Digital Rights Weekly | April 24 - 28.

[Team CommUNITY]

Hello Digital Rights Defenders!

Here is your weekly update on digital rights around the world for the week
of April 24 - 28. As a reminder, you can submit your news for the
newsletter here: https://www.digitalrights.community/weekly-newsletter

### Team CommUNITY (TCU) ###

1. RSVP Soon for our NEW June Village: Digital Rights Perspectives from the
South - interactive discussions about Asia, Africa, LATAM and MENA

Are you interested in learning about how emerging issues in digital rights
uniquely showing up in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East and
North Africa? Do you want to hear about what digital rights defenders in
each region are experiencing, what challenges they are facing, and what's
on their mind? Join us for our upcoming village, “Digital Rights
Perspectives from the South,” which will feature five virtual interactive
sessions led by TCU’s four Community Leads, and will incorporate their
learnings from the last 18 months doing community building and research in
their respective regions. Bring your questions and comments!

Jun 6: Latin America with Úrsula Schüler
Jun 7: Middle East and North Africa (MENA) with Islam Al Khatib
Jun 8: Asia with Astha Rajvanshi
Jun 13: Africa with Mardiya Siba Yahaya
Jun 14:  Commonalities between regions and global trends with Danae Tapia
and Úrsula Schüler

Check the full descriptions and RSVP on this link:
https://www.digitalrights.community/blog/digital-rights-perspectives-from-the-south


2. RSVP for 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:  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


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

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

_________________________________________________

### Digital Rights in the Community ###

1. The Digital Freedom Fund

The Digital Freedom Fund will run another call for grant applications to
support strategic litigation to advance digital rights in Europe. The call
will be open from 15 May to 20 July 2023. Those interested can learn more
and apply here:
https://digitalfreedomfund.org/grants/


2. Shifting the Data Highway: Introducing the Afro-Feminist Data Governance
Project

To repurpose a better understanding of data use for stakeholders, the
Afro-feminist Data Governance Project implemented in four countries: Kenya,
Zambia, Cote D'ivoire and Ghana hopes to interrogate and co-create
data-driven solutions with governments, civil society actors, and regional
mechanisms specifically the African Union (AU), sub-regional economic
blocks such as The East Africa Community (EAC), Economic Community of West
African States (ECOWAS) and The Southern African Development Community
(SADC).  The project will provide concrete examples of how gender data gaps
exist in both national and international governance mechanisms and how they
can be addressed through improved data governance practices. Read more
here:

https://pollicy.medium.com/shifting-the-data-highway-introducing-the-afro-feminist-data-governance-project-3787587aaa20



3. Reports from Our Community!

a) Loud Men Talking Loudly: Exclusionary Cultures of Internet Governance

This report by researcher Corinne Cath of the Critical Infrastructure Lab,
investigates how suitable internet governance organizations are as sites
for civil society participation. Taking the IETF as a case study of
internet governance, the report outlines how distinct organizational
cultures – like confrontational and “rough” models of collaboration to the
greater respect afforded to participants who work at large corporations –
can impede, undermine, and discourage civil society participation.

https://www.criticalinfralab.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/LoudMen-CorinneCath-CriticalInfraLab.pdf



b) Digital Rights in Southeast Asia 2023

DigitalReach, a digital rights organization founded in 2019, has released
its latest report detailing the digital rights situation in Southeast Asia.
The report covered eight countries in the region: Cambodia, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. They
predominantly focused on the decline of democracy in Myanmar under the
military Junta, the use of TikTok to spread disinformation during the
elections in the Philippines and Malaysia, and the discovery of Pegasus
spyware in Thailand.

https://globalvoices.org/2023/04/24/underscoring-the-challenges-of-promoting-digital-rights-in-southeast-asia/


___________________________

### Digital Rights Resources ###

1. The New Yorker: Buzzfeed, Blue Check Marks, and the End of an Internet
Era

Just a decade ago, Twitter and BuzzFeed were the popular poles of online
life. Now their struggles are emblematic of where social media went wrong.

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/buzzfeed-blue-check-marks-and-the-end-of-an-internet-era

_________________________________________________

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

1. Proton Expands Its Privacy Ecosystem With a Password Manager

Encrypted email company Proton has announced one of the biggest new
additions to its growing suite of privacy-focused apps: Proton Pass, an
end-to-end encrypted password manager.

https://proton.me/blog/proton-pass-beta

Over the past few years the company has gone through a growth spurt,
rolling out a host of new features to populate an ever expanding privacy
ecosystem—including a VPN, an encrypted cloud Drive, and a calendar. Last
year, it changed its name from ProtonMail to simply “Proton,” to signify
its offerings had officially gone beyond email.

