Digital Rights Weekly | November 27 - December 1

Team CommUNITY team at digitalrights.community
Mon Dec 4 17:18:42 CET 2023 

Hello Digital Rights Defenders!

Here is your weekly update on digital rights around the world for the
week of November 27 - December 1. 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 The 2023 VPN Village!

Join the 2023 VPN Village, a two-week virtual series focused on VPN
user education, and exploring legal, technical and product development
challenges. Make sure to RSVP soon for the following session:

Tuesday, December 5 | Growing With the People: How Outline VPN
Providers Adapt to Support Diverse Populations
https://digitalrights.formstack.com/forms/3vpn2023

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### Digital Rights in the Community ###

1. Launch of Gaza Media Resources

Check out the Gaza Media Resources, an open-access library of
resources in various formats, to support human-rights activists and
defenders, civil society organizations, active Palestinian groups, and
open source fact-checkers, with topics such as digital security, open
source fact-checking, filming and documenting human rights violations
during war, photography tips, and more. You can contribute to their
library or request specific resources/tools by visiting their website:

https://www.gazamediaresources.com/contribute-request


2. Take Part in Privacy International’s Global Survey and Help Them to
Identify Opportunities

Privacy International (PI) has undertaken a process of scoping the
authoritarian uses of technology around the world to identify how,
where, how, and by whom they are being used, and to map the impact
that repressive uses of technology has on specific individuals and
communities and their human rights. Through the information provided
and the interest expressed by respondents, PI hopes to identify the
main issues of concern in specific countries and regions, and to
identify new and existing opportunities for collective efforts.

Survey in English:
https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/PIGlobalSurveyonResistingAuthoritarianTechnology/

Survey in Spanish:
https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/PI-EncuestaGlobalResistiendoaTecnologasAutoritarias/

Survey in Russia:
https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/5PF6PT/


3. g0v Summit 2024: Call for Proposals!


g0v is a grassroots social movement community dedicated to deepening
the civic engagements and connections between the social arena and
citizens. The g0v Summit 2024 is scheduled on May 4 and 5, 2024. The
Summit will feature five main themes: “Nerd politics v.s. digital
governance,” “Data, AI, and community collaboration,” “Grassroots,
open, polycentric, and communal responses to political and
technological authoritarianism,” “Digital infrastructure grounded in
empathy, inclusiveness, and plurality,” and “Convergence of technology
and social issues.” Submission Deadline: December 10, 2023. Check out
their website and guidelines:

https://summit2024.g0v.tw


4. Review ProofMode Project: Capture, Share, and Preserve Verifiable
Photos and Videos

ProofMode’s goal is to help this community create trustworthy evidence
for various legal proceedings that will occur in the future, and
preserve a "baseline" historical snapshot that is known to not be
manipulated or AI generated. For anyone in need of guidance, advice,
or support on how to do this yourself and in your communities for any
variety of reasons, please reach out as they have funding and time in
the next year to help:

https://proofmode.org/contact

ProofMode recently posted a case study from Fabiola on capturing and
preserving verifiable photo and video documentation of a disaster
aftermath in her home region in Mexico:

https://proofmode.org/blog/hurricane-otis-proofmode


5. Reports from Our Community

a) HackerWatch: The Rising Wave of Impersonation Activity of Iranians
State Actors in 2023

Miaan Group documented multiple attacks on civil society groups inside
and outside of Iran, which constitute the largest and most coordinated
impersonation and phishing campaign since the outbreak of the Mahsa
Jina Amini movement last year. This report is the result of research
and documentation of over 100 attacks that targeted journalists, civil
society activists, and rights defenders of ethnic and religious
minorities domestically and abroad in 2023.

https://filter.watch/en/2023/11/27/hackerwatch-jan-november-2023

b) New Digital Dilemmas: Resisting Autocrats, Navigating Geopolitics,
Confronting Platforms

This latest collection from the Carnegie Endowment for International
Peace’s Digital Democracy Network, building on a volume of essays by
the network in 2021, probes four cross-cutting themes: digital
repression shifts, the interaction between tech platforms and digital
rights, digital sovereignty, and the implications of technology on
geopolitics and governance.

