Ranking Digital Rights

The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) joined the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and Ranking Digital Rights (RDR) in calling for the Federal Communications Commission to provide broadband consumers with easy-to-understand, accessible notices of broadband providers’ data practices.

The inaugural Telco Giants Scorecard reveals that telecommunications companies, despite being gatekeepers of the internet for most of the world, are less transparent overall and more susceptible to government demands than their Big Tech peers. It’s time to renew our scrutiny of these companies and hold them accountable for respecting our rights online. None of the 12 telecommunications companies evaluated earned a passing grade.

Microsoft has unseated Google at the top of the 2019 Corporate Accountability Index. Telefónica outpaced Vodafone among telecommunications companies. Yet despite progress, most companies still leave users in the dark about key policies and practices affecting privacy and freedom of expression. A majority of companies improved and clarified policies affecting users’ privacy—a trend that appears to be driven by new data protection regulations in the EU and elsewhere. But even the leading companies fell short in key areas.

A group of investors has endorsed the Ranking Digital Rights (RDR) Corporate Accountability Index as an important tool for helping tech companies meet their human rights responsibilities and for helping investors identify digital rights risks.