On October 29, the Global Network Initiative announced new communications industry guidelines to protect privacy and free speech. The Initiative is a joint effort by human rights groups, academics, investment firms (including KLD), and major internet and media companies, including Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo.

Defenders of free speech have faulted all three internet giants for censoring user content at the request of Chinese authorities. Many criticized Yahoo in particular, The Guardian explains, “after it handed the Chinese government details that led to the imprisonment of dissident journalist Shi Tao in 2004.”

Individual companies are always vulnerable to pressure from governments that regulate them. The Initiative is an attempt to seek safety in numbers, as explained by its press release:

“The Initiative is founded upon new Principles on Freedom of Expression and Privacy – supported by specific implementation commitments and a framework for accountability and learning – that provide a systematic approach for companies, NGOs, investors, academics and others to work together in resisting efforts by governments that seek to enlist companies in acts of censorship and surveillance that violate international standards.”

The breadth of the coalition is essential to its success, says KLD Senior Research Analyst Meggin Thwing Eastman, who monitors the communications sector. “The implementation guidelines include provisions for third-party monitoring and auditing of compliance. It took a long time to persuade the companies to agree to that, but it was a crucial condition for NGOs and social investors to support the Principles.

“Third-party oversight is the only way to make sure the Principles actually mean something.”

Also see this International Herald Tribune article for more on the Global Network Initiative.