Unfortunately, the Internet is not immune to evil. Breaches of norms and values are also occurring in the online and cyber worlds, ranging from fraud, identity theft, bullying and other forms of personal harassment or exploitation through to malign social engineering, phishing and hacking attacks which can threaten key networks and even entire nations. Fairness, transparency and accountability dictate that any victim, – whether individual, organization, society, nation or even democracy itself – which suffers from these issues should be able to address those responsible and to secure meaningful, effective redress. However, we are in a position today, in this Digital Age, where ongoing technological developments have outstripped our policy-making capacity, standards-setting and legal frameworks.

The Institute for Accountability in the Digital Age (I4ADA) was founded with the mission to ensure that those issues and concerns do not undermine the Internet’s potential for increasing access to knowledge, spreading global tolerance and understanding, and promoting sustainable prosperity

I4ADA, in pursuit of its mission of helping the world derive maximum benefit from the internet, is dedicated to helping create a fair and balanced framework of best practice and, where necessary, regulation.

I4ADA will pursue its objectives by building ongoing dialogue, both structured and informal, among participants in the internet environment. By building and maintaining a network at national and international level bringing together stakeholders and organizing activities, meetings and congresses to highlight, support and facilitate accountability nationally and internationally. These stakeholders represent participants from civil society, academia, the business technology community, lawyers and policy-makers.