Digital Rights Weekly | June 13 - 17
Team CommUNITY
team at digitalrights.community
Fri Jun 17 17:51:47 CEST 2022
Hello Digital Rights Defenders!
Here is your weekly update on digital rights around the world for the
weeks of June 13 - 17. As a reminder, you can submit your news for the
newsletter here: https://www.digitalrights.community/weekly-newsletter
### Upcoming Virtual TCU Events ###
June 22 | CKS: Pathways to Organizational Health
Learn about Team CommUNITY’s recently published Community Health
Report, Exploring Pathways to Improve Organizational Health.
https://digitalrights.formstack.com/forms/cks58
June 22 | Latin America Meetup
Los meetups mensuales Latinoamericanos son un espacio para charlar,
compartir proyectos, y ayudarnos entre todes a solucionar lo que
podamos en las no tan buenas.
https://internetfreedomfestival.org/wiki/index.php/22_de_Junio,_2022_LATAM
June 23 | Glitter Meetup: Fairwork Argentina / Findings About Platform Work
Have you ordered food by UberEats or taken a commute on Cabify? Do you
know how it is to be a driver or rider? Fairwork Argentina is an
action-research project that evaluates working conditions in the gig
economy. They will be sharing their we findings and future research
https://internetfreedomfestival.org/wiki/index.php/June_23_2022_GM
June 28 | Africa Meetup
The Africa Monthly Meetups bring together folks to share, connect,
seek help, and support each other, and help us understand what is
happening in our part of the world.
https://internetfreedomfestival.org/wiki/index.php/June_28_2022_,_Africa_Meetup
June 29 | MENA Meetup
The MENA Monthly Meetups bring together folks from the MENA region to
share, connect, seek help, and support each other, and help us
understand what is happening in our part of the world.
https://internetfreedomfestival.org/wiki/index.php/June_29_2022,_MENA_Meetup
### Digital Rights in the Community ###
1. Platform Liability Trends Around the World & Steps Forward
EFF released their final installment of a four-part blog series
surveying global intermediary liability laws. This installment
focuses on recommendations for policymakers that they hope will shift
Internet policy in the right direction and affirm the important role
of immunity for online intermediaries in fostering an enabling
environment for users’ freedom of expression.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/05/platform-liability-trends-around-globe-conclusions-and-recommendations-moving
2. Remembering Sarah Hegazi
For raising a rainbow flag, Sarah was arrested & assaulted by Egyptian
authorities, fired from her job, and forced to live in exile apart
from her loved ones. On the second anniversary of Sarah Hegazi's
passing, a website containing her diaries, personal facts, and much
more was launched. We remember her this week and always hold her in
our collective struggles.
https://sarahhegazi.space/
3. One Day Digital Skills Workshop for Islamabad Based Journalists
Digital Rights Foundation is conducting a one-day workshop on building
the capacity of journalists in digital skills. The one-day workshop is
happening in Islamabad and only open for journalists residing there.
Deadline to apply: June 20th 2022.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSep72jOtHv96LG5s6U_2OZmJHWEercDSkF__hI3zkrfREhO7Q/viewform
4. EDRi Looking for Creative Writers
EDRi is looking for creative writers for a sci-fi inspired
storytelling project. The project seeks to use stories to address the
huge power imbalance between those creating and deploying technology,
and those impacted by it. Closing date: June 25th 2022.
https://edri.org/take-action/careers/edris-looking-for-creative-writers-to-work-on-a-short-term-storytelling-project/
5. #DigitalSafetySnacks
This June and July, grab your laptops and your phones and sign up for
Digital Safety Snacks. PEN America, the Online News Association, and
the International Women’s Media Foundation have teamed up to create
step-by-step videos and hands-on workshops to help you defend yourself
against online abuse.
Read more and sign up for #DigitalSafetySnacks here:
https://pen.org/event-series/digital-safety-snacks/
6. New Study Shows Tiktok Fueling Disinformation, Political Tension in Kenya
A new study by Mozilla Foundations found that TikTok is fueling
disinformation and political tension in Kenya ahead of its August
general elections. These findings were made after reviewing 130 highly
watched videos sharing content filled with hate speech, incitement and
political information. This contradicts TikTok’s policy against hate
speech and sharing of discriminatory, inciteful, and synthetic
content.
https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/07/tiktok-found-to-fuel-disinformation-political-tension-in-kenya-ahead-of-elections/
7. Joint Statement of the Ad Hoc Committee on Cybercrime
Privacy International, Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Human
Rights Watch released a statement on the second session of the Ad Hoc
Committee. Their statement made preliminary remarks on
criminalization. Part of it reiterates the need to focus on crimes
that target information and communications technologies (ICTs).
https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/06/08/privacy-international-electronic-frontier-foundation-and-human-rights-watchs
_________________________________________________
### Digital Rights Resources ###
1. Books To Read on Disinformation
The New York Times lists a starter set of books on disinformation that
help explain its history, its techniques, its effects and how to
combat it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/09/books/books-disinformation-fake-news.html
(paywall)
2. Climate Disinformation at COP26
The Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) and the Climate Action
Against Disinformation (CAAD) coalition released a report documenting
the extent and diverse nature of climate disinformation. The report
offers seven key policy recommendations to stop disinformation from
jeopardizing future climate action and policy-making. It shows that
Twitter carried the most false content by volume, while Facebook’s
algorithm drove greater exposure to climate disinformation than its
own Climate Science Center, and its fact-checking policies remain
woefully under-enforced.
