Digital Rights Weekly | January 23 - 27

Sat Jan 28 08:19:03 CET 2023

Hello Digital Rights Defenders!

Here is your weekly update on digital rights around the world for the
week of January 23 - 27. As a reminder, you can submit your news for
the newsletter here:
https://www.digitalrights.community/weekly-newsletter

### Enroll in TCU’s Psychosocial Circles by March 2 ###

Team CommUNITY is happy to announce the Spring enrollment of three
psychosocial “circles” - that provide digital rights defenders with
the opportunity to process experiences and emotions, while learning
adaptive coping mechanisms. The circles will be run by mental health
professionals and run from March 13 to June 12. They are open to all
digital rights defenders and are free of charge. Apply by March 2.

https://www.digitalrights.community/blog/psychosocial-circles-spring-2023

### Digital Rights in the Community ###

1. New Helpdesk Launched from Digital Society Africa (DSA)

DSA recently launched a Helpdesk providing support around Holistic
Security.. If you want assistance or want to refer people email
helpline at digitalsociety.africa

2. Join the 7th Palestine Digital Activism Forum this May!

Palestine Digital Activism Forum 2023 will be held this year from May
23-25, 2023, under the theme of "Undoing Digital Discrimination
against Palestinians”.  The forum attempts to network and dialogue
between Palestinians across the diaspora and to gather forces between
Palestinians and advocates of the Palestinian cause, activists, human
rights defenders, journalists, civil society workers, social media
companies and governments.

https://7amleh.org/2023/01/24/palestine-digital-activism-forum

3. Join the EFF Austin Event on Digital Privacy at the Texas Legislature

Every two years when the Texas Legislature is in session, EFF-Austin
checks in with Kathy to discuss bills related to digital rights and
privacy. Kathy Mitchell is a former board member of EFF-Austin and has
advocated for digital privacy, justice and police accountability at
the Texas legislature for roughly 20 years. Hear what she has to say
about Digital Privacy at the Texas Legislature. Register here for the
event happening on 14 February 2023. 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm CT.

https://www.eff.org/event/eff-austin-digital-privacy-texas-legislature

4. Upcoming Digital Assessment in the Pacific

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is beginning a
research project that will examine various aspects of the digital
ecosystem of Pacific Islands countries. They are particularly
interested in talking with activists, civil society groups, and
technologists who live and work in the region and can help them
understand challenges and opportunities with digital rights in the
Pacific. If you're open to sharing your insights with their research
team, please email cjolley at usaid.gov. Read more here:

https://www.usaid.gov/digital-strategy/implementation-tracks/track1-adopt-ecosystem/digital-ecosystem-country-assessments

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### Digital Rights Resources ###

1. Forbes’ Cybersecurity Trends to Look Out For

Cofounder at Nord Security, one of the leaders in providing digital
security and privacy solutions for individuals and businesses, lists
out the trends to look out for in Cybersecurity this year. Some
headlines include a passwordless future and cyberattacks impacting
economic downturns.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2023/01/18/cybersecurity-trends-to-look-out-for-in-2023/?sh=2a2d80684421

2. Opinion Piece: African Leaders Who Dilute Workers’ Rights for
Uber’s Digital Empire Harm Africa

This year will mark a decade of Uber’s operations in Africa. The
ride-hailing service entered Johannesburg in August 2013 – one of its
earliest forays outside the US – and now operates in dozens of cities
across eight African countries. During a decade on the continent, Uber
has often cut drivers’ pay and added little value to local economies.
Governments should admit it is not economic progress but imperial
exploitation.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/23/african-leaders-who-dilute-workers-rights-for-ubers-digital-empire-harm-africa

3. Digital Rights Human Lab: On Automated Oppression and the Need for
Responsible and Ethical AI

As artificial intelligence systems continue to develop exponentially
and become more prevalent in most of the technologies we use today,
various studies and investigations point to a number of serious safety
and ethical implications for these technologies, particularly for
marginalized groups, despite their potential and utility. As a result,
clarity on what these negative impacts are and how they can be
mitigated becomes an important discussion point.

https://digitalhumanrightslab.org/blog/on-automated-oppression-and-the-need-for-responsible-and-ethical-ai/

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

1.ChatGPT and the Sweatshops Powering the Digital Age

Many had wondered how ChatGPT, which stands for Chat Generative
Pre-trained Transformer, quickly descended into hate speech. The
answer came in a Time magazine investigation: dozens of Kenyan workers
were paid less than $2 per hour to process an endless amount of
violent and hateful content in order to make a system primarily
marketed to Western users safer.

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/1/23/sweatshops-are-making-our-digital-age-work

2. Iran's Digital Protesters Call for Revolutionary Guard to be
Designated as 'Terrorists'

The digital wing of Iran's protest movement has surged in activity in
response to recent executions in the country, as protests on the
ground persist but in lower numbers than before. Iran's cyber
protesters have issued a resounding call for the world to recognise
Iran's notorious Revolutionary Guard as "terrorists". #IRGCterrorists
was posted more than 2.7 million times for two days in a row.

https://news.sky.com/story/irans-digital-protesters-call-for-revolutionary-guard-to-be-designated-terrorists-by-international-community-12788244

3. Cloudflare Says White House Asked Tech Firm to Bypass Iran
Censorship: US Sanctions Got in the Way

A senior White House official asked US tech company Cloudflare to help
circumvent internet censorship in Iran after protests erupted in that
country last September. However, US sanctions prevented the firm from
doing so.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/19/tech/cloudflare-white-house-iran-censorship-bypass/index.html

