Digital Rights Weekly | July 17 - 21

Thu Jul 20 16:06:36 CEST 2023

Hello Digital Rights Defenders!

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

### Team CommUNITY (TCU) ###

1. Take a look at our Digital Rights Regional Briefs of June!!

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, in Africa, you will
navigate the histories, presents and futures of technology’s
connectivity paradoxes. We are also exploring questions and solutions
for inclusivity and anti-casteism in the digital rights movements in
Asia. From Latin America, you will read what the Colombian digital
rights organization, Karisma, recommends for the delivery apps’
algorithms in order to improve platforms workers’ well-being. The MENA
brief delves into AI and how it is unfolding in the region’s various
surveillance systems. Check all this and more on the link below:

https://www.digitalrights.community/blog/regionalbriefsjune2023

2. RSVP for “The Wellbeing Monthly” series: Once a month join a
psychosocial educational workshop designed for digital rights
defenders!

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 August and October workshops:

August 8, "Responding to Defeat and Creating Communities of Hope":
https://digitalrights.formstack.com/forms/wellbeingmonthly3

NEW 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 to address
real challenges that impact safety and security of participants. This
year’s edition is part of a  3-year vision to grow the GG in a
sustainable way. The event is less than three 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. Urgent Action Fund in Asia and the Pacific: Security & Wellbeing Grants

This grant is available to women and non-binary human rights defenders
and organizations in Asia and the Pacific in order to respond to their
immediate or time-urgent needs for security and well-being. For more
details:

https://uafanp.org/security-and-well-being-grants

2. AfriLabs is Launching the Mental Health and ASRHR HackLab

For young people in Africa with innovative solutions to make impactful
change on the mental health and sexual and reproductive rights – up to
$15,000 investment. Deadline: 17 August. For more details:

https://unfpa.brightidea.com/MentalhealthandASRHRhacklab

3. The Messaging Layer Security Protocol was Published: The First
Fully Specified and End-to-end Encryption Standard

The Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol was published as RFC 9420,
a standards track document by the Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF). MLS is the first standardized and fully specified end-to-end
encryption protocol. The specification is freely accessible, and its
security has been analyzed in a series of academic publications.

https://www.thestack.technology/messaging-layer-security-rfc-ietf/

This blog post gives a high-level overview of MLS, its practical
applications, and why it matters:

https://blog.phnx.im/rfc-9420-mls/

4. Mozilla Launched Fund to Support Open Source Developments

Mozilla launched the Data Future Lab (DFL) Infrastructure Fund to
support the development of open source software needed to foster a
more fair and just data ecosystem. Deadline : August 31, 2023. Funding
application link:

https://mozilla.fluxx.io/apply/dflinfrastructure

5. The Engine Room: Calling Black Feminist Organizations for No-Fee
Tech & Data Support

Though Black women are at the forefront of some of the most important
social justice movements of our time, leading extraordinary
initiatives with commitment and creativity, most of the time they are
doing so with limited funding. Recognizing this, the Engine Room is
extending a targeted offer of free tech and data support to Black
feminist organizers. Read on to learn how you can partner with them!

https://www.theengineroom.org/calling-all-black-feminist-organizations-for-no-fee-tech-and-data-support/

6. EFF Supports the PRESS Act to Protect Journalists in the USS

The Protect Reporters from Exploitive State Spying (PRESS) Act is the
long overdue federal shield law that would, at last, provide strong
protections to journalists against government surveillance and forced
disclosure of their confidential sources. EFF strongly supports this
bill, and hopes to see it become law.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/07/eff-supports-press-act-protect-journalists

You Can Help Stop These Bad Internet Bills in the USA

For the last six months, EFF, their supporters, and dozens of other
groups have been sounding the alarm about several #BadInternetBills
that have been put forward in Congress. They’ve made it clear that
these bills are terrible ideas, but Congress is now considering
packaging them together—possibly into must-pass legislation. Will you
take a few minutes to join in telling Congress that these bills must
not become law? You’ll find links to actions you can quickly take to
contact your lawmaker.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/07/you-can-help-stop-these-bad-internet-bills

