Ranking Digital Rights 2017 Corporate Accountability Index Launch Event

We depend on dozens of companies – such as Facebook, Google, Apple, and AT&T – for the digital products and services that increasingly shape our personal lives, careers, and even politics. But how well do these companies respect our rights to privacy and freedom of expression? 

On March 23rd at 9:30am ET New America’s Ranking Digital Rights (RDR) project will launch the 2017 Corporate Accountability Index: a ranking of 22 of the world’s most powerful telecommunications, internet, and mobile companies on their commitments and disclosed policies affecting users’ freedom of expression and privacy. 

The 2017 Index follows the inaugural 2015 Ranking Digital Rights Corporate Accountability Index which found widespread failure by companies to disclose key information about their policies and practices affecting freedom of expression and privacy. Users were left largely in the dark about how and why their information is collected, used, and shared, as well as many of the circumstances under which content is blocked or removed.  

Join us on March 23rd to find out what has changed since 2015, what companies can do to improve, and why it matters. Presentation of the Index results will be followed by a discussion about how consumers, activists, investors, and companies themselves can use that data to ensure that, as businesses power and shape our internet, they also do a better job of respecting our rights.

The launch will be webcast globally; return to this page the morning of the event to access the video. Join the conversation online by using #rankingrights and by following @rankingrights. 

Participants:

Opening Remarks: Kevin Bankston
Director, Open Technology Institute
@kevinbankston

Rebecca MacKinnon
Director, Ranking Digital Rights
@rmack

Melissa Brown 
Partner, Daobridge Capital

Arvind Ganesan
Director, Business and Human Rights, Human Rights Watch 
@hrw

Niels ten Oever
Head of Digital, Article 19
@conflictmedia

Company representatives invited, to be confirmed.