https://foe.org/news/deny-deceive-delay/
_________________________________________________
### Digital Rights in the Wider World ###
1. U.S. Defense Contractor L3Harris to Buy NSO Group
U.S. defense contractor L3Harris Tech plans to acquire sanctioned
spyware maker NSO Group. NSO Group has been in the international
spotlight for their facilitation of human rights abuses around the
world, from Palestine to El Salvador to Poland. The spyware was also
used to target phones of diplomats and politicians around the globe.
These ongoing revelations have led to the various governments and
other stakeholders taking a number of actions against the company.
https://www.accessnow.org/nso-group-sale-u-s-defense-contractor/
2. Oversight Board Recommends Meta Add an Exception on Documenting
Human Rights Abuses
The Oversight Board has upheld Meta’s decision to restore a Facebook
post depicting violence against a civilian in Sudan. The content
raised awareness of human rights abuses and had significant public
interest value. The Board recommended that Meta add a specific
exception on raising awareness or documenting human rights abuses to
the Violent and Graphic Content Community Standard.
https://oversightboard.com/news/1884013608451154-oversight-board-upholds-meta-s-decision-in-sudan-graphic-video-case-2022-002-fb-mr/
3. Ongoing LGBTQ Discrimination in Malaysia and West Asia
In Malaysia, online platforms have created invaluable opportunities
for LGBTQ communities to connect, communicate, and advocate for their
rights. Unfortunately, the other side to online participation leaves
them exposed to censorship, surveillance, and attack by those who see
these flourishing communities as an attempt to “undermine conservative
Muslim values” and sway Malaysia “from the right path.”
https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/06/08/1053212/lgbtq-activists-online-in-malaysia/
Meanwhile, Pixar’s “Lightyear” will not be playing in Saudi Arabia,
the U.A.E., Kuwait, Lebanon and Malaysia, due to the inclusion of a
same sex kiss in the “Toy Story” spinoff.
https://variety.com/2022/film/news/pixars-lightyear-ban-saudi-arabia-same-sex-kiss-1235292236/
4. Turkiye's Disinformation Law
A Turkish “disinformation law” will be voted on in parliament. The
bill would make it a crime to spread ‘fake news’. Fact-checkers and
journalists in the country fear and expect the highly punitive and
ambiguously worded bill will clear parliament. If the “disinformation
law” is passed, it would impose up to three-year jail sentences for
the spread of “fake news” or “disinformation”. The bill has been
sitting in the Turkish parliament for years.
https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2022/turkish-disinformation-law-will-make-it-a-crime-to-spread-fake-news/
5. Governments Continue to Target VPNs; Various VPNs Pulling Removing Servers
The Indian government’s new data collection legislation goes into
effect on June 27, 2022, and forces data-handling companies, including
VPNs, to collect customers’ personal information. It also requires
data to be stored and be shared with officials for up to five years,
even if users stop using the service. Any online service with physical
infrastructure in India has to comply with the new legislation,
including VPNs.
Various VPNs companies have begun removing their servers located in
India, including most recently Private Internet Access (PIA), whose
clients will still have access to Indian IP addresses using their
geo-located servers. PIA explains that VPNs are technically still
legal in India and can be used to access various platforms. PIA does
advise to avoid services with physical servers in India: once the new
data collection legislation sets in, they would have to log and store
your data, and in the scenario that the authorities asked, would hand
in the information
.
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/blog/india-vpn-servers-remove/
In Myanmar, the dictatorship wants to criminalize VPN use. At the
beginning of the year, the military junta in Myanmar released the
draft of its infamous Cybersecurity Law. Among other directives, it
will punish people using VPNs with up to 3-year prison sentences. UN
human-rights experts are now condemning the junta's attempts to
establish a 'digital dictatorship' within the country. This is another
addition to the ongoing repression that follows a wave of internet
shutdowns, censorship and social media blocks marking the aftermath of
the February 2021 military coup. People turned to VPN services to
circumvent web restrictions. By the end of February 4, VPN demand
increased 7,200%.
https://www.techradar.com/features/myanmars-digital-dictatorship-aims-to-criminalize-vpns
7. Russia Censoring Textbooks Amid War and Militarizing School Children
Schools in Russia have been ordered to conduct “patriotic” classes
parroting the Kremlin line on the war, and teachers who refuse have
been fired. Textbooks are being purged of almost all references to
Ukraine and its capital, Kyiv. As President Vladimir Putin’s war
against Ukraine drags on, Russia’s teachers are being turned into
front-line soldiers in an information war designed to mold children
into loyal militarized nationalists.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/06/11/russia-schools-textbooks-war-propaganda/
(paywall)
8. Shanghai Censoring Stories of the Dead
>From February to May, health authorities in Shanghai had reported 588
deaths related to Covid-19, the majority elderly residents. But
officials didn’t count people who may have died as a result of the
city’s lockdown restrictions. Discussions about the collateral damage
of China’s zero-Covid policy are heavily restricted in the country.
