Digital Rights Weekly | December 5 - 9

Thu Dec 8 18:43:32 CET 2022

Hello Digital Rights Defenders!

Please note, Team CommUNITY will be closed from Thursday, December 22,
2022 to Sunday January 8th 2023. We will be back at work from Monday
January 9th, 2023.  We wish all our readers a peaceful and happy time
over the break!

Here is your weekly update on digital rights around the world for the
weeks of December 5 - 9. As a reminder, you can submit your news for
the newsletter here:
https://www.digitalrights.community/weekly-newsletter
_________________________________________________

### TCU Updates ###

1. November Regional Briefs are Out!!!

It's the time of month again to get updates and learn about
opportunities from  Latin America, MENA, Africa, and Asia! This month,
we are covering a range of issues from the Twitter telenovela to
digital surveillance at COP27. Also included is a fantastic critical
analysis of misinformation in Asia and the role of Western corporation
in it, to the lack of rights of digital workers in Latin America,
reminding us that technologies have concrete social effects.

https://www.digitalrights.community/blog/regionalbriefsnovember2022

2. Dec 13 Event: Organizational Policy Toolkit for Team, Employee Health

Organizations in the digital rights community are facing internal
challenges related to team and employee health. Join us on December 13
and learn about three policies that can help managers and leaders
improve their internal health now.

https://digitalrights.formstack.com/forms/digitaljusticehousepresentation

### Our People ###

A special note to mourn the loss of Danilo Doneda, an important data
protection advocate from Brazil, with over a decade working in the
digital rights community. Our condolence to his family and friends.

https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/tec/2022/12/morre-o-advogado-danilo-doneda-referencia-para-a-protecao-de-dados-no-brasil.shtml

_________________________________________________

### Digital Rights in the Community ###

1. Ranking Digital Rights Publishes Telco Giants Scorecard

Ranking Digital Rights has published its inaugural Telco Giants
Scorecard, which evaluates telecommunications companies impacts on
digital rights. Read company scorecards for 12 of the largest telcos
around the world  and 9 key findings to learn more about how telcos
impact our information landscape:

https://rankingdigitalrights.org/tgs22/

2. December 10: Ethics in Technology Event

On Human Rights Day December 10th, EthicsInTech.com will host a
special event to present the inhumanity faced by digital rights and
civil liberty activists from around the world. They will host a panel
of speakers, activists, and technology leaders to hear their journeys,
perspectives, and wisdom on how to do better to promote equal digital
rights with dignity and respect for all. Read more and RSVP for the
online event happening on Tuesday, December 10 at 6:30 pm till 8:30 pm
PT.

https://www.eff.org/event/ethics-technology-human-rights-day

3. The Border Center has released a module based digital security
asynchronous training, available in various languages, in partnership
with the International Center for journalists.

https://digitalsecurity.training/

In addition, given that the Border Center, supports journalists
covering the border of US and Mexico, they also released Security
Protocols for journalists in Spanish

https://www.bordercenter.net/es/announcement/protocolos-de-seguridad/

4. Report Back From Decolonizing the Internet Event

In September 2022, the African Women's Development and Communication
Network (FEMNET) and Whose Knowledge? convened nearly 40 feminists
working in tech from across the East-African region in Lusaka (Zambia)
to hold conversations and reflections on decolonizing the internet.
Check out this report compiling the experiences and collective
strategies from the gathering:

https://whoseknowledge.org/resource/decolonizing-the-internet-east-africa/

5. Sada Social Center Reports on 72+ Digital Violations on
Palestinians Content in November Alone

Sada Social Center, a Ramallah-based social media rights group,
released a report documenting more than 72 digital violations against
the Palestinian content on social media platforms in November,
including the removal of 40 accounts and pages. The group pointed out
that journalists and media institutions are still the most vulnerable
to violations with, as it documented 32 violations against pages and
accounts belonging to media institutions, and 25 violations against
Palestinian and pro-Palestinian activists. Meta committed the most
violations.

https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/132196

6. Human Rights Watch Report Ongoing Phishing Campaign in Iran

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said hackers backed by the Iranian government
have targeted two HRW Watch staff members and at least 18 other
high-profile activists, journalists, researchers, academics,
diplomats, and politicians working on Middle East issues in an ongoing
social engineering and credential phishing campaign. An investigation
attributed the phishing attack to an entity affiliated with the
Iranian government known as APT42 and sometimes referred to as
Charming Kitten.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/12/05/iran-state-backed-hacking-activists-journalists-politicians

7. Report on the Exploitation of Personal Data in Hungary’s 2022 Elections

In recent elections, parties across the political spectrum in Hungary
have invested in data-driven campaigning, including building detailed
voter databases, running online petitions and consultations to collect
data, purchasing online political ads, deploying chatbots on social
media, and conducting direct outreach to voters and supporters through
robocalls, bulk SMS messaging, and emails. Such use and exploitation
of data helped to undermine privacy, and the right of Hungarians to
participate in democratic elections, which relies on political parties
having equality of opportunity to compete for voters’ support.

