Digital Rights Weekly | August 1 - 5

Thu Aug 4 20:24:39 CEST 2022

Hello Digital Rights Defenders!

Here is your weekly update on digital rights around the world for the weeks
of August 1 - 5. As a  reminder, you can submit your news for the
newsletter here: https://www.digitalrights.community/weekly-newsletter

###  Upcoming Virtual TCU Events ###
_________________________________________________

## Team CommUNITY Update ##

1. July Regional Briefs are Out! Updates on Digital Justice, Opportunities
and More!

Find the July updates on the latest news on digital justice in the Latin
America, MENA, Africa and Asia region. This month, our researchers covered
issues from massive data breach in Kenya to a thorough explanation of new
laws related to VPNs in India.

https://www.digitalrights.community/blog/regionalbriefsjuly2022

2. TCU Office Will Be Closed For August 15 - 26

To support healthy work practices and ensure staff take time off for
vacation (while actually being available to “sign off”), TCU will be closed
for August 15 - 26, 2022. Online events and Mattermost announcements will
pause, as well as the delivery of our weekly newsletter.

3. Join a Psychosocial Circle

The deadline to signup for TCU’s Fall psychosocial Circles is soon
approaching - September 5, 2022. Circles are lead by psychotherapists and
allow for collective processing and healing. They are limited to 6-10
people per circle. RSVP soon:

https://www.communityhealth.team/upcoming-circles

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### Digital Rights in the Community ###

1. How Tor is Fighting - and Beating - Russian Censorship

The Tor Project allows users to stay private online and circumvent web
censorship. Authoritarian governments see it as a particular threat to
their longevity and in recent months, Russia has stepped up its long-term
ambition to block Tor—although not without a fight. Find out how Tor is
beating Russian censorship in various ways.

https://www.wired.com/story/tor-browser-russia-blocks/

2. Stalin-Era Surveillance Tactics

NPR speaks with an investigative journalist Andrei Soldatov about his
recent piece entitled "Putin's New Police State." He shares that there is
evidence that shows that Russia's intelligence agency is heading in the
direction of Stalin's secret police. He also believes that it is absolutely
crucial to keep a connection between Russian journalists in exile and the
Russian audience.

Listen to the interview here:
https://www.npr.org/2022/07/31/1114796494/putins-stalin-era-surveillance-tactics

3. Call for proposals and Registration: Freedom not Fear 2022

Freedom Not Fear brings together interested and interesting people and
civil society organizations from Europe and other regions to collectively
take action to strengthen human rights and freedoms in our digital society.
This year the focus is on following topics: data retention, chatcontrol,
DSA/DMA and platform power, public-private surveillance technology.

*** Propose session before August 15
https://cryptpad.digitalcourage.de/form/#/2/form/view/pbQcD9zxxssQcDwyndLm7foLyLsOBbbsqgrrYB4HFSs/

*** Register before August 12th here:
https://civi.digitalcourage.de/fnf22

4. RSVP for the Bloom Training Workshop on Delivering Trauma Support Online

Chayn is holding an online Bloom (bloom.chayn.co) training workshop on
delivering trauma support online. Bloom is a remote trauma support service,
which aims to fill an existing, serious gap in online, scalable services
that survivors of abuse and assault anywhere can access for free. The
workshop is open to nonprofits, businesses, educational institutes or any
organisation, based anywhere in the world running a mental health,
wellbeing or trauma healing service. You will learn to apply elements of
and learnings from Bloom to your own work.

The workshop will take place on 10th August from 4:00pm to 6pm BST. RSVP:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bloom-training-workshop-delivering-trauma-support-online-tickets-383448774607

5. Taller: Vigilancia en el Atropoceno:

Vigilancia en el Antropoceno (Surveillance in the Anthropocene) es una
iniciativa de investigación y arte que examina los efectos del capitalismo
extractivista. El proyecto consiste en una investigación sobre tecnologías
de vigilancia contra grupos indígenas en Canadá y en Chile, y muestra una
selección curada de obras de arte en las que artistas de diversas
disciplinas exploraron el tema enfocados en las intimidades afectadas por
estas estructuras de control.

