Global Network Initiative

🇮🇷 GNI is deeply concerned by the near-total communications blackout in #Iran and calls on the Government of Iran to immediately restore and maintain network connectivity across the country. Amid growing reports of harrowing violence and the use of lethal force against protesters and bystanders during the ongoing protests, GNI condemns the Iranian authorities’ use of internet #shutdowns as a recurring tool of repression, reiterating the concerns set out in our July 2025 statement (https://lnkd.in/gzYQ8Nnr). As outlined in our Network Disruptions one-pager (https://lnkd.in/dwZ4xBAA), internet shutdowns have severe and disproportionate impacts on a wide range of human rights - preventing access to vital emergency, payment, and health services, severing contact with family members and friends, and exacerbating risks to life and safety. They also undermine economic growth and long-term development, further deepening harm to individuals and communities and underscoring the urgent need for authorities to end these practices.

🗺️ As we step into 2026, we’re taking a moment to reflect on the work we carried out together over the past year. From advancing freedom of expression and privacy to strengthening collaboration across our different pillars of work, 2025 was shaped by collective action and shared commitment. Thank you to our members, partners, and community for being part of this journey. Here’s a look back at what we accomplished together.

“Collaborative Pathways for AI Governance” GNI, Centre for Communication Governance and Atlantic Council hosted a roundtable titled “Collaborative Pathways for AI Governance” at the Global Governance Centre | Geneva Graduate Institute on December 8, focused on the current AI governance landscape. This blog authored by Konstantinos Komaitis, PhD & Elonnai Hickok explores the key takeaways from the event: 🚧 Symbolic vs. meaningful participation in AI governance 🌐 Fragmentation across AI governance processes at the regional and global level  🤝 The importance of  civil society engagement 🔗 Building coherence, trust, and inclusion through the India AI Impact Summit and  future AI summits Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gAgG9z7S

🇺🇳 GNI welcomes the #WSIS+20 Outcome Document (https://lnkd.in/dHdf37mv), which reaffirms the multistakeholder model of internet governance, grants the Internet Governance Forum a permanent mandate, strengthens human rights language, and advances commitments on gender equality and accessibility. WSIS+20 marked a critical moment for the future of internet governance, and sustained engagement in the review process was a major undertaking for GNI (https://lnkd.in/d_V_uZh9). With the collective efforts of GNI members, partners, and global collaborators, we have seen meaningful progress reflected in these outcomes. Our project "Shaping the WSIS+20 Review for a Unified Internet Multistakeholderism" (https://lnkd.in/gVNuu4av), implemented with Global Partners Digital and supported by the inaugural ICANN Grant Program, focused on ensuring that voices from the Global Majority and the technical community were meaningfully represented. GNI and GPD convened national-level WSIS+20 workshops in #Bangladesh, #Brazil, #Colombia, #Chile, #Ghana, #India, #SouthAfrica, #Tanzania, and #Zambia, and produced "The Road to WSIS+20: Key Country Perspectives in the Twenty-Year Review of the World Summit on the Information Society" (https://lnkd.in/eGYk_tHu), alongside research chapters on China, the European Union, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Switzerland. GNI also participated in numerous consultations and convened workshops at #RightsCon2025, #FIFAfrica2025, #DRIF2025, #IGF2025, the WSIS+20 High-Level Event in Geneva, and #ICANN84. We are especially grateful to our partners for their collaboration and leadership throughout this process, who invested incredible time and effort to ensure meaningful outcomes could be achieved. Centre for Communication Governance at National Law University Delhi, Data Privacy Brasil, Derechos Digitales, Digitally Right, Fundación Karisma, Media Foundation for West Africa(MFWA), Paradigm Initiative, Research ICT Africa, the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), Anriette Esterhuysen, Konstantinos Komaitis, PhD, Ellie McDonald, Rose Payne, and everyone at the Global Digital Rights Coalition (#GDRC).

“Collaborative Pathways for AI Governance” Recent AI governance efforts spanning UN processes, regional initiatives, and global summits reveal a landscape increasingly shaped by fragmentation, power asymmetries, and geopolitical pressures, underscoring the importance of multistakeholder participation. In the roundtable “Collaborative Pathways for AI Governance” in Geneva on December 8th, an officially recognized pre-event to the India AI Impact Summit 2026 hosted by GNI, Centre for Communication Governance and Atlantic Council and hosted by the Global Governance Centre | Geneva Graduate Institute, discussions focused on the current AI governance landscape. Key takeaways included: 🚧 Symbolic vs. meaningful participation in AI governance 🌐 Fragmentation across AI governance processes at the regional and global level  🤝 The importance of  civil society engagement 🔗 Building coherence, trust, and inclusion through the India AI Impact Summit and  future AI summits Full reflection to come! 
 #IndiaAIImpactSummit2026 #AIforGood #ResponsibleAI #PeoplePlanetProgress #EthicalInnovation #GlobalCollaboration #AIIndia Narendra Modi Ashwini Vaishnaw Jitin Prasada Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology S Krishnan Abhishek Singh Kavita Bhatia Digital India Programme MyGov India

