Access Now
AI-generated text. This page was generated using artificial intelligence.
Access Now is an international civil-society organization focused on the digital rights of people and communities at risk. Its AI work connects policy advocacy with concerns about surveillance, discrimination, democratic participation and unequal access to decision-making. It works through regional teams and international institutions rather than concentrating on one national regulatory system.[1]
Background and methods
Access Now began in 2009 as a technical emergency-response effort during the Iranian election. Its activities now include a Digital Security Helpline, grants to frontline organizations, advocacy and the RightsCon convening series. These provide different forms of engagement: direct assistance to people facing digital threats, support for local organizations and opportunities to bring rights concerns to policymakers and companies.[1]
The organization says its board provides strategic governance without determining operational programs or policy positions. Individual board members' outside roles should therefore not be treated as institutional endorsements by Access Now. Its regional work informs international advocacy, including interventions on AI governance.[1]
UN AI governance dialogue
Access Now's published statement for the July 7, 2026 UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance calls for meaningful representation of Global Majority countries. It connects responsible data collection and oversight with openness that enables countries to build technical capacity instead of remaining dependent on outside expertise. The document is marked as an oral statement to be checked against delivery.[3]
It also calls for binding safeguards against digital surveillance and a halt to AI tools facilitating violations of international humanitarian or human-rights law. The statement encourages cooperation among Global Majority regions and middle powers and emphasizes people's ability to shape technology, not merely obtain access to it. These are Access Now's recommendations to the dialogue, not standards adopted by the United Nations.[3]
Migration and the EU AI Act
In March 2024, Access Now published a collective statement from the Protect Not Surveil coalition criticizing the AI Act text approved by the European Parliament. The coalition argued that migration, law-enforcement and national-security exceptions left particularly exposed communities with weaker protections. It criticized gaps concerning border uses, surveillance exports and the treatment of existing migration databases.[4]
The statement's significance is its focus on differences in protection across uses and affected populations. It disputes the adequacy of the negotiated framework even while acknowledging protections elsewhere in the Act. Its legal descriptions concern that stage of the legislative process; current obligations and implementation dates should be checked against the final legislation. The criticism belongs to the coalition collectively, rather than to Access Now alone.[4]
Latin American regulatory research
Access Now and the Thomson Reuters Foundation's TrustLaw program produced Radiografía Normativa, a regional survey introduced in February 2024. It examines legislative and executive initiatives in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru, Mexico and Uruguay. The project combines legal research with contributions from pro bono firms and human-rights and technology specialists.[5]
The survey distinguishes proposed legislation, executive policy and nonbinding recommendations. It considers international models while emphasizing regional circumstances. This makes it useful as a historical map of regulatory approaches, but an initiative's inclusion does not establish that it became law or remains in force. The announcement page records a later update in June 2025.[5]
Funding
Access Now identifies foundations and development agencies as its principal funding sources, alongside companies, courts, individuals and civil-society organizations. Its funding policy rejects arrangements that compromise organizational independence or put supported communities at risk. The public register distinguishes purposes such as core support, the Digital Security Helpline and RightsCon sponsorship; a sponsorship should not be represented as funding for a particular AI-policy position.[2]
Related articles
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Access Now, About Us. Accessed September 12, 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Access Now, Funding. Accessed September 12, 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Access Now, Oral Statement for the Inaugural UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance, July 7, 2026. Accessed September 12, 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Protect Not Surveil coalition, How the EU AI Act Fails Migrants and People on the Move, March 13, 2024. Accessed September 12, 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Access Now, Radiografía Normativa: AI Regulation in Latin America, February 26, 2024, updated June 26, 2025. Accessed September 12, 2026.