Digital Rights Weekly | August 21 - 25

Mon Aug 28 16:43:37 CEST 2023

Hello Digital Rights Defenders!

Here is your weekly update on digital rights around the world for the
week of August 21 - 25. As a reminder, you can submit your news for
the newsletter here:
https://www.digitalrights.community/weekly-newsletter

### Team CommUNITY (TCU) ###

1. Digital Rights Regional Briefs of July are Out!!

These are the last briefs from the 2022-2023 community leads cohort.
This month you can find information on loan apps in Mexico, a
comparative evaluation of cybercrime laws in the MENA region, updates
about digital security training in Sub-Saharan Africa, plus plenty of
job opportunities in the Asian digital rights space.

https://www.digitalrights.community/blog/regionalbriefsjuly2023

2. RSVP for “The Wellbeing Monthly” series: October 3, Imposter
Syndrome in Activism: How Do We Cope?:

Join "The Wellbeing Monthly", a monthly virtual educational workshop
series led by diverse mental health professionals. The online series
will run from June to December and are free of charge, and  focus on
psychoeducation and coping mechanisms on diverse topics including
anxiety and fear, guilt and survivors guilt, defeat and hopelessness,
trauma, and burnout and stress. Each month we will be announcing new
speakers, so check regularly! RVSP for the next  workshop:
October 3, Imposter Syndrome in Activism: How Do We Cope?:
https://digitalrights.formstack.com/forms/wellbeingmonthly4

3. Glitter Meetups Season Break: They Will Resume on October 5!

We had our last Glitter Meetup for the season on July 13. We will
resume on October 5, so stay tuned. We want to take the opportunity to
thank all our featured guests and Team CommUNITY's staff who have made
Glitter Meetups amazing, glittertastic spaces for our community!

4. How we are Approaching Safety, Security and Challenges for the
Global Gathering

Find out how we are approaching the 2023 Global Gathering (GG) to
address real challenges that impact safety and security of
participants. This year’s edition in Portugal is part of a 3-year
vision to grow the GG in a sustainable way. The event is less than two
months away, and will be used to collectively brainstorm not just how
the GG will evolve, but also the standards we want to see in our field
of practice.

https://www.digitalrights.community/blog/2023-global-gathering-how-we-are-approaching-safety-security-and-challenges

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### Digital Rights in the Community ###

1. AI Charter in Media

Since the announcement by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) of the AI
Charter in media project, 10 individuals have joined the committee,
made up of experts in journalism and information technology. The
number of partner organizations has expanded to 16. The growing
interest underscores the relevance of the initiative.

https://rsf.org/en/ai-charter-media-10-individuals-and-6-additional-partner-organisations-join-rsf-first-working

2. HRW Report to China: Combat Anti-Black Racism on Social Media

The Chinese government should acknowledge and condemn anti-Black
racism prevalent on the Chinese internet and adopt measures to promote
tolerance and fight prejudice, Human Rights Watch said today. Chinese
social media platforms, which are quick to delete content critical of
the Chinese government, should remove racist content that violates
their community standards on hate speech, or might incite racial
discrimination or violence.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/08/16/china-combat-anti-black-racism-social-media

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### Digital Rights Resources ###

1. Changes to UK Surveillance Regime May Violate International Law

The U.K. government has recently unveiled plans to revise the
Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA),  the primary legislation
governing the surveillance of electronic communications in the United
Kingdom. This article examines how the UK. likely would be in breach
of international human rights law by interfering with the privacy and
security of online users both within and outside of its borders,
should it decide to move forward with the proposed revisions.

https://www.justsecurity.org/87615/changes-to-uk-surveillance-regime-may-violate-international-law/

2. Five Steps to Prepare for India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act

On 11 August, India's first comprehensive regulatory framework for
privacy, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023, received the
assent of President Droupadi Murmu and was published in the official
gazette. While the act's effective date is pending confirmation, and
several details are yet to be hashed out, organizations should start
evaluating their exposure to get a head start on compliance strategy
development.
This article outlines five steps privacy professionals can take to
build a proactive compliance roadmap, focusing on the most resource
intensive and technology-dependent operational elements.
https://iapp.org/news/a/5-steps-to-prepare-for-indias-digital-personal-data-protection-act/

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

1. Tech Companies Face a Reckoning in Europe as New Rules Come Into Force

The European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) is coming into force
this week - and it’s going to affect some of the world’s biggest tech
and social media giants, including Google, Facebook, and TikTok.

https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/08/22/eu-digital-services-act-tech-companies-face-a-reckoning-in-europe-as-new-rules-come-into-f

2. Meta Plans to Roll Out Default End-to-End Encryptions for Messenger

Meta said that the company plans to enable end-to-end encryption by
default for Messenger by the end of this year. The tech giant is also
expanding its test of end-to-end encryption features to “millions more
people’s chats.” The company has been building end-to-end encryption
features in Messenger for years now. However, most of them have been
optional or experimental.

https://techcrunch.com/2023/08/22/meta-plans-to-roll-out-default-end-to-end-encryption-for-messenger-by-the-end-of-the-year/