I’m very glad to share Meta’s fourth annual #humanrights report, out today. https://lnkd.in/gUTaYhHw It covers detailed insights and actions from our work managing human rights risks at Meta in 2024. It complements Meta’s Responsible Business Practice Report. #bizhumanrights What is it? Meta’s annual human rights report is an important way for us to share how we go about mitigating human rights risks for billions of people on our apps, in real time. We share insights and actions from our due diligence – and to make it as easy as possible to understand how human rights work happens at scale at Meta. We hope it’s useful for advertisers, investors, stakeholders, and rights holders to see how we manage our most salient risks, including (but not limited to) freedom of expression.   What's in it? Lots! We highlight our #AI work and how it relates to human rights, including some case studies on false refusals and how we internationalize the release of our models in different languages. 2024 was commonly known as the “year of elections” We give detailed insights into our election integrity work during the “year of elections” that was 2024, including in some of the world’s biggest democracies like the United States, India, Mexico and the European Union. Other highlights include our crisis work in Sudan, the Middle East, Bangladesh and Georgia, as well as some new infographics to explain how we mitigate crisis and conflict risks in the long and short term. #CAHRA Why should you read it? A couple of reasons! If you want to understand how Meta manages it’s salient (ie highest priority) human rights risks, and how its program works: this is for you. We also hope it’s a resource that can ground conversations and collaborations that help make our work better. #bizhumanrights If you want to see how folks try to innovate, adapt, and drive respect for the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in real time, then it may be worth a look. It takes a lot of effort, and many talented people, to do any kind of human rights reporting. I’m very grateful to Gabrielle Guillemin, who led the project; Mitra Jafary, our essential legal partner, and Sia Partners for making this happen -- not to mention the more than 150 Meta colleagues who ensured it took place. Thank you, so much. PS. Translations coming out soon!

Last week at the #RightsXSummit in Geneva on #HumanRightsDay2025, GNI and the United Nations Human Rights B-Tech Project co-hosted a joint workshop on “Responsible Business Conduct: From Principles to Practice in AI Product Design.” Facilitated by GNI's Managing Director Elonnai Hickok alongside Patrick Montjouridès (University of Zurich), Ncumisa Willie (Vodacom), and Dr. Isabel Ebert & Anselme Trochu (United Nations Human Rights), the session explored how to identify and address human rights risks across the AI product pipeline, develop practical mitigation approaches, and better understand perspectives across stakeholders. GNI also led a tabletop exercise on embedding human rights in the lifecycle of AI-enabled facial recognition technologies, helping participants strengthen their ability to identify, assess, and mitigate risks from design and development through deployment and decommissioning, guided by the UN Guiding Principles and the GNI Framework and Implementation Guidelines.

Marina Meira, Coordinadora de Políticas Públicas, fue invitada a exponer en el webinario “Perspectivas de las múltiples partes interesadas en la reflexión por la revisión WSIS+20”, organizado por Global Partners Digital, Global Network Initiative y el Grupo de Partes Interesadas No Comerciales de ICANN. El encuentro reunió a representantes de la comunidad técnica y la sociedad civil para analizar los avances y desafíos de esta revisión histórica. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eiWq-24b

🌐 As we approach the WSIS+20 High-Level Meeting on 16–17 December, the release of Revision 1 and Revision 2 of the Outcome Document reflects how far collective advocacy has already moved the needle. Through the combined efforts of GNI members, partners, and global collaborators, we’ve seen meaningful progress: stronger recognition of multistakeholder participation, improved human rights language, and welcome steps on gender equality and accessibility. But as our latest analysis of Rev1 and Rev2 shows, key gaps remain. Critical safeguards, like the principles of necessity, legality, and proportionality, are still missing from certain key human rights sections, and clearer commitments on issues such as internet shutdowns, surveillance, and private-sector accountability are urgently needed to ensure a genuinely rights-respecting digital future. With the final negotiations ahead, this is a pivotal moment to secure a WSIS+20 Outcome Document that truly reflects an inclusive, human-centered, and accountable vision for global digital governance. Read our latest Confluence blog post: https://lnkd.in/dEhdfqfc

As part of the #RoadToImpact, the need for collaborative, inclusive AI governance has never been more urgent. Co-hosted by the Centre for Communication Governance (CCG) at National Law University Delhi, the Global Network Initiative (GNI), and the Atlantic Council’s Democracy and Tech Initiative, the workshop brought together civil society, academia, and government representatives to explore evolving AI governance efforts, the role of the Global South, and pathways for greater international cooperation ahead of the India–AI Impact Summit 2026. To partner or host a pre-summit event, visit: https://lnkd.in/dKmVgSy5 #IndiaAIImpactSummit2026 #AIforGood #ResponsibleAI #AIinHealthcare #DigitalHealth #PeoplePlanetProgress #EthicalInnovation #GlobalCollaboration #AIIndia Ashwini Vaishnaw Jitin Prasada S Krishnan Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology Abhishek Singh Kavita Bhatia Digital India Programme MyGov India