Freedom House Governments Governments should ensure that internet-related diplomacy is both coordinated among democracies and grounded in human rights. The effort should include identifying regional multilateral forums that are strategically placed to advance free and open internet principles. Democracies should facilitate dialogue among national policymakers and regulators, allowing them to share best practices and strengthen joint engagement at international standards-setting bodies. Specifically, the Freedom Online Coalition (FOC) should improve its name recognition and its ability to drive diplomatic coordination and global action. It should more proactively articulate the benefits of a free and open internet to other governments and be more publicly and privately vocal about threats and opportunities for human rights online. The FOC should also mainstream its activity in other multilateral forums like the International Telecommunication Union and the Group of Seven. The FOC should create an internal mechanism by which member states’ activities can be evaluated to ensure that they align with the coalition’s principles. Finally, the FOC should diversify and expand its advisory network. Governments should establish internet freedom programming as a vital component of their democracy assistance, incorporating funding for digital security and cyber hygiene into their projects. Program beneficiaries should receive support for open-source and user-friendly technologies that will help them circumvent government censorship, protect themselves against surveillance, and overcome restrictions on connectivity. Policymakers should advance efforts to strengthen regulatory and judicial independence, enhance technical literacy among judges and others within the legal and regulatory system, and provide other financial and administrative resources for strategic litigation. Democracies should collectively impose meaningful penalties, including targeted sanctions, on anyone directing or engaging in reprisals against individuals exercising free expression online. Sanctions against state entities should be crafted to minimize their impact on ordinary citizens, and when broad-based sanctions are imposed, democratic governments should carve out exemptions for internet services when relevant. Governments should advocate for the immediate, unconditional release of those imprisoned for online expression that is protected under international human rights standards. Governments should incorporate these cases, in addition to broader internet freedom concerns, into bilateral and multilateral engagement with perpetrator states. It should be standard practice to raise the names of those detained for their online content, to request information or specific action related to their treatment, and to call for their release and the repeal of laws that improperly criminalize online expression. Companies Companies should engage in continuous dialogue with civil society to understand the effects of their policies and products. They should seek out local expertise on the political and cultural context in markets where they have a presence or where their products are widely used, especially in repressive settings that present unique human rights challenges. Consultations with civil society groups should inform companies’ decisions to operate in a particular country, their approach to local content moderation, and their development of policies and practices—particularly during elections or crisis events, when managing government requests, and when working to counter online harms. Prior to launching new internet-related or AI services or expanding them to a new market, companies should conduct and publish human rights impact assessments to fully illuminate the ways in which their products and actions might affect rights including freedom of expression, freedom from discrimination, and privacy. Finally, when complying with sanctions, companies should coordinate with democratic governments to confirm that they are not engaging in excessive risk-mitigation activities that might negatively and needlessly affect civilians who have not themselves been sanctioned. @freedomhouse freedomhouse.org 35