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The product of a rich and vibrant two year long process, the Global Network Initiative convenes committed partners from across the ICT landscape, each bringing experience and unique views to the table. All participants have been working on these issues -- whether as advocates, academics, business representatives, or investors -- and are grappling with the difficult dilemmas facing the ICT sector as companies seek to protect and advance the human rights of freedom of expression and privacy.

The issues faced by businesses operating in these markets are network issues: they emerge from and are characterized by the distributed nature of ICTs and the diversity and scale of the users, intermediaries, and service providers that comprise modern communications networks. Approaches to resolving these issues must therefore connect multiple perspectives and iterative learning processes to remain as flexible, distributed, and expansive as the Internet and related technologies. Participant have committed to refining the effort collaboratively, identifying and understanding differences, and working together to develop robust and innovative solutions to meet the challenges to freedom of expression and privacy in a networked world.