Digital Rights Weekly | April 17 - 21

[Team CommUNITY]

Hello Digital Rights Defenders!

Here is your weekly update on digital rights around the world for the
week of April 17 - 21. As a reminder, you can submit your news for the
newsletter here: https://www.digitalrights.community/weekly-newsletter

### Team CommUNITY (TCU) ###

1. RSVP Soon: Join our Event Series for Job Seekers Looking to Break
into Digital Rights, Internet Freedom

This May we will be hosting the “Welcome to Digital Rights Village”
featuring diverse professionals talking about their personal career
paths in digital rights and Internet Freedom. Check the amazing line
up of sessions and speakers:

May 16:
An Overview of the Digital Rights Landscape for Career Seekers with
Danae Tapia and Sandra Ordonez

May 17:
A Career in Policy Advocacy with Ayden Férdeline, Landecker Democracy Fellow

May 18:
A Career in Tech Tool Making with Giovanni Pellerano, Co-founder of GlobaLeaks

May 23:
A Career in Public Interest Technology with Daniel Kahn Gillmor,
ACLU’s Senior Staff Technologist

May 24:
A Career in Grassroots to International Nonprofits in Digital Rights
with Nathaly Espitia Diaz, Program Officer for South America at
Internews

May 25:
A Career in Technology Research in Digital Rights with Natasha Felizi,
Journalism and Media Director at Instituto Serrapilheira

RSVP SOON on the link below! Also, this is a great event-series to
send to any folks you may know looking to start a career in digital
rights and/or Internet Freedom.

https://www.digitalrights.community/blog/welcome-to-the-digital-rights-village


2. 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!

This month, our Asia community lead, Astha shares an interesting
viewpoint on Internet Shutdowns and their economic impact both for
small, medium businesses, and big investments, as well as platforms’
workers. Our Africa lead shares the exciting case of 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. Call for Applications: Online Workshop on Digital Rights and Civil
Society in Turkey

ARTICLE 19 will be holding an online workshop on digital rights and
elections for civil society in Turkey. The workshop will take place on
Thursday 4 May, between 12:00pm to 6:00 pm Turkey time (GMT+3) on
Zoom. It will be delivered in English with simultaneous interpretation
to Turkish.

https://www.article19.org/resources/turkey-online-workshop-on-digital-rights-and-elections/


2. Applications for the Sustainable Protection Fund Now Open

Sustainable Protection Fund for the Francophone Africa region is open.
The fund supports organizations and collectives who are interested in
building long term digital security capacity. Countries: Benin,
Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of
Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Gabon,
Republic of Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Chad
and Togo. Deadline to apply: April 30, 2023.

https://www.digitaldefenders.org/fr/le-fonds-de-protection-durable-appel-a-candidature-ouvert-pour-la-region-dafrique-francophone/


3. Decolonize Digital Right Field: Call for Consultation Participation

European Digital Rights (EDRi) and the Digital Freedom Fund (DFF) are
looking for your input on a draft programme for an initial
decolonising process for the digital rights field in Europe. This
draft outline is one of the many outcomes of a two-year process of
collective design with 30 participants from racial and social justice
and digital rights organizations, hoping to address power dynamics in
the field and imagine a vision for anti-colonial digital futures.
Answer the consultation here:

https://edri.org/our-work/decolonising-the-digital-rights-field/


4. Triple Threat: NSO Group’s Pegasus Spyware Returns

Citizen Lab released a report that further describes how the NSO
Group’s technology functions. Their ensuing investigation led them to
conclude that, in 2022, NSO Group customers widely deployed at least
three iOS 15 and iOS 16 zero-click exploit chains against civil
society targets around the world. Read the full report here:

https://citizenlab.ca/2023/04/nso-groups-pegasus-spyware-returns-in-2022/


5. Apple’s lockdown mode indeed helped block an attack by hackers
using the spyware from the NSO Group.

https://techcrunch.com/2023/04/18/apple-lockdown-mode-iphone-nso-pegasus/

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### Digital Rights Resources ###


1. Keep Eyes on Sudan

On the 15th of April, 2023, fighting broke out in Khartoum between the
Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and a powerful paramilitary faction, the
Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Clashes spread across the nation of Sudan,
and the civilian populace is caught in the middle.

This page is a resource hub for you, fellow Sudanese, and Sudanese
allies. Find out more about what is going on, use the templates to
write to your elected representatives, connect with other people in
your local area who are organizing to support those in Sudan.

https://www.sudancoup.com

You can also support Sudanese people by donating to SAPA, a
humanitarian aid agency providing emergency response on the ground:

https://sapa-usa.org/sudan-war-crisis-emergency-relief/

The New York Times is updating the situation live here:

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/04/18/world/sudan-khartoum-fighting-news

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

1. Sudanese Telecom MTN Block Internet Services

Sudan’s MTN telecommunications company has blocked internet services
in the country on the orders of the government telecommunications
regulator

https://www.reuters.com/article/sudan-politics-internet/sudanese-telecoms-provider-mtn-blocks-internet-services-mtn-officials-say-idUKS8N35N0D8

Sudan's MTN telecommunications company was told by the authorities to
restore internet services in the country and has done so, a few hours
after being given a directive to block it.

https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/africa/2023-04-16-watch-mtn-restores-internet-service-in-sudan-amid-power-struggle-and-chaos/


2. How Internet Shutdowns in Myanmar Have Been Endangering Lives and
Affecting Humanitarian Work Since the Coup

Almost two years after the coup led by military commander-in-chief
Senior General Min Aung Hlainge, internet shutdowns, restrictions, and
interruptions continue in most parts of Myanmar. The Junta has imposed
targeted internet shutdowns in regions where the military faces strong
resistance from armed resistance groups accompanied by severe offline
crackdowns.

https://globalvoices.org/2023/04/11/how-internet-shutdowns-in-myanmar-have-been-endangering-lives-and-affecting-humanitarian-work-since-the-coup/


3. Uganda’s Twitter Battleground

Despite the country’s sense of itself as a place with a vibrant, free
press, Uganda is ranked near the bottom of the Reporters Without
Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index; many of its newsrooms are
controlled by the government or by private individuals with close
connections to the ruling elite.