7. UN: Session Highlighted Human Rights Importance In Artificial
Intelligence Systems

Austria, Brazil, Denmark, Morocco, Singapore and South Korea led the
adoption of a substantive resolution on new and emerging digital
technologies and human rights, with a focus on artificial
intelligence. Article 19 welcomes the resolution, now in its second
iteration, which aims to ensure a comprehensive, holistic, and
inclusive approach to addressing the challenges and impacts of new
technologies on human rights.

https://www.article19.org/resources/un-human-rights-council-session-53-concludes-in-geneva/

8. Reports from Our Community

A) Swipe Right for Work: Redefining Labour in Africa’s Digital Futures

This Pollicy report examines the interplay between supposed
opportunities within the future of work, and the anxieties and harmful
realities associated with these existing and emerging organizations of
labor. They usher towards a decolonized and intersectional approach to
policy development that carefully involves meaningful civic
participation with emphasis on the linkages between fluid social
identities, technology and capitalist modes of production.

https://pollicy.org/resource/swipe-right-for-work/

B) Europe’s Techno-Borders

The use of new technologies is fundamental to the EU's system of
border control and migration management. This report, published by
State Watch and EuroMed Rights, explores their development and
deployment over the last three decades, during which time an extensive
infrastructure of surveillance systems, databases, biometric
identification techniques and information networks has been put in
place to provide state authorities with knowledge of – and thus
control over – foreign nationals seeking to enter EU or staying in
Schengen territory.

https://www.statewatch.org/publications/reports-and-books/europe-s-techno-borders/

C) Chilling Legislation: Tracking the Impact of “Fake News” Laws on
Press Freedom Internationally

Between 2011 and 2022, 78 countries have passed laws designed to limit
the spread of false or misleading information on social media. Some of
these laws focus on improving platform transparency and accountability
in digital advertising or increasing media and digital literacy.
However, many focus on the content itself, criminalizing the creation
and distribution of “fake news.” As a result, many misinformation,
disinformation, and mal-information laws chill press freedom, rather
than enhance it.

https://www.cima.ned.org/publication/chilling-legislation/

D) Malicious Flagging & De-platforming Across Social Media Platforms

A report by a Northumbria University researcher, detailing policy
recommendations to tackle platform governance inequalities in the
enforcement of ‘flagging’ and ‘de-platforming’ on social media, has
been launched today.

https://newsroom.northumbria.ac.uk/pressreleases/new-report-tackles-malicious-flagging-and-de-platforming-across-social-media-platforms-3264870

E) BIRN Report: Journalists in Serbia Feel Undefended from Online Attacks

A new BIRN report says online abuse is becoming so ‘normalised’ that
journalists often do not report it – or have any faith in
institutional protection. It is in both English and Serbian.
https://balkaninsight.com/2023/07/19/journalists-in-serbia-feel-undefended-from-online-attacks-birn-report/

F) Demand-Based Movements Under Authoritarianism: The Case of Egypt’s
Unlimited Internet Campaign

The Unlimited Internet campaign in Egypt represents an innovative form
of social mobilization that strives to impact public policies, as well
as a movement aiming to change how internet service is provided in the
country. In authoritarian regimes, the risks associated with
participating in public affairs and the limited opportunities for
assembly and organization mean such activities are rare.

https://www.arab-reform.net/publication/demand-based-movements-under-authoritarianism-the-case-of-egypts-unlimited-internet-campaign/

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### Digital Rights Resources ###

Chayn’s Trauma-Informed Design Principles

Based on a decade’s work, Chayn’s trauma-informed design principles
are foundational to everything they do. From their HR processes to
content writing to user research to product and service design, these
principles ensure their practices are centered around the experiences
of survivors of gender-based violence around the world. In this
whitepaper, Chayn explores the eight principles, their genesis, and
how to apply them to your work.

https://assets.website-files.com/60fdc9111506063bb9fe8e49/64b081438e3221d7ffc92b12_Trauma-informed%20design_%20the%20whitepaper%20by%20Chayn.pdf

_________________________________________________

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

1. Jordanian Rights Groups Warn New Cybercrime Law Threatens Free Speech

The new cybercrime law could ban VPNs, empower authorities to block
social media platforms and threaten journalists' work.

https://www.newarab.com/news/jordan-activists-warn-new-cybercrime-law-harms-free-speech

2. Ethiopia Restores Social Media Access After Five Months

Ethiopia is allowing people to access Facebook, Telegram, TikTok and
YouTube for the first time in more than five months. The state imposed
the blackout on 9 February this year after tensions between the
Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the government.

