Samsung Ranks Fourth Place in WBA’s 2021 Digital Inclusion Benchmark

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – 17 December 2021 –  Samsung has announced that the company ranked fourth out of 150 companies in the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA)’s Digital Inclusion Benchmark in 2021. Samsung’s consistent, multifaceted efforts to be digitally responsible have earned the achievement from global tenth place in 2020 to fourth in this year.

The WBA represents an alliance forged among more than 200 global, regional, and local organizations to shape the private sector’s contributions to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The WBA examines companies with a focus on seven key categories, including human rights, the environment, and digital inclusion. The WBA launched its very first Digital Inclusion Benchmark last year, which evaluated companies’ progress in improving access to technology, enhancing digital skills, fostering trustworthy use, and innovating both openly and ethically.

Samsung was recognised for its efforts on digital responsibility as the company had established its artificial intelligence (AI) ethics principles. Having recognised the importance of emphasizing social and ethical responsibility in technology development, Samsung established a set of AI ethics principles to put into practice. Samsung strives for accessibility in its products, enhancing them with technologies that make it easier for all users to utilise them. WBA recognised Samsung’s SeeColors app^[1] that makes colour adjustments to aid those with colour vision deficiency (CVD) and helps them enjoy a better viewing experience with optimised colours on Samsung TVs.

The company’s C-lab Outside program in Korea that is designed to foster the start-up ecosystem was singled out for its social contribution activities, while Samsung’s devotion to support digital education also garnered recognition. With its vision of ‘Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People’, Samsung has been and will continue to operate social contribution activities focusing on youth education and growth for their sustainable development. Samsung operates its global Corporate Citisenship Program, the Samsung Innovation Campus (SIC) to provide support in the form of job opportunities in future technology fields.

As a company that develops products and technologies that enhance users’ lives, Samsung is committed to promoting digital responsibility. Going forward, the company will continue to explore ways to make it easier for people to access and utilise a wide range of convenient and meaningful digital technologies.

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