La convocatoria taller se dara el 10 de agosto de 2022: RSVP:
https://gato.earth/vigilancia-en-el-antropoceno-taller/

6. EFF-Austin: An Intro to Digital Accessibility | August 9

In this presentation, EFF-Austin will explore the landscape of digital
accessibility. What is the current snapshot of accessible design and
development, especially after the changes brought about by COVID-19? What
can content creators and web professionals do to build accessibility into
their own spaces? How might accessibility fit into the EFF and EFF-Austin's
work and objectives? The presentation is happening on Tuesday August 9 from
7pm - 9pm CT, online and in person. Register here:

https://www.eff.org/event/eff-austin-intro-digital-accessibility

7. Amnesty International : NYPD Ordered to Handover Documents Related to
BLM Surveillance

The New York Police Department (NYPD) has been ordered to disclose
thousands of records of how the force procured and used facial recognition
technology against Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters, after the New York
Supreme Court ruled in favor of Amnesty International and the Surveillance
Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.). Amnesty International is calling
for a total ban on the use, development, production, sales, and export of
FRT for mass surveillance purposes by both states and the private sector.

https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/nypd-ordered-handover-documents-surveillance-blm-protests-following-lawsuit/

8. “Safety By Design” to Address Online Harms

Lawmakers are looking into the principles of “safety by design,” which aim
to place accountability, user empowerment, and transparency at the heart of
rules for online life. Safety by design offers a more proactive approach
for policymakers to address ever-evolving online safety issues, even as
these principles raise a new set of challenges.

https://www.brookings.edu/techstream/using-safety-by-design-to-address-online-harms/

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### Digital Rights Resources ###

1. New Report: Audio Misinformation on Whatsapp: Case Study from Lebanon

The Misinformation Review released a new report on misinformation.
Utilizing a grounded theory approach to examine misleading WhatsApp voice
notes collected between October 2019 and October 2020, the study documents
how audio misinformation on Lebanese WhatsApp follows a consistent
structure through the manipulation of interpersonal relationships, the
establishing of source credibility, the imbuing of negative discrete
emotions, and the inclusion of calls to action.

https://misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/audio-misinformation-on-whatsapp-a-case-study-from-lebanon/

2. Unsettled Borders: The Militarized Science of Surveillance on Sacred
Indigenous Land

You can now add the book “Unsettled Borders” to your reading list. The
author Felicity Amaya Schaeffer examines the ongoing settler colonial war
over the US-Mexico border from the perspective of Apache, Tohono O’odham,
and Maya. Labeled “Optics Valley,” Arizona builds on a global history of
violent dispossession and containment of Native peoples and migrants by
branding itself as a profitable hub for surveillance.

https://www.dukeupress.edu/unsettled-borders

3. Study on Online Moderation: A Double-Edged Sword?

Marginalized social media users face disproportionate content removal from
platforms, but the visibility of this online moderation is a double-edged
sword. A new University of Michigan study about two online platforms—Reddit
and Twitch—suggests that greater visibility means increased accountability,
but the actions can also bring more attention to the offensive content,
further harming marginalized people.
https://news.umich.edu/moderating-online-content-increases-accountability-but-can-harm-some-platform-users/

4. New Research: Who is Collecting Data from Your Car?

Welcome to the world of connected vehicle data, an ecosystem of dozens of
businesses you never knew existed. Today’s cars are built with apps
connected to the internet that collect huge amounts of data, some of which
is highly personal. This piece identifies 37 companies that are part of the
connected vehicle data industry. These companies seek to monetize vehicle
data in an environment with few regulations governing its sale or use.

https://themarkup.org/the-breakdown/2022/07/27/who-is-collecting-data-from-your-car

5. Opinion: Governments, Don’t Shut Down the Internet

Hanna Kreitem, a senior advisor at The Internet Society, wrote an opinion
post on Reuters reiterating the damage caused due to governments’ internet
shutdowns. Kreitem writes that “Internet shutdowns are never a
proportionate measure, with disastrous consequences for virtually every
economic sector, as well as end-users.” Read the entire opinion piece here:

https://news.trust.org/item/20220727080521-05e9s

_________________________________________________

### Digital Rights in the Wider World ###

1. Post-Roe: US Abortion Rights Group Step Up Digital Game

Anti-abortion groups have long dominated the online information space due
to years of investment. Abortion rights groups are taking them on
effectively.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/27/abortion-rights-groups-step-up-digital-game-to-reach-people-online-post-roe