Only those with access to virtual private network (VPN) software could
get on to the social media platforms - something that cost them
additional data.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world/africa/live

3. How will Tunisia Include its Growing Poor in an Increasingly Digital Society?

It is likely that the social and digital divide between the more and
less educated in Tunisia will grow in the coming years if there is not
focused intervention on digital skills. The more the gap grows, the
more there is a risk of the poorest being excluded and left behind.

https://advox.globalvoices.org/2023/07/19/how-will-tunisia-include-its-growing-poor-in-an-increasingly-digital-society/

4. Iraq: Draft Laws Threaten Rights to Freedom of Expression & Peaceful Assembly

The Iraqi government has re-introduced two draft laws to the
Parliament which, if passed, would severely curtail the rights to
freedom of expression and peaceful assembly of the people of Iraq,
Amnesty International and INSM Foundation for Digital Rights in Iraq
said this week.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/07/iraq-draft-laws-threaten-rights-to-freedom-of-expression-and-peaceful-assembly/

5. Signal Will not Comply with the UK’s ‘Mass Surveillance Law’

Meredith Whittaker, president of encrypted chat service Signal,
doubled down on her criticism of proposed British online safety
legislation. She said the government’s plan is requiring a special
back door to access encrypted messages “mathematically impossible” and
vowing to exit the UK market if it becomes law.

https://fortune.com/2023/07/13/signal-president-mass-surveillance-uk-law/
(paywall)

6. Facebook, Instagram Face Norwegian Ban From Tracking Users for Ads

Social media giants Facebook and Instagram will soon be temporarily
banned in Norway from tracking users online to target them with
advertising.

https://www.politico.eu/article/facebook-instagram-norway-ban-track-users-ads/

Amnesty International responded to this decision as a “welcome step
for privacy rights”

https://www.amnesty.org.au/norway-temporarily-banning-metas-invasive-advertising-is-a-welcome-step-for-privacy-rights/

7. Under Digital Eyes: How Women are Increasingly Affected by
Surveillance Culture

Be it in the private, public or digital sphere, women are always
heavily scrutinized victims of surveillance culture:

https://feminisminindia.com/2023/07/19/how-women-are-increasingly-affected-by-surveillance-culture/

Argentina’s journalists speak out against online gender-based violence:

https://www.unfpa.org/news/argentina’s-journalists-speak-out-against-online-gender-based-violence

8. The Workers at the Frontlines of the AI Revolution

The global labor force of outsourced and contract workers are early
adopters of generative AI — and the most at risk.

https://restofworld.org/2023/ai-revolution-outsourced-workers/

9. China’s Latest Round of Economic Censorship

The Chinese government’s censorship of news and commentary related to
the country’s slowing economy has made international headlines in
recent weeks. What stands out about the current crackdown is its focus
on content highlighting income inequality, youth unemployment, and
poverty among the elderly.

https://thediplomat.com/2023/07/no-bears-allowed-chinas-latest-round-of-economic-censorship/

10. Freedom of the Press Foundation: Don’t Give Congress the Power to
Censor the Internet

Some members of Congress have recently been loudly decrying what they
see as government interference with online content moderation. Yet at
the same time, some are now embracing a new proposal that would allow
straight-up government censorship of the internet, at least when it
benefits lawmakers’ own interests.

https://techpolicy.press/dont-give-congress-the-power-to-censor-the-internet-and-dont-trust-social-media-to-do-it-for-them/

11. How AI is Bringing Film Stars Back from the Dead and Provoking
Ethical Questions

Celebrities such as James Dean can be brought back to life as digital
clones thanks to the power of artificial intelligence, but it is
raising troubling questions about what rights any of us have after we
die.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230718-how-ai-is-bringing-film-stars-back-from-the-dead

Apparently, Meta and Qualcomm’s AI deal is a step towards virtual
assistants that work for us.

https://fortune.com/2023/07/19/meta-qualcomm-llama-2-ai-mobile-virtual-assistants/
(paywall)

12. EU-Latin American & Caribbean: Joint Declaration on Digital Alliance

The EU-LAC Digital Alliance is an informal, values-based framework for
cooperation, open to all Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries
and EU Member States who may participate through their respective
governments and agencies related to the digital agenda.