https://www.hrw.org/report/2022/12/01/trapped-web/exploitation-personal-data-hungarys-2022-elections

8.  10th Ooniversary: OONI Highlights

Check out this video covering OONI’s 10th anniversary!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4D4gq9TBMg

_________________________________________________

### Digital Rights Resources ###

1. Border Researchers Now Can Use 65+ Open-licensed Images of
Surveillance Tech from EFF

Despite all the political and media attention devoted to the
U.S.-Mexico Border, most people hoping to write about, research, or
learn how to identify the myriad technologies situated have to rely on
images released selectively by Customs & Border Protection,
copyright-restricted photographs taken by corporate press outlets or
promotional advertisements from the vendors themselves. To address
this information gap, EFF is releasing a series of images taken along
the U.S. Mexico-Border in California, Arizona, and New Mexico under a
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license, which means they are free to
use, so long as credit is given to Electronic Frontier Foundation
(EFF).  EFF’s goal is not only to ensure there are alternative and
open sources of visual information to inform discourse, but to raise
awareness of how surveillance is impacting communities along the
border and the hundreds of millions of dollars being sunk into
oppressive surveillance technologies.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/11/eff-releases-images-surveillance-us-mexico-border-under-creative-commons

2. How China’s Police Used Phone & Faces to Track Protesters

As the authorities seek to track, intimidate and detain those who
marched in defiance of the government’s strict Covid policies last
weekend, they are turning to powerful tools of surveillance the state
has spent the past decade building for moments like this, when parts
of the population turn out and question the authority of the ruling
Chinese Communist Party.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/02/business/china-protests-surveillance.html

3. Understanding India’s Potential Path to Mass Surveillance

Privacy and online free expression are once again under threat in
India, due to the vaguely worded cybersecurity directions—promulgated
by India’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) earlier this
year—that impose draconian mass surveillance obligations on internet
services, threatening privacy and anonymity and weakening security
online.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/12/india-requires-internet-services-collect-and-store-vast-amount-customer-data

4. “Flight of the Predator”

Using the flight history of a jet linked to Israeli spyware tycoon,
LightHouse plotted the growth of a surveillance giant and revealed a
secret deal delivering surveillance tech from the EU to notorious
Sudanese militias.

https://www.lighthousereports.nl/investigation/flight-of-the-predator/

_________________________________________________

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

1. Ethiopia: Internet shutdowns in Tigray Persist as Ethiopia Hosts UN
Internet Meeting

The network shutdown in the Tigray region is one of the longest on
record worldwide, lasting more than two years. Ethiopian authorities
deny that they have deliberately targeted the Tigrayan people and have
blamed the shutdowns partly on the damaged infrastructure in the area.

These shutdowns have persisted even as the U.N. convenes a global
conference on internet governance issues this week in Ethiopia. The
conference has put a spotlight on efforts by rights groups around the
world who have been calling on the government to restore internet
access to the region.

https://ipi.media/ethiopia-internet-shutdowns-in-tigray-persist-as-ethiopia-hosts-un-internet-meeting/

Although stating it will be restored, a senior government official in
Ethiopia followed up the statement by saying that there is “no
timeline” for restoring internet access in Tigray.

https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/africa/2022/11/29/no-end-date-for-internet-blackout-in-tigray-says-ethiopia/

2. Activists Strive for Data Protection in Indonesia

The Indonesian Personal Data Protection Bill was approved by the
parliament on September 20, 2022. Despite the initial draft being
submitted to parliament in 2016, this long-pending legislation
experienced delays due to disagreements between the government,
parliament, and civil society over important details, such as who
would serve as the supervisory body in enforcing the measure.

Although the data protection bill includes serious penalties,
including corporate fines or even imprisonment, its approval by no
means settles the debate over data protection in Indonesia. In 2022
there have been heated debates and discussions about digital rights,
digital regulation, and data protection in Indonesian news and
cyberspace, stemming from repeated fiascos, including data breaches
from government institutions, mandatory registration for private
electronic system operators (ESOs), and company breaches resulting in
citizen information being stolen and sold by hackers.

https://advox.globalvoices.org/2022/12/05/activists-strive-for-data-protection-in-indonesia/

3. Chinese Security Firm Advertises Ethnicity Recognition While Facing UK Ban

The Chinese security camera company Hikvison  has been advertising
ethnicity recognition features to British and other European
customers, even while it faces a ban on UK operations over allegations
of involvement in ethnic cleansing in Xinjiang. In a brochure
published on its website, Hikvision advertised a range of features
that it said it could provide in collaboration with the UK startup
FaiceTech.

