RightsCon Tunis 2019

Despite efforts from policy makers, civil society, investors, and companies, poor working conditions are prevalent in electronics supply chains, and freedom of expression and privacy rights of users are systematically undermined. Publicly available benchmarks such as the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark, Ranking Digital Rights, and KnowTheChain equip a wide range of users – from investors to governments to civil society – with the tools to engage companies on their human rights impacts. This session will answer the following questions: Why benchmarking? How does it work? Who uses benchmarks and how I can use them? The panelists will explain the model of change behind benchmarks and provide an interactive demonstration of the benchmark data and analysis. Participants will be encouraged to find the results to questions such as: Is Google or Facebook more transparent about its policies that affect users' privacy and freedom of expression? How do Apple’s and Samsung’s efforts to ensure remediation for supply chains workers compare? Panelists and audience members will provide examples of how different types of stakeholders have used benchmarks to encourage improved corporate respect for human rights, and the panelists will share what changes in corporate human rights policies and processes have been observed.