FOC Program of Action

The following consensus document was developed by the FOC 2026 Chair, Switzerland, in consultation with FOC Members and the FOC Advisory Network to outline the FOC’s vision, priorities, and activities for 2026.

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FOC Mission Statement

The Freedom Online Coalition (FOC) is a group of Member countries committed to the human rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and to upholding their respective obligations under international human rights law. 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, including through engagement with its independent multistakeholder Advisory Network (FOC-AN) and others who share these views, to support Internet freedom and protect human rights online worldwide.

Context

Since its founding in 2011, the FOC has served as the principal forum for like-minded governments to discuss and address issues at the intersection of technology and human rights. The Coalition works together with the FOC-AN and other international partners to promote Internet freedom and shape global norms. Over the years, the FOC has grown in influence and membership.

Switzerland’s Chairship of the FOC in 2026, like during Estonia’s Chairship 2025, will be significantly influenced by the large number of ongoing global processes related to technology and Internet governance. It is clear that the decisions made in the upcoming years will set the basis for the governance of digital technologies for the next decade and beyond. It is therefore crucial for all diverse yet like-minded partners to work together and to ensure that human rights remain an integral part of these discussions and decisions.

At the same time, we see significant challenges to Internet freedom and exercising human rights online, including via Internet shutdowns, surveillance and information manipulation. This further exacerbates the need to gather stakeholders, facilitate discussions, engage in advocacy, and take diplomatic actions to address these challenges together.

Priorities in 2026

In 2026, taking into account the context of global challenges, the FOC will focus on the following priorities of Switzerland’s Chairship:

    1. Navigating and shaping global digital governance processes — Strengthening the FOC’s diplomatic engagement and coherence across major multilateral, and multistakeholder tracks, such as the implementation of WSIS+20 outcomes, and the Pact for the Future and the GDC, including the UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance.
    2. Addressing ongoing challenges to Internet freedom — Building on previous FOC work to advance rights-respecting technology governance, from AI and DPI to information integrity, through coordinated statements, capacity building, and multistakeholder collaboration.
    3. Operationalising multistakeholder approaches — Demonstrating how inclusive participation enhances legitimacy and outcomes in digital policymaking, with a focus on improving engagement of under-represented stakeholders and outreach to Global South governments and non-governmental actors.

Goals, Objectives, and Activities

GOAL 1: Strengthen FOC engagement in global digital governance processes

Objective: Ensure human rights are respected, and that multistakeholder perspectives and the principle of an open, free, global, interoperable, reliable, secure, accessible, and safe Internet are embedded in key UN, multilateral, and technical or standards-setting forums and processes, including WSIS+20 follow-up, GDC implementation and the UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance, other key AI governance events, and relevant UN-resolutions.

Activities:

  • Coordinate Member engagement and coherent messaging across key UN, multilateral, multistakeholder, and technical forums shaping global digital governance in 2026 to advance coherent, rights-based positions that support a secure and resilient digital environment— in particular: 
    • WSIS+20 follow-up process and related discussions at the Internet Governance Forum, 
    • GDC implementation, including through its UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance, and
    • the UN Human Rights Council.
  • Promote cross-regional and multistakeholder collaboration by linking Member efforts with regional organisations (e.g. African Union (AU), Organisation of American States (OAS), European Union (EU), Council of Europe (CoE), Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including through information sharing, exploring joint outputs and co-organizing events, and ensuring perspectives from civil society, academic, and technical communities, and the private sector inform FOC interventions.
  • Amplify the FOC’s diplomatic voice through joint statements, shared talking points, and public advocacy to reinforce a consistent, rights-based narrative across global digital-governance processes.
  • Enhance coherence and learning by monitoring developments across digital governance spaces, sharing insights and good practices among Members, the Advisory Network and other stakeholders, facilitating learning sessions, and identifying opportunities to align and strengthen FOC engagement.
GOAL 2: Address ongoing challenges to Internet freedom and digital resilience

Objective: Strengthen collective capacity to respond to persistent and emerging challenges to Internet freedom and digital resilience, building on the universally established framework of human rights and principles and the FOC’s existing body of work, including on AI, surveillance, digital public infrastructure (DPI), information integrity, and Internet shutdowns.

Activities:

  • Advance implementation and uptake of existing FOC outputs and principles — including the Rights-Respecting Digital Public Infrastructure Principles and the Joint Statement on AI and Human Rights, among other Joint Statements and relevant materials — through capacity-building, peer learning, Member-led briefings, regional dialogues and consultations, and integration into national, regional, and multilateral policy discussions.
  • Facilitate collective analysis and knowledge exchange among Members and the Advisory Network to identify trends, share good practices, and coordinate timely diplomatic or public responses to incidents that threaten Internet freedom or digital resilience, and provide a platform to exchange information and build knowledge on emerging or cross-cutting issues.
  • Promote rights-respecting approaches to existing and emerging technologies by convening dialogues that bring together governments, civil society, academic and technical communities, and private-sector actors to discuss transparency, accountability, robust safeguards, and responsible innovation.
  • Strengthen cross-regional learning and collaboration to surface and amplify diverse experiences and approaches to protecting human rights online.
GOAL 3: Operationalise multistakeholder approaches to digital governance

Objective: Strengthen the effectiveness, inclusivity, and legitimacy of multistakeholder approaches across digital governance processes by supporting the meaningful participation of those who may be more vulnerable, or under-represented stakeholders — including those from the Global South — and translating FOC principles on openness and collaboration into practice.

Activities:

  • Facilitate meaningful collaboration with non-governmental stakeholders, including civil society, the private sector, the technical community, and academia— through the FOC Advisory Network and otherwise — ensuring their perspectives inform the Coalition’s priorities, statements, and activities.
  • Maximize the impact of diplomatic forums, including those in Geneva and New York, as key platforms to proactively facilitate the participation of Global South governments and non-governmental stakeholders, using these convenings to host inclusive side-events, briefings, and capacity-building sessions.
  • Advance inclusion and accessibility within and beyond the Coalition by addressing barriers to participation in digital governance processes — language, connectivity, affordability, institutional, disability- or safety-related accessibility, or otherwise — and promoting equitable engagement of stakeholders, especially from the Global South, as well as youth, women, persons with disabilities, in key digital policy discussions.
  • Support capacity building and practical implementation by strengthening traditionally underrepresented stakeholders’ ability to participate in complex digital policy negotiations, equipping governments with tools to operationalise multistakeholder collaboration at national, regional, and global levels, and encouraging contributions from the private sector, drawing inspiration from the São Paulo Multistakeholder Guidelines and other relevant benchmarks.
  • Leveraging international forums such as the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and others, to promote their practical implementation and encourage broader adoption of the São Paulo Multistakeholder Guidelines across regions and stakeholder groups.
  • Promote learning, training and cooperation by documenting and disseminating evidence-based models of effective and meaningful multistakeholder participation and by working with complementary coalitions and organisations — such as the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC), Open Government Partnership (OGP), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the Council of Europe (CoE) — to advance cross-coalition collaboration on shared objectives and to promote and protect Internet freedom through these bodies.

2023 Freedom Online Coalition