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/eron-kiiza-defends-the-press-uganda.php


4. Spain’s AI Doctor

Spain’s National Institute of Social Security (INSS) has vowed to
crack down on fraud and reduce public spending on its sick leave
benefits. In 2018, the INSS deployed two machine learning algorithms
to assess the health of millions of people receiving sick leave in
Spain. These algorithms attempt to guess which benefit recipients
might be avoiding work and defrauding the state. Over the course of 10
months, Lighthouse Reports used public records laws to obtain
unpublished documents describing the system and the data it relies on.

https://www.lighthousereports.com/investigation/spains-ai-doctor/


5. In France, Retrospective Facial Recognition Surveillance Conceals
Human Rights Abuses in Plain Sight

Following the burglary of a French logistics company in 2019, facial
recognition technology (FRT) was used on security camera footage of
the incident in an attempt to identify the perpetrators. FRT works by
attempting to match images from, for example, closed-circuit
television (CCTV) cameras to databases of often millions of facial
images, in many cases collected without knowledge and consent.

In this case, the FRT system listed two hundred people as potential
suspects. From this list, the police singled out ‘Mr H’ and charged
him with the theft, despite a lack of physical evidence to connect him
to the crime.

https://www.euronews.com/2023/04/14/retrospective-facial-recognition-surveillance-conceals-human-rights-abuses-in-plain-sight

When it comes to the potential Olympics surveillance in France, French
left-leaning lawmakers from the Greens and France Unbowed have
officially challenged the AI-powered surveillance system for the 2024
Paris Summer Olympics before the country's top constitutional court,
they announced Monday. The French parliament earlier this month
adopted a controversial bill that allows the experimentation of
large-scale, real-time camera systems supported by algorithms to spot
suspicious behavior — including unsupervised luggage and crowd
movements like stampedes — for the Olympics next year. The system
would be in place until March 2025.

https://www.politico.eu/article/french-lawmakers-officially-challenge-olympics-surveillance-before-top-court/


5. Russia’s New Conscription Law Brings digital threat

The government wants to create a digital system of social control by
regulating individual access to rights and benefits. Being outside of
this system will effectively spell social death.

https://carnegieendowment.org/politika/89553


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### 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

Lacuna Fund
Deadline: Multiple Depending on Topic
https://lacunafund.org/apply/

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

Sustainable Protection Fund for the Francophone Africa
Digital Defenders Partnership
Deadline: April 30, 2023
https://www.digitaldefenders.org/fr/le-fonds-de-protection-durable-appel-a-candidature-ouvert-pour-la-region-dafrique-francophone/

Indela in Panama
Deadline: May 15, 2023
https://indela.fund/indela-panama/

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/

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### Events Calendar ###

MENA Monthly Meetup
April 26, 2023
10am EDT / 2pm UTC
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=April_26_2023,_MENA_Meetup

Africa Monthly Meetup
April 27, 2023
9am EDT / 1pm UTC
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=April_27_2023,_Africa_Meetup

Workshop on Digital Rights and Elections in Turkey
May 5, 2023
12pm GMT +3
Online
https://www.article19.org/resources/turkey-online-workshop-on-digital-rights-and-elections/

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

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### 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

✎ Impact and Learning Officer | Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
+ Remote in the Global South preferred or London, UK
https://bhrrc.bamboohr.com/careers/48?source=aWQ9MTk%3D

✎ Researcher | Luminate
+ Remote
https://www.luminategroup.com/storage/1782/Victims-Research-ToR.pdf

✎ Technologist | Amnesty International
+ London, UK
https://careers.amnesty.org/vacancy/technologist-3690/3718/description

✎ Platform Policy Fellow | Discord
+ Multiple Location Options
https://discord.com/jobs/6710969002

✎ Operations Manager Amnesty Tech | Amnesty International
+ London, UK
https://careers.amnesty.org/vacancy/operations-manager---amnesty-tech-3691/3719/description/

✎ Operations Manager | Amnesty International
+ Amnesty International offices preferred
https://careers.amnesty.org/vacancy/operations-manager---amnesty-tech-3691/3719/description/

✎ Technologist | Amnesty International
+ Amnesty International offices preferred
https://careers.amnesty.org/vacancy/technologist-3690/3718/description

✎ Senior Policy Counsel or Senior Policy Analyst - Open Technology
Institute (OTI) | New America
+ Washington, DC, USA
https://newamerica.applytojob.com/apply/noFYOwB2L6/Senior-Policy-Counsel-Or-Senior-Policy-Analyst-Open-Technology-Institute-OTI

✎ Communications Director - Technology Programs | New America
+ Washington, DC, USA
https://newamerica.applytojob.com/apply/6Xt0FNX78y/Communications-Director-Technology-Programs

✎ Digital Security Officer | Internews
+ Amman, Jordan
https://phf.tbe.taleo.net/phf04/ats/careers/v2/viewRequisition?org=INTERNEWS&cws=38&rid=2041

✎ Digital Communications Director | NextGen America
+ Remote
https://nextgenamerica.bamboohr.com/careers/228?source=aWQ9NTM%3D

✎ Operations Assistant/Office Manager | Freedom of the Press Foundation
+ Brooklyn, NY, USA
https://grnh.se/5989cb4a5us

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

_________________________________________________

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### 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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