Founded in 2013 by Rebecca MacKinnon — author of Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom — Ranking Digital Rights (RDR) is an independent, globally distributed initiative that evaluates the world’s most powerful digital platform and telecommunications companies on their disclosed policies and practices affecting users’ fundamental human rights. RDR produces what it describes as the only open dataset in the world on companies’ commitments and policies affecting freedom of expression and privacy. Its work guides policymakers, investors, and advocates seeking to shape a digital public sphere in which networked technologies respect human rights, strengthen democracy, and promote equity and justice for people everywhere.

RDR’s mission is to promote freedom of expression and privacy on the internet by creating global standards and incentives for companies to respect and protect users’ rights. The organisation anchors its work in international human rights standards, believing that transparency is the first step to accountability. Key focus areas include corporate transparency, surveillance-based business models, algorithmic accountability, data protection, ad tech, and the human rights implications of artificial intelligence. RDR evaluates 26 of the world’s most powerful digital platforms and telecom companies, studying the effects of their policies and practices on people’s fundamental freedoms.

RDR is an independent initiative fiscally sponsored by Superbloom Design, having transitioned from stewardship by the World Benchmarking Alliance in April 2026. The organisation operates with a small, globally distributed team of researchers, journalists, lawyers, and technologists who collectively span Europe, Latin America, and the United States, and is further supported by a global network of researchers in more than 40 countries. Governance is guided by a group of Community Advisors — including Founding Director Rebecca MacKinnon (Berkman Klein Center), Anita Dorett (Investor Alliance for Human Rights), Roya Pakzad (Taraaz), and Shu Dar Yao (Lucid Capitalism) — who help shape the organisation’s strategic focus, vouch for the quality of its work, and support its vision of cooperative governance and distributed ownership.

RDR’s flagship output is the annual RDR Index, published across two editions: the Big Tech Edition, which assesses major digital platforms, and the Telco Giants Edition, which evaluates leading telecommunications companies. Past assessments are maintained as a publicly accessible archive. Beyond the Index, RDR operates the RDR Research Lab, provides Investor Guidance for those seeking to integrate digital rights considerations into their portfolios, and supports global advocacy through its Global Engagement programme in over 40 countries. The organisation has also developed CLARITI, a tool for community-driven accountability of the tech industry, and conducts collaborative flash investigations into emerging technology gatekeepers such as generative AI platforms.