RightsCon Toronto 2018

When it comes to internet freedom, getting a company to flip the right switch or deploy a new policy can help protect the rights of millions of people; getting an entire industry to adopt better practices can protect billions of people. However, those changes usually don’t come about without years of hard work from advocates both inside and outside of those companies. Join us as we survey the past decade of advancements in the business and human right space and the work it took to make them happen, and as we look for lessons on how we can gain even more ground over the next ten years. Staff from the groundbreaking Business & Human Rights Program that was founded a decade ago within Yahoo and is now a part of Oath, will discuss the ins and outs of protecting human rights from the inside, and how the dedicated team model has evolved. External advocates and researchers will survey what strategies and tactics have best moved the needle on key issues like transparency and security over the years, and what tools have developed to help gauge the sector’s overall performance when it comes to protecting users’ rights. And advocates from both the inside and the outside will reflect on how best to handle the challenges and opportunities for human rights in the ICT sector that lie ahead in the next decade.