Council of Europe expands cooperation with internet companies

Since the 2017 Council of Europe (CoE) has been growing its partnership framework with internet companies aimed at ensuring respect of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law online. The framework was joined by another five companies this month: Element AI, ICCO, IEEE, Intel and RIPE NCC. The goal of the partnership, that now counts 21 partners, is to serve as a platform for better communication between the CoE and companies, as support to debates and other numerous intergovernmental activities, as well as to give companies a seat at the table with governments when shaping internet policy. Main benefits mentioned are: ‘boosting citizens’ trust, having a better understanding of the CoE legal frameworks and international policy, better understanding of government and societal expectations, influence over the development of Internet policies, and improvement of corporate social responsibility initiatives’.