World Wide Web Foundation seeks to advance the open web as a public good and a basic right.
They offer multiple resources such as research, as well as initiatives and projects including:
Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) – Working to make Internet access more affordable and inclusive. A key resource they public is the annual Affordability Report
Contract for the Web
Open Data Barometer – It measures the prevalence and impact of open data initiatives around the world
Open Data Charter – Guides and supports governments as they implement shared open data principles, standards and best practices
Open Data Labs – Employs a combination of research, incubation, training, and engagement to ensure that open data is used to address practical problems in developing and emerging economies
Web Index – The first measure of the web’s contribution to social, economic, and political progress, studying 86 countries across the world
Web We Want – a global coalition working to defend, claim, and change the future of the Web