These included using facial recognition for retail security, border
control, and anti-money laundering checks for retail banking. The
brochure also advertised “Optional Demographic Profiling Facial
analysis algorithms”, including “gender, race/ethnicity, age”
profiling. A second, Italian-based, company was also cited on
Hikvision’s website as offering racial profiling.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/04/chinese-security-firm-advertises-ethnicity-recognition-technology-while-facing-uk-ban

4. Students Uncover Under-desk Surveillance Devices Designed to Track Them

A US university has been accused of secretly installing invasive
tracking devices to monitor students. Heat sensors were reportedly
placed under desks at Northeastern University’s Interdisciplinary
Science & Engineering Complex, according to a blog post by PhD
candidate Max von Hippel.

https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/privacy-surveillance-cyber-security-b2239049.html
(paywall)

5. Iranian Writers Say They Will Not Submit to Government Censorship

Sixty Iranian writers and poets have announced they will publish their
works without submission to Islamic Republic censors until such time
when censorship stops in Iran.
The announcement titled “We The Literary” was published by a Canadian
Iranian writer Fereshteh Molavi and is signed by writers from Iran and
the diaspora. The clerical government in Iran requires all books,
films and music be submitted for review by censors before publication
or screening. Works by artists perceived to have “dissident ideas”
usually get rejected and others are altered to fit the religious and
political boundaries of the authoritarian regime.
The signatories said, “We are regard democratic freedoms, especially
freedom of thought and expression as well as freedom to write as our
civil and citizenship rights.”

https://www.iranintl.com/en/202212020390

_________________________________________________

### 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

Fellowship on Technology and Human Rights
SMEX
Deadline: December 11, 2022
https://smex.org/2023-smex-fellowship-on-technology-and-human-rights/

Information Society Project Fellowship
Yale University
December 15, 2022
https://law.yale.edu/isp/join-us

The Responsible Computer Science Challenge
Mozilla
Deadline: December 15, 2022
https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/blog/mozillas-responsible-computer-science-challenge-opens-applications-in-kenya/

PhD Scholarships in Digital Governance
The Hertie School
January 31, 2023
https://www.hertie-school.org/en/digital-governance/about/opportunities/phd-scholarships-in-digital-governance

Incident Emergency Fund
Digital Defenders Partnership
Deadline: Rolling Basis
https://www.digitaldefenders.org/incident-emergency-fund/

Rapid Response Fund
Open Tech Fund
Deadline: Rolling Basis
https://www.opentech.fund/news/request-for-proposal-otfs-rapid-response-fund/

Digital Freedom Fund
Deadline: Check website, call for proposal will open soon.
https://digitalfreedomfund.org/grants/

Safety Net Fund
Deadline: Ongoing
https://wphfund.org/whrds-safety-net/

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/

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

### Events Calendar ###

Ethics in Technology
December 10
6:30 pm PT.
https://www.eff.org/event/ethics-technology-human-rights-day

Digital Justice Everyday Organizational Policy Toolkit Presentation
December 13
9am EST / 2pm UTC
Online
https://digitalrights.formstack.com/forms/digitaljusticehousepresentation

Glitter Meetup: SRHR for LBQT Persons
December 15
9am EST / 2pm UTC
Online
https://internetfreedomfestival.org/wiki/index.php/December_15_2022_GM

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 sent to us 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

✎ Senior Rust Engineer (f/m/d) | Phoenix R&D Gmabh
+ Remote
https://join.com/companies/phoenix/6543244-senior-rust-engineer-f-m-d

✎ Grants & Contracts Associate | Access Now
+ Remote (preference for NYC or Washington DC, USA)
https://accessnow.bamboohr.com/careers/159?source=aWQ9MTc%3D

✎ Senior Developer | Common Sense Media
+ Remote or San Francisco, CA, USA
https://commonsense.hire.trakstar.com/jobs/fk0xhcw?cjb_hash=O_qhkR58&apply_now=true

✎ Trustee | Chayn
+ Remote or London, UK
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1q7Mf7s_6HIzWqYy7VfOplxoBOupEnDPwRP0Vp7iMsNA/edit

✎ Treasurer | Chayn
+ Remote or London, UK
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TXmqLSF90oBJyc6Nscds9J_ax1hzY9yubw3CkCxomCc/edit

✎ Principal Investment Manager | Wikimedia Foundation
+ San Francisco, CA, USA
https://grnh.se/902a191d1us

✎ Senior DevOps Engineer | The Organized Crime and Corruption
Reporting Project (OCCRP)
+ Remote (UTC to UTC+4)
https://www.occrp.org/en/occrp-jobs/senior-devops-engineer

✎ Social Media Editor | The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting
Project (OCCRP)
+ Amsterdam, Netherlands
https://www.occrp.org/en/occrp-jobs/social-media-editor

If you feel like sending some digital glitter our way, or need further
assistance, feel free to reply to this message.
_________________________________________________

### 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
Organizers of the Internet Freedom Festival
PGP: 2E1D CC33 A362 0BD6 236E  540A F60A 89AD 6FF9 7A2F