The Freedom Online Coalition
The Freedom Online Coalition is a group of 31 governments deeply committed to the human rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We believe that the human rights that people have offline must also be protected online. We commit to working together, and with all others who share these views, to support Internet freedom and protect human rights online worldwide. The FOC aims to be a proactive coalition that ensures Internet freedom issues are on the international policy agenda as a way to drive concrete policy changes and outcomes.
HOW IT WORKS
The Coalition members coordinate their diplomatic efforts, share information on violations of human rights online and work together to voice concern over measures that curtail human rights online. The Coalition also collaborates by issuing joint statements, by sharing policy approaches to complex issues, exchanging views on strategy, and planning participation in relevant forums.
Additionally, the Coalition provides a platform for multistakeholder engagement, which is also recognized in its founding declaration. The Coalition has made continuous efforts to engage civil society and the private sector in a constructive dialogue on pressing issues related to Internet freedom and digital right and has grown into a unique avenue for direct engagement with high-level government representatives. The Coalition encourages member states to engage with companies domestically to discuss human rights challenges faced by the ICT sector at the national level.
Once a year, the FOC holds a multi-stakeholder conference that aims to review developments and deepen the discussion on how freedom of expression on the Internet can help to promote democracy, human rights, and social, cultural and economic development. After the launch conference in The Hague 2011, annual Internet Freedom Conferences followed in Nairobi 2012, Tunis 2013, Tallinn 2014, Ulaanbaatar 2015, San Jose 2016 and Berlin 2018.
Priorities
Members agreed in the San Jose Statement and Work Plan to prioritize three primary activity areas:
- Strengthening coordination and cooperation among Members, as well as with outside stakeholders who share the Coalition’s objectives, with added focus on fostering cross-regional diplomacy through employing local networks;
- Shaping global norms on human rights online through joint statements;
- Holding periodic convenings with Members and other stakeholders.
As outlined in the Freedom Online Coalition 2019-2020 Plan of Action, from 1 March 2019 – 1 March 2020 the Coalition will focus its diplomatic work and activities on the following objectives:
- To promote global norms that seek to prevent and limit state-sponsored restrictions to human rights online through joint statements and raising awareness of priority issue areas
- To support civil society voices online, capital-level coordination of members and bilateral discussions with other countries
- To promote and protect human rights online in the context of cybersecurity and disinformation
Current Members
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Canada
Costa Rica
The Czech Republic
Estonia
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Ireland
Japan
Kenya
Latvia
Lithuania
The Maldives
Mexico
Moldova
Mongolia
The Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Tunisia
United Kingdom
United States of America
Future Members
The Coalition is constantly expanding and is open to additional countries who have demonstrated a strong commitment to human rights and Internet Freedom around the globe.
