The Freedom Online Coalition is a partnership of 41 governments, working to advance Internet freedom.
Coalition members work closely together to coordinate their diplomatic efforts and engage with civil society and the private sector to support Internet freedom – free expression, association, assembly, and privacy online – worldwide.
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Our Mission

The Freedom Online Coalition (FOC) is a group of countries committed to the human rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The FOC believes that the human rights that people have offline must also be protected online. The Coalition serves as a coordinating body that advances cross-regional diplomacy and commits to working together, and with all others who share these views, including through multistakeholder engagement, to support Internet freedom and protect human rights online worldwide.

The FOC aims to be a proactive Coalition that works with all stakeholders to ensure Internet freedom issues are on the policy agenda as a way to drive concrete policy changes and outcomes, and shape global norms to promote a rules-based, democratic, and inclusive world where human rights and fundamental freedoms are upheld in online and digital contexts.

Working Methods

To support the FOC’s mission, Members agree to prioritise three primary working methods, as outlined in the Terms of Reference:

  1. Information and knowledge sharing, including through facilitating learning calls, monitoring and research activities, voluntary funding coordination, and sharing best-practices and guidelines on relevant policy and issue areas, as well as strengthening cooperation and coordination with outside stakeholders, where appropriate; 
  2. Diplomatic coordination, including through developing joint positions and strategies on thematic topics, and coordinating rapid responses to human rights violations; and
  3. Advocacy, including through issuing of Coalition statements and other outputs, directly engaging in multilateral fora, facilitating joint demarches, and hosting and participating in internal and external events.

Statements & Other Outputs

The FOC’s Member States strive to develop joint positions and strategies on thematic topics of importance to the Coalition’s mission, in addition to jointly responding to repeated and publicly documented human rights violations online. By reacting to emerging issues through statements and other written outputs, Coalition Members are able to increase the visibility of their positions and use these as the basis for advocacy in multilateral fora. Recent outputs include:

Task Forces & Working Groups

The FOC’s ad hoc Task Forces and Working Groups provide a mechanism for focused and issue-based engagement, facilitating substantive contributions by the FOC with input from the FOC’s independent multistakeholder Advisory Network. Active Task Forces & Working Groups include:

Recent News

Subscribe to the FOC Mailing List

Receive updates on the Freedom Online Coalition’s activities and upcoming events by following the FOC on Twitter, LinkedIn or by subscribing to our mailing list. 

FOC Members

FOC Members are countries committed to protecting and promoting human rights, both online and offline, domestically and abroad. FOC Members agree to work together through the FOC’s working methods and to adhere to existing FOC commitments as stated in the Coalition’s foundational documents.

Today, 41 governments are part of the Freedom Online Coalition.

Argentina

Australia

Austria

Cabo Verde

Canada

Chile

Colombia

Costa Rica

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Georgia

Germany

Ghana

Iceland

Ireland

Italy

Japan

Kenya

Republic of Korea

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

The Maldives

Mexico

Moldova

Mongolia

The Netherlands

New Zealand

Norway

Poland

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Tunisia

United Kingdom

United States of America