2. Telecom Shutdown in Tigray Continues

Most Tigrayans living outside the region, such as Gotytom, have not been
able to contact families for a year or more. The Ethiopian Government cut
off all phone and internet links in November 2020. The services were mostly
restored last year, but was shut down again in June 2021. The conflict has
killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted millions from their homes.
Most of it happened out of sight of the outside world, with human rights
researchers and journalists later uncovering evidence of massacres and
sexual violence.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/jul/29/anguish-of-tigrayan-families-cut-off-by-telecom-shutdown-ethiopia

3. Indonesia Bans Access to Various Companies

The Indonesian government has blocked access to a range of online services,
including Steam, Epic Games, PayPal, and Yahoo after the companies failed
to comply with a new requirement related to the country’s restrictive
content moderation laws. In line with the rules, companies deemed “Private
Electronic System Providers” must register with the government’s database
to operate in the country, or otherwise face a nationwide ban. Indonesia
gave companies until July 27th to comply and has since banned those that
haven’t.

https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/30/23285091/indonesia-bans-access-steam-epic-games-paypal-yahoo

5. Kenya’s Threat to Ban Facebook Could Backfire

Meta has allowed ads that include hate speech and calls for violence ahead
of the country’s elections, despite the warning of how these ads encourage
violence. One way to counter this is suspending the site for the election
season, but experts warn that a shutdown isn’t the answer.

https://www.wired.com/story/kenya-facebook-elections-hate-speech-ban/
 (paywall)

6. Anti-LGBTQ+ Campaign Continues to Grow on Twitter

In late June, an account launched on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and
Telegram called Fetrah. Soon after, the account posted a Twitter thread in
Arabic calling on social media users to spread its message: that there are
only two genders, and homosexuality is deviant and a rejection of human
nature. Fetrah’s website is plastered with the words “No more LGBTQ+“ in a
dozen different languages. Following a series of political controversies
regarding the queer community in the Middle East during international pride
month, Fetrah has become a new vehicle for anti-LGBTQ+ online hate speech
and harassment against the queer community.

https://restofworld.org/2022/an-arabic-anti-lgbtq-campaign-is-going-viral-on-twitter/

7. Millions without Digital ID Cards in Pakistan

Each card comprises a 13-digit unique ID, a photograph of the person, their
signature, and a microchip that contains their iris scans and fingerprints.
The card is vital to vote, access government benefits, including public
schools and healthcare, open a bank account or apply for jobs. Yet millions
in Pakistan, including women, transgender people, migrant workers and
nomadic communities, are still without one.

Activists have been pushing for it to be more inclusive and just, but not
without also touting the serious privacy concerns and violations that these
IDs have. The databases are also prone to breaches.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/26/millions-in-pakistan-without-digital-id-card-rights-activists

8. Cyberattack on Student Privacy

The software that many school districts use to track students’ progress can
record extremely confidential information on children: “Intellectual
disability.” “Emotional Disturbance.” “Homeless.” “Disruptive.” “Defiance.”
“Perpetrator.” “Excessive Talking.” “Should attend tutoring.” Now these
systems are coming under heightened scrutiny after a recent cyberattack on
Illuminate Education, a leading provider of student-tracking software,
which affected the personal information of more than a million current and
former students across dozens of districts
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/31/business/student-privacy-illuminate-hack.html

9. Meta Attempting to Catch Up with TikTok

TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance Ltd., is the most-downloaded app in the
world. Starting in 2020, Americans spent more time on TikTok than they did
on Facebook or Instagram. Instagram wants to take a similar feature
further, testing a redesign that starts users in full-screen, TikTok-style
video mode when they open the app in an attempt to catch-up.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-05-25/facebook-copies-tiktok-app-to-make-instagram-cool-to-teens

10. TikTok Exploiting Its Content Moderators

Business Insider reported that TikTok content moderators based in Morocco
earn under $3 an hour and receive fewer breaks than their American
equivalents while reviewing extremely graphic content. The moderators said
neither TikTok nor Majorel - an outsourcing company - went to sufficient
lengths to mitigate the effects of constantly viewing such content, all
while imposing a grueling working environment of almost unobtainable
performance targets.

https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktoks-african-factory-line-of-terrors-2022-7?r=US&IR=T
(paywall)

11. In Climate News:

Despite the overwhelming evidence and communities’ lived experience of
climate change, climate disinformation - fueled by the fossil fuel industry
- continues…

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/climate-disinformation-continues-to-leave-a-mark-as-world-gets-hotter

And as climate disinformation circulates, data centers are being impacted
by the climate breakdown. Increasing weather shifts will have an impact on
infrastructure, including the data centers that keep our people’s
collective knowledge online. When record temperatures wracked the UK in
late July, Google Cloud’s data centers in London went offline for a day,
due to cooling failures. That particular location services customers in the
US and Pacific region, with outages limiting their access to key Google
services for hours. Oracle’s cloud-based data center in the capital was
also struck down by the heat, causing outages for US customers. Oracle
blamed “unseasonal temperatures” for the blackout.