3. Mozilla Aims to Stop France from Censoring the Internet

The Mozilla Foundation has started a petition to stop the French
government from adopting the SREN bill, which would force browsers to
censor websites. The new bill by the French government would enable
authorities to provide a list of websites to browser providers that
would be required to be blocked on the browser level. Voting for the
bill is planned for the fall, and the Foundation is urging users to
sign the petition against its legislation.

https://cybernews.com/news/mozilla-firefox-censorship-france-sren-bill/

4. Women & Art in Digital Rights

Samar Younes Adds the Human Ingredient to AI Art

Artist Samar Younes creates artworks that combine the skills of
artisans with the raw power of generative AI. Check out this interview
with her.
https://wired.me/culture/samar-younes-ai-art/

Meet Activists Fighting for Change on Instagram

When Nyome Nicholas-Williams and Mary Morgan found their images
censored by the social media platform, they decided to campaign for a
change in policy – and not for the first time.

https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/culture/culture-news/a44784692/nyome-nicholas-williams-mary-morgan-interview/

5. Artists Take Indian Government to Court Over Tech Laws

A stand-up comedian and a renowned musician in India are the unlikely
faces of petitions challenging laws restricting online speech and
expression in the country, a rare sign of dissent from public figures
that digital rights groups have welcomed.

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2023/08/23/Artists-Kunal-Kamra-TM-Krishna-take-Indian-govt-to-court-over-tech-laws

6. AI-enhanced Identification: A Danger in the Middle East?

The use of digital biometric identification — recognizing people by
their unique features — is growing in the Middle East. There's concern
it provides an opportunity for repression.

https://www.dw.com/en/ai-enhanced-identification-a-danger-in-the-middle-east/a-66602156

7. Israel’s TikTok Extremists

Far-right content has taken Israeli TikTok by storm, rallying the
country’s youth in support of Jewish supremacy.

https://jewishcurrents.org/israels-tiktok-extremists

8. Cambodia: Problematic Laws & Restrictions on Information are
Threatening Digital Rights

Digital rights activists, human rights defenders, journalists, and
ordinary citizens are increasingly facing threats to their rights and
fundamental freedoms in online spaces, being targeted by digital
attacks and repressive laws introduced by the government.

https://globalvoices.org/2023/08/21/cambodia-problematic-laws-and-restrictions-on-information-are-threatening-digital-rights/

9. China’s Social Media Interference Shows Urgent Need for Rules

Disclosure of censored content and accounts. Publishing directives
received from governments. Fines and bans for non-compliance. On
August 1, 2023, the Australian Parliament’s Select Committee on
Foreign Interference through Social Media proposed these and other
measures in a new report to counter the “real, pervasive, and growing
threat” of foreign interference through social media.

https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportsen/RB000062/toc_pdf/SenateSelectCommitteeonForeignInterferencethroughSocialMedia.pdf

The report, issued by the Select Committee on Foreign Interference
through Social Media, raised particular concerns about WeChat and
TikTok, Chinese social media platforms that have a large user base in
Australia.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/08/14/chinas-social-media-interference-shows-urgent-need-rules

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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

Data Futures Lab Infrastructure Fund
Mozilla
Deadline: August 31, 2023
https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/data-futures-lab/grantmaking/infrastructure-fund/

FOSS United
https://fossunited.org/grants

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/

Urgent Action Fund - Asia & Pacific
Deadline: Rolling
https://www.uafanp.org/our_grants

Open Briefing’s Responsive Assistance
Deadline: Rolling Basis
https://www.openbriefing.org/support/referral/
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### Events Calendar ###

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

DWeb+CoolabCamp
September 7-10, 2023
Brazil
https://dwebcamp.coolab.org

Virtual School on Internet Governance
September 4 - November 25, 2023
Online
https://www.virtualsig.org/2023/05/30/vsig-registration-now-open/

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

Digital Sovereignty Conference
October 24 - 26, 2023
Ljubljana, Slovenia
https://disco.si

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

✎  Information security consultant | Open Briefing
+  Remote
http://www.openbriefing.org/blog/information-security-consultants/

✎  Advocacy Officer | Privacy International
+  London, United Kingdom
https://privacyinternational.org/opportunities/5104/advocacy-officer

✎  Tech Advocacy Officer | Privacy International
+  London, United Kingdom
http://privacyinternational.org/opportunities/5105/tech-advocacy-officer

✎ Technical Support Consultant (Part-time) | Syria Justice and
Accountability Center
+  Washington DC, USA or Remote
https://syriaaccountability.org/careers/#tsc

✎ WERKSTUDENT*IN IT-SICHERHEIT | Reporter ohne Grenzen e.V. (RSF)
+  Berlin Schöneberg, Germany
https://reporter-ohne-grenzen.jobs.personio.de/job/1215374?language=de&display=de

✎ WERKSTUDENT*IN RECHERCHE | Reporter ohne Grenzen e.V. (RSF)
+  Berlin Schöneberg, Germany
https://reporter-ohne-grenzen.jobs.personio.de/job/1215374?display=de#apply

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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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 Global Gathering
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