ARTICLE 19, the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR), and the Public Interest Registry (PIR), will formalise their collaboration on a project to help internet registries and registrars assess their human rights impacts.
The decision to collaborate was made before the announcement in November 2019 by the Internet Society (ISOC) of their intention to sell the assets of the Public Interest Registry (PIR), including the .ORG top level domain (TLD) to Ethos Capital
Mallory Knodel, Head of Digital at ARTICLE 19 said, “We are excited to be working with PIR and DIHR as we head into 2020. Internet infrastructure providers—not only registries, but also registrars, service providers, content delivery networks, and the other technical actors that make the Internet work—have a responsibility to respect human rights. Identifying and measuring their real and potential impacts is a first step toward realizing this responsibility.”
Cathrine Bloch Veiberg, Senior Adviser, Corporate Engagement Programme Manager, Human Rights and Business said, “The world is going through a digital transition, more and more people access the internet and use digital technologies than ever before. We need to work with various stakeholders to ensure that this transition is done in a way that supports and promotes human rights enjoyment. Internet infrastructure providers are a key player. Working with the industry provides necessary insights for us to be able to develop tools and resources for industry actors to improve their human rights due diligence processes.”
Jon Nevett, President and CEO at Public Internet Registry said, “We’re excited to be a part of this important initiative. We’ve been in discussions with ARTICLE 19 over the past year and can’t wait to participate in the assessment process. PIR remains fully committed to respecting human rights.”
Erik Brooks founder and CEO of Ethos Capital said, “Ethos is proud to support PIR, ARTICLE 19 and DIHR in this important initiative to promote and protect human rights. Ethos and PIR are united in our commitment to maintaining the highest level of integrity in the registry’s operations and upholding .ORG’s reputation and position as the most trusted platform for mission-driven organizations, individuals and others on the Internet.”
This project has seen ARTICLE 19 and DIHR work with the Dutch Internet domain registry SIDN, which is the foundation responsible for managing the top-level domain .nl, and Blacknight Internet Solutions LTD, the market leader for the Irish ccTLD, .ie. See a recent article on public interest and private infrastructure, here.
For more information, please contact: Mallory Knodel, ARTICLE 19 – [email protected]; Cathrine Bloch Veiberg, Danish Institute – [email protected]; Jon Nevett, PIR and Erik Brooks, Ethos Capital – [email protected]