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/data-centers-climate-change

12. “Ask Jules”: Gen Z Online Life Column

The Washington Post is hosting a new column “Ask Jules” to address
questions about life online. The first column comes out on August 17. You
can submit your relevant questions for Jules here:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/advice/2022/08/02/ask-jules-digital-life-complicated-advice/

_________________________________________________

### Grants, Fellowships, & Awards ###

The following opportunities are open to individual digital rights defenders
and to organizations. If you would like us to include a grant, fellowship
or award in this newsletter, please email details to
team at digitalrights.community
https://internetfreedomfestival.org/wiki/index.php/Fundraising_Opportunities

Mozilla Tech Policy Fellowship
Deadline: Not Specified
https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/blog/mozilla-is-seeking-senior-tech-policy-fellows-apply-today/

Internet Freedom Fund
Open Technology Fund
Deadline: Rolling Basis
https://www.opentech.fund/funds/internet-freedom-fund/

Rapid Response Fund
Open Tech Fund
Deadline: Rolling Basis
https://www.opentech.fund/funds/rapid-response-fund/

Rapid Response Fund
Derechos Digitales
Deadline: Rolling Basis
https://www.derechosdigitales.org/sobre-el-fondo-de-respuesta-rapida/

Urgent Action Fund for Women's Human Rights
Deadline: Rolling Basis
https://urgentactionfund.org/

Open Briefing’s Responsive Assistance
Deadline: Rolling Basis
https://www.openbriefing.org/support/referral/

Open Tech Fund | Secure Usability and Accessibility Lab
Deadline: Rolling
https://www.opentech.fund/labs/sua-lab/

Dan Kamnisky Fellowship
Deadline: August 15
https://thedankaminskyfellowship2022.splashthat.com/

Sir Harry Evans Global Fellowship
Deadline: August 15
https://www.durham.ac.uk/sir-harry-evans-memorial-fund/global-fellowship/

Arab Reform Initiative
Deadline: September 5
https://www.arab-reform.net/job/call-for-applications-ari-non-resident-fellows-for-2022-2023/
_________________________________________________

### Global Events Calendar ###

Bloom
August 10
Online
Chayn
http://bloom.chayn.co/

TecnoRizoma
August 17 - October 22
Online
https://tinyurl.com/TecnoRizomaCentroamerica

Digital Health Week
October, 10 - 16
https://digitalhealthweek.co/

Check out a list of our virtual events here:
https://internetfreedomfestival.org/wiki/index.php/Calendar_of_Events
_________________________________________________

### NEW Job Opportunities  ###

Below is a short list of jobs we have been sent in the last week.

Want to see more jobs? OR Have a job opening you want us to promote?
Check out the Team CommUNITY Job Board:
https://www.digitalrights.community/job-board

✎ Monitoring & Evaluation Officer | SMEX
+ Not Specified
https://smex.org/smex-is-looking-for-a-monitor-and-evaluation-officer/

✎ Global Data & Insights Communications Fellow (Data Learning) | Wikimedia
Foundation
+ Various Locations
https://grnh.se/fcdad6f71us

✎ Global Data & Insights Fellow (Data Analysis & Visualization) | Wikimedia
Foundation
+ Various Locations
https://grnh.se/7d0908df1us

✎ Multiple Positions | Open Society Global Tech & Society Program
+ Various Locations
https://osfglobal.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/OSF/details/Program-Manager--Tech--Global-Programs-Expression_JR-0002630

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_________________________________________________

### Know someone that wants to subscribe to our newsletter? ###

They can sign up here:
https://www.digitalrights.community/weekly-newsletter

### Want to partner with us?###

If you have any questions or want to learn more about partnerships, get in
touch at team at digitalrights.community. We are always looking for
like-minded organizations and people.

(((Hugs & light)))

--
Team CommUNITY at ARTICLE 19
www.digitalrights.community
You can now submit your news for the Digital Rights weekly directly.
https://www.digitalrights.community/weekly-newsletter
To post your job opportunities, submit your opportunities to our Job Board.
https://www.digitalrights.community/job-board-form
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