Censors have blocked comments from people opposing the pandemic
strategy, including remarks made by World Health Organization
director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Censorship has not
stopped people from finding technical workarounds to express dissent.
https://www.wired.com/story/shanghai-lockdown-censorship-deaths/ (paywall)
9. Marseille Fights Surveillance State
Since 2015, the year of the Bataclan terrorist attacks, the number of
cameras in Paris has increased fourfold. The police have used such
cameras to enforce pandemic lockdown measures and monitor protests
like those of the Gilets Jaunes. And a new nationwide security law,
adopted last year, allows for video surveillance by police drones
during events like protests and marches. The surveillance rollout has
met special resistance in Marseille, France’s second-biggest city.
Activists are fighting back, highlighting the existing surveillance
system’s overreach and underperformance. Their message seems to
resonate:
https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/06/13/1053650/marseille-fight-surveillance-state/
10. Ed-Tech Companies Mining and Exploiting Student Data
Ed-tech companies are mining and exploiting students’ data while
sidelining the role of teachers. As technology takes on a larger role
in schools, teachers are being pressured to act more as curators of
ed-tech products who navigate students through a multitude of
platforms instead of helping them learn and develop academically.
Softwares stores information such as which students are likely to
steal, cheat, or feel depressed. Teachers are expected to record this
data on district-mandated platforms that are linked to higher data
systems at the state and federal levels.
This type of invasive surveillance is both unwarranted, as it offers
no educational benefit, and harmful to the privacy of all stakeholders
in education, as it entitles ed-tech companies to access and share
troves of personal data. Although all partners to ed-tech contracts
must sign privacy and user agreements, there is no definitive way to
ensure honesty and commitment to these policies.
https://progressive.org/public-schools-advocate/surveillance-capitalism-spreading-to-schools-hillman-esquivel-220611/
____________________________
### 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
Digital Freedom Fund
23 May - 1 July 2022
https://digitalfreedomfund.org/grants/
Mellon Fellowship Program
Deadline: July 2
https://globalcenters.columbia.edu/content/mellon-fellowship-program-0
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/
_________________________________________________
### Global Events Calendar ###
Pathways to Organizational Health
June 22
10am EDT / 2pm UTC
https://digitalrights.formstack.com/forms/cks58
LATAM Monthly Meetup
June 22
6:30pm EDT / 10:30pm UTC
https://internetfreedomfestival.org/wiki/index.php/22_de_Junio,_2022_LATAM
Glitter Meetup: Fairwork Argentina and their findings about platform work
June 23
9am EDT / 1pm UTC
https://internetfreedomfestival.org/wiki/index.php/June_23_2022_GM
Africa Monthly Meetup
June 28
9am EDT / 1pm UTC
https://internetfreedomfestival.org/wiki/index.php/June_28_2022_,_Africa_Meetup
MENA Monthly Meetup
June 29
11am EDT / 3pm UTC / 5pm CAT
https://internetfreedomfestival.org/wiki/index.php/June_29_2022,_MENA_Meetup
PETS 2022
July 11 - 15
Sydney, Australia
https://petsymposium.org/2022/stipends.php
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
✎ Senior Site Reliability Engineer - Platform | Wikimedia Foundation
+ Remote
https://grnh.se/c28937c21us
✎ Creative Writers (short-term) | European Digital Rights (EDRi)
+ Remote
https://edri.org/take-action/careers/edris-looking-for-creative-writers-to-work-on-a-short-term-storytelling-project/
✎ Staff Software Engineer | Wikimedia Foundation
+ Remote
https://grnh.se/0924e49d1us
✎ Board members | Digital Freedom Fund
+ Netherlands
https://digitalfreedomfund.org/about/vacancies/
✎ Tech Community Lead (consultancy) | Digital Freedom Fund
+ Berlin, Germany
https://digitalfreedomfund.bamboohr.com/jobs/
✎ Policy Counsel - MENA | Access Now
+ MENA, Sub-Saharan Africa Regions, and within Europe
https://accessnow.bamboohr.com/jobs/view.php?id=126&source=aWQ9MjA%3D
✎ Customer Support Lead or Manager - PrivateStorage | Least Authority
+ Remote
https://leastauthority.com/careers/#PSCS
✎ Technical Product Manager - PrivateStorage | Least Authority
+ Remote
https://leastauthority.com/careers/#PSTPM
✎ DevOps/Site Reliability Engineer | Least Authority
+ Remote
https://leastauthority.com/careers/#DevOps
✎ Smart Contracts Security Researcher & Engineer (Multiple Ecosystems
and Languages) | Least Authority
+ Remote
https://leastauthority.com/careers/#smartcontractsauditor
✎ Security / Cryptography Researcher & Engineer | Least Authority
+ Remote
https://leastauthority.com/careers/#securityresearcher
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_________________________________________________
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(((Hugs & light)))
--
Team CommUNITY at ARTICLE 19
www.digitalrights.community
Organizers of the Internet Freedom Festival
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