To get a better perspective on Proton’s recent changes and its ambitions
for the future, Gizmodo sat down with Proton’s CEO, Andy Yen, to discuss
what the company’s been up to and where it’s headed in the future.

https://gizmodo.com/protonmail-proton-pass-password-manager-andy-yen-1850172353



2. Whatsapp and Signal Unite Against Online Safety Bill Amid Privacy
Concern

The rival chat apps WhatsApp and Signal have joined forces in a rare show
of unity to protest against the online safety bill, which they say could
undermine the UK’s privacy and safety. In an open letter signed by the
heads of both organizations as well as five other encrypted chat apps, the
executives say the bill could be used to in effect outlaw end-to-end
encryption, which prevents anyone but the intended recipient of a message
from seeing its contents.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/apr/18/whatsapp-signal-unite-against-online-safety-bill-privacy-messaging-apps-safety-security-uk



3. Twitter Begins Removing Check Marks from Accounts

Twitter began removing check mark icons from the profiles of thousands of
celebrities, politicians and journalists last week, in one of the most
visible indicators of how Elon Musk is changing the company.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/20/technology/twitter-blue-check-marks.html


4. In Brazil, Platform Regulation Takes Center Stage

In Brazil, the issue of platform liability and content moderation has
become a pressing concern after the storming of the Brazilian capital by
far-right supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro on January 8, 2023.
As a result of the violence that day, the Brazilian government has actively
pursued measures to enhance the responsibility of intermediaries in
moderating online content.

The new administration had already indicated that digital governance was
likely to be a priority.

https://techpolicy.press/in-brazil-platform-regulation-takes-center-stage/

Civil society is getting involved to assess the possible bill’s damage to
freedom of expression. They also warned that this could harm cryptography
and the right to privacy.

https://ip.rec.br/publicacoes/nota-tecnica-do-ip-rec-sobre-as-propostas-do-governo-federal-para-o-pl-2630/


5. What a Cat in a Keffiyeh Reveals about AI’s Anti-Palestinian Bias

Popular AI systems are reproducing the internet’s existing prejudices
against Palestinians, creating new forms of digital erasure and
discrimination.

https://www.972mag.com/ai-bias-palestinian-cat-keffiyeh/


6. U.S. Senators Unveil Legislation to Ban Kids Under 13 from Joining
Social Media Platforms

A new federal bill unveiled this week would establish a national minimum
age for social media use and require tech companies to get parents’ consent
before creating accounts for teens, reflecting a growing trend at all
levels of government to restrict how Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and other
platforms engage with young users.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/26/tech/senators-social-media-kids-wellness/index.html



7. EU: European Union Must Protect Human Rights in Upcoming AI Act Vote

Ahead of the European Parliament’s vote on the AI Act in May, the European
Union (EU) has a significant opportunity to regulate artificial
intelligence (AI) technologies in order to protect and promote human
rights.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/04/eu-european-union-must-protect-human-rights-in-upcoming-ai-act-vote/


_________________________________________________

### 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

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/

Strategic Litigation to Advance Digital Rights in Europe Support
Digital Freedom Fund
Deadline: July 20, 2023
https://digitalfreedomfund.org/grants/

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

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 ###

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/


Welcome to Digital Rights Village
Team CommUNITY
May 16 - 25, 2023
Online
https://digitalrights.formstack.com/forms/welcometodigitalrights

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

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

✎ Data Center Engineer | Wikimedia Foundation
+ Ashburn, VA, USA
https://grnh.se/a02028551us

✎ Junior data scientist (forced labor) | Global Fishing Watch
+ Remote
http://globalfishingwatch.org/careers/?gh_jid=5593970003

✎ Senior Investor Engagement Manager | Ranking Digital Rights (New America)
+ Remote
https://newamerica.applytojob.com/apply/mzRVftFefO/Senior-Investor-Engagement-Manager

✎ Localisation & translation of trauma-informed content [German] | Chayn
+ Remote
https://chayn.notion.site/Localisation-translation-of-trauma-informed-content-German-bb00b6e944164d95b3a94bb179e46256

✎ Senior Data Engineering Manager | Wikimedia Foundation
+ Remote
https://grnh.se/a63dcc2e1us

✎ Digital Protection Manager | Front Line Defenders
+ Ireland, Dublin
https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/recruitment-volunteering

✎ Research Manager, Democracy Studies | Freedom House
+ Washington, DC or NY, USA
https://phe.tbe.taleo.net/phe01/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=FREEHOUS&cws=1&rid=1359

✎ Senior Research Analyst, Democracy Studies | Freedom House
+ Washington, DC or NY, USA
https://phe.tbe.taleo.net/phe01/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=FREEHOUS&cws=1&rid=1358

✎ Technical Advisor, Internet Governance and Digital Rights | Internews
+ Remote
https://phf.tbe.taleo.net/phf04/ats/careers/v2/viewRequisition?org=INTERNEWS&cws=38&rid=2044

✎ Finance manager | Association for Progressive Communications
+ Remote
http://www.apc.org/en/news/come-work-us-apc-looking-finance-manager

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

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

You can now submit your news for the Digital Rights weekly directly.
To post your job opportunities, submit your opportunities to our Job Board.
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