Digital Rights Weekly | April 3 - 7.

[Team CommUNITY]

Hello Digital Rights Defenders!

Here is your weekly update on digital rights around the world for the
week of April 3 - 7. As a reminder, you can submit your news for the
newsletter here: https://www.digitalrights.community/weekly-newsletter

### Team CommUNITY (TCU) ###

1. Global Gathering: Looking for Projects that Want to Strut their Stuff

We are looking for Internet Freedom and digital rights projects that
want to show off their amazing work during TCU’s Global Gathering!!
Our new venue has permanent booths, all of which come with electricity
(and some with water as well) - which means YOUR project can have a
"home" during the GG.  The booths are pretty amazing and there is so
much you can do in them!!!  If interested, sign up here:

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


2. "The Feira" at the TCU’s Global Gathering in Portugal - Application
closes this Friday!

Applications for participating in "The Feira" at the Global Gathering
are open until this Friday April 7th! The Team CommUNITY's Global
Gathering Event is in September 15, 16, and 17, in Estoril, Portugal,
and "La Feira" is designed to provide digital rights defenders with a
rejuvenating space to reconnect, relax and host informal meetups and
discussions, along with sun, food, music, and local vendors. Apply and
get ready to recharge and reconnect with each other alongside food,
music, project/organization booths, self-organized meetups,
discussions, and of course glitter!

Apply here: https://www.digitalrights.community/blog/apply-feira-global-gathering


3. Interested in VPN Ecosystem? Check out “Conclusions and
Opportunities from the 2022 VPN Community Initiative”

We are happy to share a blog post overviewing the 2022 VPN Community
Initiative and a series of processes that allowed us to map challenges
and steps forward to develop the VPN ecosystem. You will read detailed
findings in areas like VPN Industry Standards, Circumvention, VPN
Privacy, Security, and User Education and needs, among others. This is
an open conversation between providers, researchers, developers, and
users, and we are going to keep fostering it. Stay tuned for the next
updates!

https://www.digitalrights.community/blog/conclusions-and-opportunities-2022-vpn-community-initiative


4. Take a look at our March Digital Rights Regional Briefs!

Every month, our Community Leads from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and
MENA, bring critical information about digital justice issues around
the globe, current opportunities for digital rights defenders,
community news, regional developments, and more!

Our Asia community lead, Astha, is bringing an interesting viewpoint
on internet shutdowns and their economic impact both for small, medium
businesses, and big investments, as well as platforms’ workers.
Mardiya, from Africa, is sharing the exciting case of the Zenzeleni
Mankosi Cooperative, a community network provider that caters to rural
South African communities. In Latin America, López Obrador, the
Mexican president, claims that secret surveillance perpetrated by the
army is “research and not espionage”, and in the MENA region there is
a transversal situation of currency devaluation and a growing concern
about digital financial insecurity.

https://www.digitalrights.community/blog/regionalbriefsmarch2023

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### Digital Rights in the Community ###

1. Apply to the African Women's Development Fund Grants

The African Women's Development Fund (AWDF) is inviting applications
from organizations led by women and/gender diverse persons/women
living with disabilities, on the African continent. The deadline for
submitting your application is 12pm GMT on 25th April 2023.

https://awdf.org/we-are-inviting-applications-for-grants/


2. Applications Open for the Doria Feminist Fund

The Doria Feminist Fund seeks to create a feminist ecosystem where the
new generation of feminist movement in the MENA region has access to
more and better funding and resources. Applications are open until
April 30.

https://www.doriafeministfund.org/


3. CIVICUS Workshop on Grant Seeking Strategy

Looking to improve your grant seeking strategy? Join CIVICUS' workshop
on 18 April at 14:00 GMT. An expert will talk about how to make the
most of the Donor Finder directory to identify funders and resources
that align with your mission and goals and to select the most suitable
funding opportunities and effectively apply for them. This 90-minute
session is perfect for activists, civil society organizations, and
small or informal groups with basic knowledge who are trying to
enhance their resource mobilization skills. Learn more and register
here:

https://civicus.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_y3vHuGlnRuq4OzTcaCkTUQ


4. Workshop Series on Designing Transformative Learning Spaces

Check out the free workshop series Designing Transformative Learning
Spaces by horizontal school tackling four essential topics in creating
and hosting learning spaces which ensure personal and societal growth
in four live online sessions. The topics include horizontal learning,
art of hosting, embodies practice, and space and environment. They’re
happening once a week from April 20 to May 16.

