Freedom Online Coalition issues joint statement urging human rights–centred global AI governance

Members and observers of the Freedom Online Coalition (FOC) have issued a new Joint Statement on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, outlining their shared position on how governments, institutions and private actors should respond to the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence technologies. The statement stresses that the governance choices made today will shape the global human rights landscape for years to come, given the accelerating deployment of AI systems across public, private and security contexts.

The document reaffirms that AI has the potential to support development, strengthen democratic processes and improve public services when aligned with international human rights law. However, the coalition warns that these opportunities coexist with serious and growing risks. According to the statement, AI is already being used to suppress dissent, manipulate information ecosystems, facilitate gender-based violence and enable intrusive digital surveillance. These harms, the coalition notes, are no longer isolated cases but are becoming embedded in governance frameworks and law enforcement systems in ways that lack transparency and accountability.

The coalition welcomes recent global developments, including the UN General Assembly’s 2024 resolution on trustworthy AI, ongoing follow-up processes to the Global Digital Compact and the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention on AI and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law. It urges that these processes remain focused on safeguarding rights online and offline, ensuring that emerging standards and agreements are not shaped solely by government interests or commercial imperatives but built through inclusive, multistakeholder engagement.

The statement outlines a detailed assessment of risks, emphasising that some groups face heightened exposure to AI-related harms. These include women and girls, children, LGBTQIA+ people, minorities and persons with disabilities. The coalition highlights biases in training data, the absence of representative datasets, and the rise of technology-facilitated gender-based violence, including non-consensual image creation and sharing. It also notes that the environmental impact of AI systems, including energy and resource use, must be understood as a human rights issue, particularly for climate-vulnerable communities.

Private companies, which develop and deploy most AI technologies, are identified as essential actors in addressing these risks. The coalition calls on companies to comply with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and to apply safety-by-design approaches that prevent discriminatory, deceptive or rights-violating practices. At the same time, states retain clear obligations under international law to ensure AI systems are governed in ways that respect rights and do not exacerbate discrimination or restrict fundamental freedoms.

The statement concludes with a wide-ranging call to action, urging governments, institutions and technology developers to:

• Ensure AI systems comply with international law, including international human rights law.
• Strengthen transparency and refrain from exporting or deploying AI systems likely to enable unlawful surveillance or repression.
• Implement safeguards and oversight for high-risk AI uses, with clear avenues for redress.
• Improve algorithmic transparency, mitigate bias, and support development of locally relevant and linguistically diverse AI models.
• Protect journalists, promote media pluralism and address AI-driven disinformation.
• Carry out human rights due diligence across the AI lifecycle.
• Support inclusive, multistakeholder AI governance and embed human rights expertise in UN-led processes, including the Global Dialogue on AI Governance and the UN Independent International Scientific Panel on AI.
• Promote mechanisms enabling access to remedies for individuals and communities affected by AI-related harms.

The statement will be formally launched at the 2025 Internet Governance Forum in Lillestrøm, Norway, during an Open Forum session on multistakeholder approaches to global AI governance. It represents one of the coalition’s most comprehensive positions to date on aligning AI development with democratic values, human rights and the rule of law.