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/pl/statement_23_3892

_________________________________________________

### 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

European Artificial Intelligence & Society Fund
Ecosystem Grants Programme
Deadline: July 31, 2023
https://europeanaifund.org/newspublications/our-ecosystem-grants-programme-is-now-open/

The CYRILLA Collaborative: Call For Proposals
Deadline: July 31, 2023
https://smex.org/the-cyrilla-collaborative-call-for-proposals/

Strengthening Feminist Movements
Women’s Fund Asia
Deadline: July 31, 2023
https://www.womensfundasia.org/SFMCall/

Landecker Democracy Fellowship
Deadline: August 6, 2023
https://humanityinaction.org/landeckerdemocracyfellowship-apply/

Leading from the South
AWDF
Deadline: August 8, 2023
https://awdf.org/call-for-applications-leading-from-the-south/

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

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/
_________________________________________________

### Events Calendar ###

LATAM Monthly Meetup
Team CommUNITY
6:30pm EDT / 10:30pm UTC
July 26, 2023
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=26_de_Julio,_2023_LATAM

MENA Monthly Meetup
Team CommUNITY
9am EDT / 1pm UTC
July 27, 2023
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=July_27_2023,_MENA_Meetup

Africa Monthly Meetup
Team CommUNITY
9am EDT / 1pm UTC
July 27, 2023
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=July_27_2023,_Africa_Meetup

Oxford Media Policy Summer Institute
July 31 - August 11, 2023
Oxford, USA
http://pcmlp.socleg.ox.ac.uk/oxford-media-policy-summer-institute-2023/

(The Wellbeing Monthly) Responding to Defeat and Creating Communities of Hope
Team CommUNITY
9am EDT / 1pm UTC
August 8, 2023
Online
https://digitalrights.formstack.com/forms/wellbeingmonthly3

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

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

✎ Research and Communication Manager | GreatFire.org
+  Remote
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Dj3uHEDQuoaoyz9PJ72uU3wMNrsWqd5W8n3P6sm2FCM/edit?usp=sharing

✎ Director of People, Finance & Operations | Mama Cash
+  Amsterdam, The Netherlands
https://www.mamacash.org/en/director-of-people-finance-and-operations-1

✎ Grants & Contracts Manager | Access Now
+  Remote in NY, USA
https://accessnow.bamboohr.com/careers/186

✎ Communities Coordinator | Access Now
+  Multiple Options
https://accessnow.bamboohr.com/careers/183

✎ Senior Finance Officer | Access Now
+  Belgium
https://accessnow.bamboohr.com/careers/187

✎ Senior Policy Analyst/Counsel (East Asia) | Access Now
+  Remote
https://accessnow.bamboohr.com/careers/184

✎ Arabic/English freelance journalist (consultancy) | Marie Colvin
Journalists' Network
+  Remote
https://mariecolvinnetwork.org/en/home-page/media/article/?article=167

✎ Senior Software Engineer, Features Engineering | Wikimedia Foundation
+  Remote
https://grnh.se/e44e1a951us

✎ Lead Visual Designer (Design Systems) | Wikimedia Foundation
+  Remote
https://grnh.se/271a828f1us

✎ #KeepItOn Advocacy Fellowship | Access Now
+  Remote
https://accessnow.bamboohr.com/careers/190?source=aWQ9MjA%3D

✎ External evaluation consultant |  SecDev Foundation
+  Southeast Asia
http://secdev.bamboohr.com/careers/42

✎ Technology Policy Program Director | ACLU of Washington
+  Seattle, WA, USA
https://acluofwashingtondf.applytojob.com/apply/JosdG8lu5W/Technology-Policy-Program-Director

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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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 Global Gathering
PGP: 2E1D CC33 A362 0BD6 236E  540A F60A 89AD 6FF9 7A2F

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