https://horizontal.school/trainings/open-trainings/


5. Notes From the CSW Session on Feminist Organizing in Tech

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), a global
intergovernmental body dedicated to the promotion of gender equality,
focused its annual session on digital technologies. This gathering
brings together governments and civil society. How can we build a
feminist, decolonized internet and create technologies centered on
anti-colonial, feminist values and practices? During the CSW Forum,
Whose Knowledge?, Numun Fund and Association for Progressive
Communications (APC) co-held a parallel event on “Protest+Power:
Feminist movement organizing in technology”. Read the highlights from
the session here:

https://whoseknowledge.org/centering-feminist-technology-csw67/


6. Reports from Our Community:

a) ECNL Publishes Framework for Meaningful Engagement

European Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ECNL) released a 'framework
for meaningful engagement' of civil society, affected communities and
other external stakeholders in AI. The Framework articulates minimum
criteria for engagement and uses these as a baseline for involving
companies, public entities as well as multilateral bodies during AI
design and development. It also includes practical tools, steps and
phases building on existing work on human rights due diligence and is
currently being piloted in practice.

https://ecnl.org/publications/framework-meaningful-engagement-human-rights-impact-assessments-ai


b) CIVICUS 2023 State of Civil Society Report

Welcome to the 2023 State of Civil Society Report from CIVICUS, the
global civil society alliance. This year’s report, the 12th in
CIVICUS’ annually published series, looks back on 2022 to explore
trends in civil society action, at every level and in every arena,
from struggles for democracy, inclusion and climate justice to demands
for global governance reform.

https://civicus.org/index.php/state-of-civil-society-report-2023


c) 11th Report from SAM Digital Rights Project

The SAM Digital Rights Project, in cooperation with Internews, issued
its eleventh report on the restrictions imposed by social media
platforms on freedom of expression in Yemen. The report ‘Social
Platforms' Restrictions on Freedom of Expression in the Yemeni Digital
Space’  documents how social media companies impose restrictions on
publishing and interaction - in some cases with account closures and
bans - despite the content not being in violation of the platform’s
policies.

https://dg.samrl.org/l?l=e/10/34/c/1/91/87/4757/Social-Platforms

___________________________

### Digital Rights Resources ###


1. Off.Guard: A Tool that Helps You in the Event of an Internet
Shutdown or Blackout

To meet the growing number of internet shutdowns, Civil Rights
Defenders has created Off.guard – a digital tool that increases access
to news and user generated information during internet disruptions.
Off.guard creates a feed with critical information, where all posts
are kept updated even during poor internet connection, without the
need for your attention. The latest posts are also available offline.
All information is saved on your device. Even if your connection is
lost – your access to information isn’t. This is a new tool and its
development and assessment will come with the pass of the time.

https://crd.org/offguard/


2. Harvard Introduces New Resources and Tools for Digital Identity

Harvard University has introduced a new set of research and tools
aimed at exploring digital identity under a program titled ‘Digital
Identity in Times of Crisis’. The research was conducted by Harvard’s
Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society (BKC) in collaboration
with Harvard’s design studio metaLAB, urban digital security research
organization Edgelands Institute, and digital rights non-profit
organization Access Now. The project looked at digital identity
through the lens of finance, digital threats, public policy, data and
speculative fiction, producing work that explores how to adopt digital
IDs responsibly.

https://cyber.harvard.edu/projects/digital-identity

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


1. A Front Company and a Fake Identity: How the U.S. Came to Use
Spyware It Was Trying to Kill

The Biden administration has been trying to choke off use of hacking
tools made by the Israeli firm NSO. It turns out that not every part
of the government has gotten the message.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/02/us/politics/nso-contract-us-spy.html

Meanwhile, the Indian government is hunting for new spyware with a
lower profile than the controversial Pegasus system blacklisted by the
US government, with rival surveillance software makers preparing bids
on lucrative deals being offered by Narendra Modi’s government.

https://www.ft.com/content/7674d7b7-8b9b-4c15-9047-a6a495c6b9c9 (paywall)


2. Martial Courts On Facebook Against Critics Of The Tunisian President

After Tunisian journalists gathered to protest government restrictions
on freedom of expression, loyalists to the Tunisian President Kais
Saied launched a smear campaign on Facebook against Mehdi Jelassi, the
head of the National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT).

https://smex.org/martial-courts-on-facebook-against-critics-of-the-tunisian-president/


3. TikTok Creators are Being Arrested for Violating Religious Laws in Nigeria

Two TikTok creators in Kano, Nigeria, were jailed for several days for
posting a satirical video commenting on allegations of corruption and
bribery against a governor. Several TikTokers have been arrested for
allegedly violating religious and moral sensitivities in Nigeria over
the last year. Digital rights experts say social media companies like
TikTok have a responsibility to protect their users.