4. TikTok Restrictions in Jordan and on US University Campuses

There’s a new frontline opening up in the US war on TikTok: college
campuses. The China-based app has already been banned on all federal
government devices and on government devices in 31 states over data
privacy concerns. Now restrictions are spreading to universities.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/20/us-tiktok-bans-university-campuses

The new ban on TikTok at many state colleges around the US offers a
snippet of what the Biden administration would be in for if it
instituted a nationwide blackout: lots of angry young people.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-01-23/tiktok-bans-at-college-aren-t-going-over-well-with-students

TikTok is also still banned in Jordan, a month after the government
blocked the platform to limit the spread of live footage documenting
the workers’ protests in Ma’an. The Chinese company made no direct or
public comment about the ban but confirmed that it is in talks with
the authorities to “continue serving the millions of users” in Jordan.

https://smex.org/beyond-jordans-tiktok-ban/

5. As Deepfakes Flourish, Countries Struggle with Response

Few governments have approved regulations, often because of
free-speech concerns. New mandates from China could change the tone of
the debate on digital forgeries.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/22/business/media/deepfake-regulation-difficulty.html

6. She Was Denied Entry to a Show  & Then the Facial Recognition Debate Ignited

Last year, New Jersey attorney Kelly Conlon was chaperoning her
daughter's Girl Scout troop to see a Rockettes show at Radio City
Music Hall. Soon after arriving at the venue, she was pulled aside by
security and asked to confirm her identity. They told her their facial
recognition system already knew who she was, and more importantly,
where she worked. She was denied entry.

https://www.npr.org/2023/01/21/1150289272/facial-recognition-technology-madison-square-garden-law-new-york

7. Climate Disinformation Rampant on Twitter Following Musk’s Takeover

Climate disinformation has been thriving on Twitter since Elon Musk
bought the social media site in October of last year.  The Associated
Press reported that if one searches for “climate” on the site, the
first thing that comes up is “climate scam”. Clicking on the
suggestion brings up dozens of posts denying climate change and making
deceptive claims about efforts to curb it.  The climate crisis
disinformation is also being promoted on Twitter is part of a trend.

https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-disinformation-twitter-musk.html

8. Censorship Fears Over Plan to Keep Channel People-Smugglers Off Social Media

A government plan to stop people-smugglers from using social media to
advertise small boat crossings across the Channel could result in
lawful footage being censored, campaign groups have warned.  It could
force tech firms to take down legitimate material that highlights the
plight of people seeking refuge in the UK.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/jan/18/banning-channel-tiktok-traffickers-risks-censorship-uk-campaigners-say

9. China’s Internet Censors Are Gearing Up for the Lunar New Year Covid Surge

Content that spreads "gloomy emotions," "fabricates pandemic trends,"
and shares "fictitious patient experiences" will be erased. Even as it
has swung abruptly from zero-covid to dismantling the bulk of its
coronavirus restrictions, one thing has been remarkably consistent
about China’s pandemic response: a singular focus on controlling the
narrative.

https://qz.com/china-covid-lunar-new-year-internet-censorship-1850005017

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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

PhD Scholarships in Digital Governance
The Hertie School
January 31, 2023
https://www.hertie-school.org/en/digital-governance/about/opportunities/phd-scholarships-in-digital-governance

NLnet
Deadline: February 1, 2023
https://nlnet.nl/news/2022/20221201-call.html

Alliance for Gender Equality in Europe
Deadline: February 12, 2023
https://alliance-genderequality.org/

Digital Freedom Fund
Deadline: February 28, 2023
https://digitalfreedomfund.org/grants/

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 ###

The Glitterest Glitter Meetup
9am EST / 2pm UTC
February 2, 2023
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=February_2_2023_GM

Digital Privacy at Texas Legislature
EFF Austin
14 February 2023
Hybrid
https://www.eff.org/event/eff-austin-digital-privacy-texas-legislature

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

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

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

✎ Project Manager (Contract) | Wikimedia Foundation
+ Remote (UTC +0 to UTC +4)
https://grnh.se/7cf70a191us

✎ Full-Stack Django Developer | The Organized Crime and Corruption
Reporting Project (OCCRP)
+ Remote (UTC +0 to UTC +4)
https://www.occrp.org/en/occrp-jobs/full-stack-django-developer

✎ Policy Analyst | SMEX
+ Remote or Beirut, Lebanon
https://smex.org/smex-is-hiring-a-policy-analyst/

✎ Rapid Response Digital Security Consultants | Democracy International
+ Remote
https://recruitingbypaycor.com/career/JobIntroduction.action?clientId=8a78826757e082f20157e44efef80218&id=8a7885a884f50143018578d268b82802&source=&code=&fromAggregate=false

✎ Executive Director | Global Investigative Journalism Network
+ Remote
https://global-investigative-journalism-network.rippling-ats.com/job/513843/executive-director-global-investigative-journalism-network

✎ Grant Specialist | Internet Society Foundation
+ Remote
https://internetsociety.bamboohr.com/careers/207

✎ Executive Director | Center for the Cultivation of Technology
+ Germany
https://www.fossjobs.net/job/11153/geschaftsfuhrung-dwm-at-center-for-the-cultivation-of-technology/

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 Internet Freedom Festival
PGP: 2E1D CC33 A362 0BD6 236E  540A F60A 89AD 6FF9 7A2F

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