https://carnegieendowment.org/files/Feldstein_et_al_-_DDN_spread-UPDATED_1.pdf

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

1. Activists Raise Concerns about Surveillance at COP28

Activists fear surveillance and arrests at the Dubai climate summit.
Assurances about the ability to "peacefully assemble" and the promise
of "inclusive" negotiations, are not enough to reassure activists.

https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/11/24/repressive-state-activists-raise-concerns-about-surveillance-and-arrest-at-cop28


2. Spyware in Serbia: Civil Society Under Attack

In the latest example of how invasive surveillance technology is being
used to silence and suppress civil society, Access Now, SHARE
Foundation, the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs &
Public Policy at the University of Toronto, and Amnesty International
have discovered that two members of civil society in Serbia were
targeted with spyware earlier this year.

https://www.accessnow.org/spyware-attack-in-serbia/


3. Upholding Internet Freedom as Part of the EU’s Iran Policy

Iran’s regime is using digital repression to control the country’s
citizens and further isolate them from the world. The EU should ensure
safe online spaces for Iranian activists and tie its Iran policy into
a comprehensive global strategy against digital authoritarianism.

https://carnegieeurope.eu/2023/11/29/upholding-internet-freedom-as-part-of-eu-s-iran-policy-pub-91091


4. Amnesty International to the EU: France, Germany & Italy Risk
Unraveling Landmark AI Act Negotiations

France, Germany and Italy, are putting adoption of the landmark AI Act
at risk due to their opposition to regulate foundation models. Amnesty
International urges the EU to demonstrate international leadership by
adopting this regulation aimed at protecting fundamental rights.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/11/eu-france-germany-and-italy-risk-unravelling-landmark-ai-act-negotiations/


5. Meta Platforms' Paid Ad-free Service Targeted in Austrian Privacy Complaint

Meta Platforms' paid no-ads subscription service launched in Europe
this month faced one of its biggest tests as advocacy group None of
Your Business (NOYB) filed a complaint with an Austrian regulator,
saying that it amounted to paying a fee to ensure privacy.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/meta-platforms-paid-ad-free-service-targeted-austrian-privacy-complaint-2023-11-28/


6. How One Russian Nonprofit is Trying to Crack Through the Kremlin’s
Censorship Wall

Running an internet freedom organization in an authoritarian country
is never easy, but for Roskomsvoboda, the past two years have been
particularly difficult:

https://therecord.media/roskomsvoboda-russia-internet-freedom-censorship


7. Belarus Internet Governance Forum: No Civil Society Dialogue from Behind Bars

The fifth Belarus Internet Governance Forum took place November 15 in
Minsk under the tagline of open dialogue on the development of Bynet.
Bynet is Belarus’ “national internet” — and the use of the term was
the conference’s first major red flag.

https://techpolicy.press/belarus-internet-governance-forum-no-civil-society-dialogue-from-behind-bars/


8. Elon Musk is Taking Applications for Data to Study X — but Only EU
Risk Researchers Need Apply

Elon Musk-owned X appears to have quietly complied with a hard legal
requirement in the European Union that requires larger platforms (aka
VLOPs) to provide researchers with data access in order to study
systemic risks arising from use of their services.

https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/29/x-eu-researcher-data-access/


9. UNFCCC Partners with Microsoft to Use AI and Advanced Data
Technology to Track Global Carbon Emissions

Leaders from the United Nations and Microsoft Corp. announced a
partnership that will enable the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to create a new AI-powered platform and
global climate data hub to measure and analyze global progress in
reducing emissions.

https://news.microsoft.com/2023/11/29/unfccc-partners-with-microsoft-to-use-ai-and-advanced-data-technology-to-track-global-carbon-emissions-and-assess-progress-under-the-paris-agreement/


10. How Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence Impacts Women and Girls

Globally, approximately 736 million women — almost one in three —
endure violence at least once in their life. Online violence against
women and girls has escalated rapidly in recent years, posing major
threats to safety and well-being.

https://unric.org/en/how-technology-facilitated-gender-based-violence-impacts-women-and-girls/