https://restofworld.org/2023/tiktok-arrests-in-northern-nigeria/


4. The Call to Halt ‘Dangerous’ AI Research Ignores a Simple Truth

Tech leaders' Open Letter proposed a pause on ChatGPT. But researchers
already know how to make artificial intelligence safer.

https://www.wired.com/story/the-call-to-halt-dangerous-ai-research-ignores-a-simple-truth/


5. AI Company Scraped 30 Billion Facebook Photos so Cops Can Facial ID Anyone

Clearview AI, the company behind a widely-used facial recognition
technology that has already led American police to charge innocent
people with crimes they didn't commit — claims to have scraped 30
billion Facebook photos in order to train its AI algorithm, according
to comments that CEO Hoan Ton-That provided to the BBC last week.

https://futurism.com/the-byte/ai-30-billion-facebook-photos-cops-facial-id


6. This Student is Taking on ‘Biased’ Exam Software

Mandatory face-recognition tools have repeatedly failed to identify
people with darker skin tones. One Dutch student is fighting to end
their use.

https://www.wired.com/story/student-exam-software-bias-proctorio/ (paywall)

_________________________________________________

### 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

Ford Foundation
Dignity and Justice Fund
Spyware Accountability Initiative
Deadline: April 16, 2023
https://fordfoundation.forms.fm/spyware-accountability-initiative-spring-2023-request-for-concept-notes/forms/9600

African Women Development Fund
Deadline: April 25, 2023
https://awdf.org/we-are-inviting-applications-for-grants/

Digital Good Network
Digital Good Research Fund
Deadline: April 28, 2023
https://digitalgood.net

Doria Feminist Fund
Deadline: April 30, 2023
https://www.doriafeministfund.org/

Digital Rights Research Grant
PrivacyCo
Deadline: Rolling
https://www.top10vpn.com/research-grant/

Sovereign Tech Fund
Deadline: Rolling
https://sovereigntechfund.de/en/applications/

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

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

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 ###

DRIF23
April 12 to 14, 2023
Hybrid/Nairobi
https://whova.com/portal/registration/draif_202304/

Glitter Meetup: Understanding (ALPR) as a form of algorithmic surveillance
April 13, 2023
9am EDT / 1pm UTC
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=April_13_2023_GM

LATAM Monthly Meetup
April 19, 2023
6:30pm EDT / 10:30pm UTC
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=19_de_Abril,_2023_LATAM

Glitter Meetup: Ecuador - The Digital Rights Challenges in the Country
and Ola Bini's Case
April 20, 2023
9am EDT / 1pm UTC
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=April_20_2023_GM

7th Palestine Digital Activism Forum
7amleh
May 23-25, 2023
TBD
https://7amleh.org/2023/01/24/palestine-digital-activism-forum

Advocacy Evaluation Workshop
Center for Victims of Torture
May 29 - June 1, 2023
Mexico City
https://www.newtactics.org/e2a-upcoming-training-opportunities

RightsCon
Access Now
June 5 - 8, 2023
Hybrid
https://www.rightscon.org/attend/

North American School of Internet Governance
June 10 - 11, 2023
Washington DC, USA
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdST3GSV-nNF-8j7H9hO9ZDCaWMHJylM-oo9Z1VSpzUORhoig/viewform

Oxford Media Policy Summer Institute
July 31 - August 11, 2023
Oxford, USA
http://pcmlp.socleg.ox.ac.uk/oxford-media-policy-summer-institute-2023/

Freedom Not Fear
September 1- 4, 2023
Brussels
https://freedomnotfear.org

The Global Gathering
Team CommUNITY
September 15-17, 2023
Portugal
https://www.digitalrights.community/blog/announcing-team-communitys-global-gathering

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

✎ Executive Director | Pollicy
+ East Africa, Uganda preferred
https://pollicy.org/events/were-hiring-executive-director-of-pollicy/

✎ Global Technology Hub Helpdesk Officer  (Turkish language) | Internews
+ Remote in Europe (UK, Germany, France, etc.)
https://phf.tbe.taleo.net/phf04/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=INTERNEWS&cws=4&rid=2003

✎ Editor | Bellingcat
+ Remote
 https://www.bellingcat.com/bellingcat-editor-job-apply/

✎ Digital Safety Technologist - South Central Asia | Internews
+ Remote
https://phf.tbe.taleo.net/phf04/ats/careers/v2/viewRequisition?org=INTERNEWS&cws=38&rid=1998

✎ Manager, Information System Security | Citizen Lab, University of Toronto
+ Canada
https://jobs.utoronto.ca/job/Toronto-Manager%2C-Information-System-Security-ON/568434017/

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
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