🚨🚨 Tanzania’s election-period internet shutdown is concerning. GNI calls on the Government of Tanzania to ensure that any future restrictions are necessary, proportionate, time-bound & independently overseen. Read the full statement: 🔗 shorturl.at/CzQ6Z

GNI strongly condemns the persistent disruption of Internet & telecommunications services in the #Gaza Strip and calls on all parties to prioritize the restoration and improvement of telecommunications services in the Gaza Strip. Read our full statement: globalnetworkinitiative.org/gni-statemen...

🌍 How do global paradigm shifts impact digital rights? Join us on Oct 22 in Buenos Aires for GNI's Annual Learning Forum 2025 with experts from Wikimedia, Google, Bolo Bhi, Data Privacy Brazil, CELE, and more at the University of Palermo. globalnetworkinitiative.org/gni-2025-ann...

🇳🇵 GNI strongly condemns the recent violence in Nepal and urges the government to continue de-escalating the situation following its decision to lift the ban on social media services. globalnetworkinitiative.org/gni-statemen...

2024 was a busy year! I'm really proud of all the growth and evolution that happened at GNI. Be sure to check out the interview with my amazing colleague, Elonnai Hickok.

If you're wondering whether the EU's Digital Services Act censors speech in America, the answer is no. Here's a blog post explaining why. You can skim the key points in a couple of minutes, or stay for the juicy details.

🇲🇽 (Spanish below) Mexico has passed sweeping surveillance laws: biometric IDs; centralized data systems; military surveillance without warrants. GNI calls for urgent reconsideration to protect privacy & free expression. globalnetworkinitiative.org/expanding-st...

Community-involved content moderation is not new but is taking on various shapes and forms, including via Meta's new approach to Community Notes. Check out this blog to learn more about the latest GNI convened conversations exploring these approaches and their possible human rights impacts.

🔎 GNI’s new learning series explores how human rights due diligence applies to community moderation models amid rising regulation and AI challenges. Read more: globalnetworkinitiative.org/exploring-hu...

New from me and @pielemeier.bsky.social: "Online Safety Regulation: Righting Risks or Risking Rights?" Up on SSRN here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... Forthcoming in "Trust, Safety, and the Internet We Share: Multistakeholder Insights" from the Trust & Safety Foundation and Taylor & Francis

If you have concerns about the UK Online Safety Act, you may also want to understand the substantial concerns that we are raising about Sri Lanka's OSA. Check out @thegni.bsky.social's recommendations to learn more!

Growing # of intel & law enforcement requests for OpenAI user data, notably content data: 2023: 20 metadata reqs (8 successful); 0 content data reqs 2024: 86 metadata reqs (61 successful); 21 content data reqs (16 successful) 2025: first half report not posted yet openai.com/trust-and-tr...

📣 New report by GNI and Global Partners Digital: The Road to WSIS+20 Featuring country insights from Africa, Asia, Europe & the Americas, it is designed to help governments and stakeholders prepare for the 20-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society. Read more: shorturl.at/1t8Ex

🌍 GNI has submitted our input for #WSIS20 - reaffirming the need for a people-centered, rights-based digital future. We call for: ✅ Multistakeholder governance ✅ Rights-based approach to AI governance ✅ Rights-respecting DPI ✅ Stronger civic space globalnetworkinitiative.org/gnis-interve...

Thanks to all who participated, especially panelists from @ofcom.bsky.social, @ec.europa.eu, @cnam-ie.bsky.social, @cdteu.bsky.social and the NLUD/CCG. It was particularly interesting to hear from Ofcom about its ongoing review of risk assessment under the UK OSA - see slides included in our post.

GNI and @gpdigital.bsky.social have launched a new project to support civil society engagement in the WSIS+20 Review. Funded by the ICANN Grant Program, the initiative brings multistakeholder dialogue to the forefront of global digital governance. globalnetworkinitiative.org/shaping-wsis...

GNI's team is growing stronger and expanding our expertise. We are thrilled to have Shreya joining us!

tired: SignalGate @wired.com: The Signal clone, TeleMessage—which Mike Waltz appeared to use in a Reuters photo—has been hacked. And Customs and Border Protection also confirmed it used TeleMessage. Welp.

🔴 Read our latest Confluence blog post "Data localization: A Global Threat to Human Rights Online" by Freedom House's Community Engagement Specialist Maddie Masinsin and GNI Senior Fellow Ramsha Jahangir. globalnetworkinitiative.org/data-localiz...

GNI, alongside 101 civil society organizations and 46 experts, endorses the Five Point Plan to help operationalize the WSIS+20 review modalities to ensure transparency, inclusivity, and meaningful stakeholder engagement. Learn more: www.gp-digital.org/five-point-p...

At this difficult, yet critical, time for the human rights and tech community globally, GNI appreciated the space to be in community and collaborate at hashtag #RightsCon2025 at a key moment for the sector. globalnetworkinitiative.org/looking-back...

Apple has been forced to disable end to end encryption for iCloud in the UK. This violates human rights law. If UK courts don't block this, the European Court of Human Rights will, as our new coalition letter explains. But users will be left unprotected... www.techpolicy.press/uk-encryptio...

We are exceedingly disappointed to hear the UK has secretly ordered Apple to let it spy on all users’ encrypted accounts. The following can be attributed to Robin Wilton @komadori.bsky.social , Senior Director of Internet Trust:

A year ago @thegni.bsky.social lamented the potential for abuse of proposed amendments to the Investigatory Powers Act. This is an unnecessary & disproportionate assertion of power by HMG & terrible global precedent. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2... globalnetworkinitiative.org/gni-statemen...

