At AppLogic Networks, our mission is to make the Internet available to everyone, enhance the quality of their network experience, and champion digital human rights. Our democracy-oriented go-to-market strategy helps us to just that and reduces the risk of product misuse that infringes upon human rights.
The steps that we’ve taken to align our business operations with democratic values are rare and unprecedented in our industry. They differentiate AppLogic Networks from others in the industry, match the company’s profits with its purpose, and put business integrity into action in ways that are unique and not readily seen, duplicated, or implemented by other corporations with comparable risks and/or similar technologies.
This is why, when the Business and Human Rights Centre invited ALN to respond to its latest investor guide on high-risk technologies, we took the opportunity to engage and share our approach to preventing, detecting, and minimizing the potential misuse of our products.
We are proud not only to have been one of a few organizations that responded to the BHRC’s invitation, but we were also able to state, prior to the BHRC publication, that we are already implementing many of the latest best practices that the BHRC recommends for companies to demonstrate that they mitigate human rights risks relating to potential third party use of their technologies.
Among other things, AppLogic Networks already:
- Made its Human Rights Statement publicly available. The statement outlines the Company’s human rights due diligence and risk management framework, which is informed by the U.N. Guiding Principles (UNGPs), includes Board-level oversight, an independent Human Rights Senior Advisor, and a Human Rights Committee, demonstrating multi-level accountability.
- Why this matters: BHRC flagged that “80% of high-risk surveillance tech companies lack publicly available human rights policies” and governance. AppLogic Networks has published and operationalizing this practice.
- Implemented a global Human Rights Due Diligence & Risk Management Policy (HRDD Policy), which allows for the declination of sales based on risk profiles, includes monitoring for signs of product misuse and mechanisms to respond appropriately, and is informed by UNGPs and civil society input.
- Why this matters: BHRC advocates for this exact capability — rigorous due diligence that goes beyond box-checking to integrate human rights risk into business decisions.
- Conducts business in democratically aligned jurisdictions with robust rule-of-law protections, rather than relying solely on mitigation processes.
- Why this matters: The BHRC has encouraged companies to avoid opaque practices and markets with a high risk of misuse and adopt market discipline rather than purely reactive measures. AppLogic Networks’ actions are rare and do just that.
- Engages constructively with external stakeholders regarding its business practices. Rather than ignore the BHRC’s invitation to respond, AppLogic Networks responded thoughtfully, timely, and publicly - whereas many other companies did not. AppLogic Networks also joined as an observer to the Global Network Initiative, highlighting its commitment to multi-stakeholder collaboration, continuous learning and, specifically, its belief that advancing the responsible use of technology and respecting human rights are best achieved through collaboration among civil society, experts, academia, corporations, and investors.
- Why this matters: As the BRHC acknowledges and guides, companies should engage with civil society, policymakers, and the public on human rights risk and provide transparent disclosure. AppLogic Networks already does.
- Maintains an independent grievance mechanism, including for anonymous reporting from internal and external stakeholders.
- Why this matters: Embedding operational mechanisms that make human rights commitments actionable rather than symbolic is a key gap the BHRC’s report highlights among companies.
We could not be more proud to say that while human rights due diligence and compliance is an ongoing, continuously evolving effort, AppLogic Networks has and continues to implement many of the BHRC’s suggested best practices, and in several cases, has already gone beyond industry norms to mitigate the potential misuse of our products.
We look forward to spearheading these efforts within AppLogic Networks as well as setting an example for our industry at large.