US-EU: Recommended actions for online platforms on protecting human rights defenders online

Online platforms should elaborate and publish an unequivocal commitment to respect
human rights and protect HRDs. This commitment should reflect stakeholder input
and be endorsed by top leadership and integrated throughout their operations.

Online platforms should identify risks to HRDs that could occur on or through their
products and services, in line with their responsibility to respect human rights. Risk
assessments should be comprehensive, informed by stakeholder consultation, and
updated regularly and as new technical capabilities are integrated and deployed,
drawing upon the best available company-internal and -external evidence. Further, as
certain risks, such as gender-based violence, disproportionately and uniquely impact
women and LGBTI HRDs, online platforms should incorporate a gender perspective
into their risk assessments. Online platforms should communicate these risks to HRDs
publicly and, as appropriate, to affected HRDs.

Online platforms should establish an ongoing and transparent dialogue with diverse
networks of HRDs and other relevant stakeholders to build trust and improve the
effective protection of HRDs. Relevant stakeholders should include trusted partners as
well as relevant legal experts and broader civil society representatives. Online platforms
should work with industry peers to identify cross-platform risks to HRDs and improve
HRD protection efforts.

Online platforms should develop a comprehensive implementation plan for their HRD
protection policy. This plan should reflect identified risks to HRDs and spell out how
these risks can be mitigated and addressed to prevent adverse impacts with clear
benchmarks to measure ongoing effectiveness. Effective implementation of policy
commitments hinges on the development of internal roadmaps for how this policy will
be executed through careful planning, adequate resourcing, tailored training, and
meaningful consultation with internal and external stakeholders.

Online platforms should prioritize staffing and other resourcing for HRD-specific
risk identification and protection efforts, including by fully resourcing human rights,
trust and safety, and fact-checking functions and by training staff and contractors on
how to identify and address risks to HRDs. Online platforms should be prepared to
rapidly allocate resources in anticipation of and in response to urgent HRD needs, especially during major events carrying heightened risks to HRDs, including elections, protests, protracted conflict, or evolving crisis situations

Online platforms should build internal capabilities to take into account regional
specificities and indicators of heightened risk to HRDs in the countries in which
their platforms are available. This includes building local language capacities and understanding and awareness of local restrictions on civic space in each country or region. Online platforms should mobilize additional capacity when they identify a foreseeable risk of harm. Online platforms should provide trauma-informed training and psychosocial resources to contractors and staff who play a role in incident response efforts in all regions and countries of operation.

Online platforms should provide context-appropriate, user-friendly settings and
tools, with clear instructions, to enable HRDs and trusted partners representing
them to quickly secure or disable their accounts and/or enable optional enhanced
privacy features. Digital security features, including safety and privacy enhancing
features, and educational materials about these features should be provided in local
languages.

With adequate staffing and resources in place, online platforms should establish
effective, accessible, secure, and responsive incident reporting channels that will
enable rapid coordination with HRDs and trusted civil society intermediaries to
address and mitigate the impacts of incidents targeting HRDs on or through their
products or services. To the extent possible, online platforms should promptly
notify HRDs of incidents they may not otherwise be aware of and that pose a
concrete threat to their safety.

Online platforms should seek to mitigate risks to HRDs and prevent adverse human
rights impacts that are directly linked to their operations, products, or services and
ensure that HRDs have access to redress and appeals mechanisms so that HRDs
who report harassment or abuse have a means of recourse in case of an unfavorable
outcome.

Online platforms should monitor and evaluate efficacy of HRD protection efforts,
commit to continuous learning, report on findings, and translate lessons learned
into demonstrable improvements in company policies and processes.