Great piece on impacts of $ freeze on intl tech policy. That this is happening as world gears up for WSIS+20 review isn’t mentioned but underscores the challenge this poses for US interests and the opportunity it creates for those pushing for a state-centric, top-down approach to Internet governance

This is an important moment in Bangladesh - a country with so much potential. Getting digital regulation right is not easy, even in the best of circumstances. Engaging key stakeholders is critical to ensure the country charts an open, reliable, sustainable, & rights-protecting digital way forward.

🔔 New blog post: This is the fifth in a series that explores the rationale behind adaptations to GNI's fifth assessment cycle, covering how they improve alignment between GNI’s assessment process and the aforementioned developments. globalnetworkinitiative.org/enhancing-pa...

GNI issued a letter to the Government of Pakistan today, in light of the amendments to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) & amidst continued monitoring and restriction of internet access and social media services in the country. Full statement: globalnetworkinitiative.org/gni-statemen...

@safety.bsky.app's transparency report may have gotten lost in other #COMO news over the last few weeks. @thegni.bsky.app has worked on tech company transparency from the beginning - having played a role in encouraging Google to produce the very 1st one in 2010. A few thoughts on this report:

@thegni.bsky.social is hiring! Send us your best and brightest ;-) globalnetworkinitiative.org/gni-job-oppo...

🇵🇰 GNI expresses deep concern regarding recent digital regulation proposals amidst continued monitoring and restriction of internet access and social media services in Pakistan, and urges the gov to act consistently with its international obligations. globalnetworkinitiative.org/gni-statemen...

Our statement on the UNCC is here: globalnetworkinitiative.org/gni-statemen... & @davidakaye.bsky.social's excellent critique is here: www.techdirt.com/2024/12/16/u...

This trend, which the article notes was called out by the UN HC for Human Rights last year, is especially troubling in light of the new UN Cybercrime Convention, which gives states even more transnational repression levers to pull @shibanim.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

The GNI Principles & Implementation Guidelines are an open-source, no-commitment framework that any company - including car companies! - can use to develop & assess their LE response policies to ensure alignment with human rights principles. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

Does anyone find it jarring that on Friday, the U.S. government will argue that TikTok should be barred from this country because it is possibly subject to pressure from the Chinese government--while we watch its main competitor changing its content moderation directly in response to U.S. politics?

There is a misperception among some that the CS3D may not cover tech-related harms that result from the 'use' of technology. @dunstanhope.bsky.social & I disagree with that interpretation, & explain why people should be paying more attention to this pathbreaking new directive.

🚨 GNI is deeply troubled by the UN's decision to hold the Internet Governance Forum Governance Forum (IGF) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia this year. Read the full statement and GNI's recommendations for improving the IGF’s hosting decisions going forward: globalnetworkinitiative.org/gni-statemen...

@thegni.bsky.social welcomes Sri Lankan Government’s decision to amend the Online Safety Act 2023, & calls for a rigorous & rights-based approach to its revision through open and multistakeholder consultations. Read our statement (also in Tamil & Sinhala): globalnetworkinitiative.org/gni-welcomes...

@thegni.bsky.social welcomes the release of the first risk assessment, risk mitigation, and independent audits reports published pursuant to Article 42(4) of the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA). globalnetworkinitiative.org/gni-statemen...

DSA systemic risk assessment and audit report for @wikimedia.bsky.social! foundation.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Legal:E... ht @ramshajahangir.bsky.social

Other highlights from panel at @thegni.bsky.social Learning Forum session on "censorship & surveillance at the infrastructure level" include insights from InternetLab's Heloisa Massaro about how X blocking rolled out across Brazil (not smoothly) & @cloudflare.social about their fantastic Radar tool.

Breaking news from @thegni.bsky.social's Learning Forum happening now in DC. GNI Vice Chair @usamakhilji.bsky.social reports that @bsky.app was blocked earlier today/yesterday in Pakistan. Curious if anyone can confirm & to know if this represents the largest country-level block of Bluesky to date?

@benequista.bsky.social has a great piece in the Hill today on the risks of the UN Cybercrime Convention for journalists and human rights defenders: thehill.com/opinion/inte...

No more excuses - it's time to see whether they really care about human rights enough to use their diplomatic capital when it counts. freedomonlinecoalition.com/foc-advisory...

Countries that advocate for digital rights now have the opportunity to stand together to reject proposals that would make the Convention even worse; propose amendments to strengthen safeguards and improve it; and vote no or abstain if sufficient positive amendments are not adopted.

This Convention is bad for all sorts of reasons & this negates one of the primary arguments we've heard for why it can't be improved: that it's too late & would be diplomatically problematic to breach the (unfortunate) consensus that was reached earlier. globalnetworkinitiative.org/gni-statemen...

Breaking news on UN Cybercrime Convention: Govt of Vietnam has indicated it will propose amendments during the UNGA Third Committee debate. It says something that Vietnam is so excited about this, given it's human rights record. But more importantly, this creates an opportunity.

The adoption of the UN Convention Against Cybercrime poses significant risks to criminal justice, data access, cybersecurity, the digital economy, and human rights. Read our statement: globalnetworkinitiative.org/gni-statemen...

@thegni.bsky.social agrees! globalnetworkinitiative.org/gni-statemen... I made many of these points on the panel that this story links to, but which weren’t picked up on in the piece.