11. Whistleblower Reveals Files Regarding Secret Anti-Disinformation
Group Created For Censorship Purposes

A whistleblower revealed secret Cyber Threat Intelligence League
(CTIL) documents, exposing government involvement in online
censorship. Journalists uncovered how the CTIL, initially portrayed as
a volunteer group, was linked to government agencies in the U.S. and
UK. Investigations confirmed CTIL's role in shaping narratives and
suppressing information, impacting major events like Trump's election
and Brexit.

https://www.digitalinformationworld.com/2023/11/top-whistleblower-makes-explosive.html


12. Digital Rights Advocate Says We Need to Act Now to Protect Elections from AI

President and CEO of the Center for Democracy & Technology called for
companies and election officials "to start acting right now" to
counter threats from AI before voters around the world head to the
ballot box in 2024.

https://www.axios.com/2023/11/28/alexandra-reeves-givens-ai-elections


13. Speaking Freely: Ron Deibert

Check out this interview with Ron Deibert. Deibert is a Canadian
professor of political science, a philosopher, an author, and the
founder of the renowned Citizen Lab, situated in the Munk School of
Global Affairs at the University of Toronto.

https://www.eff.org/pages/speaking-freely-ron-deibert


14. Opinion: Is DevOps Dying As a Discipline?

Royal Jain, the co-founder of startup CodeParrot, triggered a lively
debate this month when he suggested that the rise of cloud-managed
products and automated pipeline builders could make DevOps a thing of
the past.

https://www.thestack.technology/is-devops-dying-as-a-discipline/

_________________________________________________

### 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

Commonwealth Africa Cyber Fellowships
Deadline: December 10, 2023
https://thecommonwealth.org/news/applications-open-commonwealth-africa-cyber-fellowships

Digital Freedom Fund
Deadline: February 14, 2024
https://digitalfreedomfund.org/grants/

FOSS United
Deadline: Rolling
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 Feminist Activism
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/

_________________________________________________

### Events Calendar ###

(2023 VPN Village) Growing With the People: How Outline VPN Providers
Adapt to Support Diverse Populations
Team CommUNITY
December 5, 2023
10am EST / 3pm UTC
Online
https://digitalrights.formstack.com/forms/3vpn2023

Glitterest Glitter Meetup
Team CommUNITY
December 7, 2023
9am EST / 2pm UTC
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=December_7_2023_GM

Glitter Meetup: Advancing Digital Rights in Franco-phone Communities,
Africa and MENA
Team CommUNITY
December 14, 2023
9am EST / 2pm UTC
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=December_14_2023_GM

Glitterest Glitter Meetup: Until Next Year!
Team CommUNITY
December 21, 2023
9am EST / 2pm UTC
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=December_21_2023_GM

Glitterest Glitter Meetup: Welcome Back!
Team CommUNITY
January 11, 2024
9am EST / 2pm UTC
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=January_11_2024_GM

Virtual School on Internet Governance
Jan 22 - April 13, 2024
Online
https://forms.gle/5G8y3NTVMVHwr3MP8

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

✎ Head of Movement Building and Policy (mat leave cover) | Chayn
+ Remote
https://chayn.notion.site/Head-of-Movement-Building-and-Policy-mat-leave-cover-8e6739dcf5964ad79e22aff694c98a2b

✎ Global (non-USA) Business Development Lead | Eticas
+ Remote in European Union
http://eticastech.sharepoint.com/:b:/s/Intranet/EW_MbWbi10pDlkdaA2GeoTAB0JQDcGKruGzC9i1qdM98VA?e=U0VI52

✎ Head of Algorithmic Audits | Eticas
+ Remote
http://eticastech.sharepoint.com/:b:/s/Intranet/EQlz-QIOHoJChYBPBGjXjiUB2Oxrc1vKoR8qDgzy7yCgPQ?e=XmsQ7j

✎ Senior User Research & Design Manager | Open Contracting Partnership
+ Remote
https://open-contracting-partnership.breezy.hr/p/1b0a71fdae9e-senior-user-research-and-design-manager

✎ Volunteers | Digispace Africa
+ Remote
https://forms.gle/sCj1AB85SUZTYiw57

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)))

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Team CommUNITY at ARTICLE 19
www.digitalrights.community
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You can now submit your news for the Digital Rights weekly directly.
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