Global: Protecting Civic Freedoms through Digital Security and AI Governance
Advancing Digital Rights
Published December 2025
As AI and digital technologies evolve rapidly, so do government efforts to regulate them, sometimes at the expense of civic freedoms. ICNL works to ensure that human rights protections remain central to AI governance frameworks worldwide.
On the global stage, ICNL advanced human rights-based digital governance by helping shape the United Nations’ first General Assembly resolution on AI. We also co-lead the Freedom Online Coalition’s Task Force on AI, are shaping its Joint Statement on AI and Human Rights, and contributing to the Rights-Respecting Digital Public Infrastructure Principles.
ICNL has also had tangible impact at the national level. In Zambia, our legal brief on new cyber laws equipped civil society activists with tools to advocate for stronger privacy protections amid expanding government surveillance. In Malaysia, our partner EngageMedia worked with CSOs to deepen their understanding of AI governance; these CSOs are now developing policy recommendations to present to the government’s National AI Office.
ICNL continues to bridge global policy development and grassroots capacity building. By ensuring that digital rights frameworks are not just principles on paper but practical tools, we help civic actors worldwide to navigate risks and safeguard freedoms in an increasingly AI-driven future.
Discussed in this article:
▷ The Freedom Online Coalition
▷ Five Things to Know: Zambia’s Cyber Crimes Act and Cyber Security Act
▷ EngageMedia Malaysia
▷ ICNL’s Technology and Civic Space Program
Photo: Shutterstock/Alexander Supertramp
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