Volume 3 | 2021

Greetings, Since we have wrapped up our foundational paper series, B-Tech has intensified its outreach and consultative efforts. We are sharing some reflections on these recent engagements with tech companies, policy makers, civil society and other stakeholders in this newsletter. We welcome feedback and comments about our work at any stage.

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Updates from the B-Tech Project

B-Tech Company Community of Practice: Outputs

As part of the ongoing work of the Company Community of Practice that B-Tech is conveying on a regular basis, we are releasing a set of outputs to document the discussions and reflect on the progress made, as well as the upcoming work: Description of the Community of Practice Reflections On the Status of Business Respect For Human Rights in the Technology Sector The Strategic Aspects of Business Respect for Human Rights - Part One: Overview and Reflections on Current Practice The Strategic Aspects of Business Respect for Human Rights - Part Two: Themes for Further Attention Tech Company And UN Special Rapporteurs Introductory Dialogue

Consultation: Building blocks to engage policymakers on tech regulation & the UNGPs B-Tech hosted an expert consultation in cooperation with the Geneva Academy and Center for Democracy and Technology, building on the B-Tech foundational paper on the State Duty to Protect. The consultation gathered inputs on how a "UNGPs check" tool could support policymakers and other stakeholders to assess tech regulation against the UNGPs the proposed use of the “UNGPs check” illustrated discussing the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) & how the “UNGPs check” could guide the legislative process Read more here.

New blog: Bridging the private equity gap to tackle tech business model risks Private equity (PE) investors have a responsibility to respect human rights in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). Yet in practice, PE investors are lagging behind others in the broader investment community when it comes to aligning their investment practices with the UNGPs. However, there are promising signs of PE progress on human rights - read more here.

Consultation: Access to Remedy in Tech Our office’s teams working on B-Tech and the Accountability and Remedy Project hosted a two-day conference on 23-24 September 2021 on Access to Remedy in the Technology Sector.  The multi-stakeholder consultation mandated by the UN Human Rights Council centered on the challenges involved in seeking and delivering remedies for harms connected to the technology sector, and practical ways to address them. Further documentation will follow shortly.

Upcoming Events

B-Tech at IGF 2021 At IGF's 16th edition taking place in Katowice, Poland, B-Tech will be co-hosting a session on 8 November, 9.30am-11am CET with a focus on the State-Business Nexus, and in particular public-private partnerships, in cooperation with the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre and Privacy International.  Read more here.

B-Tech at BHR Forum 2021 At this year's United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights, B-Tech will host a session on 30 November, 10.25-11-40 CET with interpretation with a focus on building blocks for a rights-respecting tech regulation. Further information will follow shortly. Please register for the Forum using this link.

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