Digital Rights Weekly | July 24 - 28

Thu Jul 27 15:55:01 CEST 2023

Hello Digital Rights Defenders!

Here is your weekly update on digital rights around the world for the
week of July 24 - 28. 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. Karibu New Realities Grant

Check out this grant that looks to support groups of change agents in
Sub-Saharan Africa who are undertaking imaginative initiatives that
strengthen and add new dimensions to the collective struggle for
systemic justice. This information does not apply to current Karibu
grantee partners in other regions of the global South. Deadline:
August 16, 2023.

https://www.karibu.no/karibu-new-realities-grant/apply/

2. The OpEd Project Social Justice & Tech Fellowship

The OpEd Project is launching a new fellowship in partnership with
MacArthur Foundation, that seeks to elevate diverse voices for tech
equity. They are assembling a cohort of 20 thought leaders working at
the intersection of technology and social justice. Deadline: August 1,
2023.

https://www.theopedproject.org/pvf-technology-public-interest

3. Jordan: Organizations Call to Scrap Draconian Cybercrimes Bill

Human Rights Watch, Access Now, ARTICLE 19, and 11 other
organizations are urging the Jordanian government to withdraw a
proposed cybercrimes law currently before parliament. The bill would
further undermine free speech online, threaten internet users’ right
to anonymity, and introduce new authority to control social media that
would pave the way for an alarming surge in online censorship.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/07/24/jordan-scrap-draconian-cybercrimes-bill

4. Paradigm Initiative Calls for Collective Action to Safeguard
Digital Rights & Promote Internet Freedom

Paradigm Initiative, a leading pan-African organization that advocates
for digital rights and inclusion, is urging stakeholders to take
collective action in safeguarding digital rights, promoting
responsible practices, and preserving Internet freedom.

https://www.zawya.com/en/press-release/companies-news/paradigm-initiative-calls-for-collective-action-to-safeguard-digital-rights-and-promote-internet-freedom-dbc2y5tq

5. Suggested Theme for Upcoming Paris Conference: Cognitive Diversity & AI

Disability & Algorithmic Risks: From Misuse and Silos to Policing, Law
Enforcement and Unacceptable Risk Systems

Existing approaches to understanding high and unacceptable-risk
systems still miss disability-specific vocabulary, scenarios and
associated risks, categorization of impairments, spectrums, actions
and non-actions, and complex understanding of intersectionality behind
it.

https://yonah.org/disability\_algorithmic\_risks.pdf

AI Act & Disability-Centered Policy: How Can We Stop Perpetuating
Social Exclusion?

In the same way that AI systems may discriminate against people of a
particular ethnicity or skin tone, algorithms behind computer vision,
facial recognition, speech recognition, law enforcement or autonomous
systems may discriminate against individuals with facial differences
or asymmetry, different gestures, gesticulation, speech impairment, or
different communication patterns. It especially affects groups with
disabilities, cognitive and sensory impairments, and autism spectrum
disorders.

https://oecd.ai/en/wonk/eu-ai-act-disabilities](https://oecd.ai/en/wonk/eu-ai-act-disabilities

How Cognitive Diversity in AI Can Help Close the Disability Inclusion Gap

Unemployment among those with disabilities can be as high as 80%.
Artificial intelligence can address some of the challenges and
discrimination that people with cognitive diversity and other
disabilities face in everyday life. However, it is needed to overcome
issues such as data bias, historic exclusion and a lack of research
when developing assistive technologies.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/04/how-cognitive-diversity-and-disability-centred-ai-can-improve-social-inclusion

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### Digital Rights Resources ###

1. Cyber Norms Toolkit With a Fully Inclusive Approach

The Inclusive Cyber Norms Toolkit is a new resource developed by
Global Partners Digital which aims to support and empower policymakers
and other stakeholders to ensure a fully inclusive approach to the
development and implementation of cyber norms. Marginalized
perspectives—particularly women & LGBTQ+ voices—are largely absent in
current cyber norms discussions. The toolkit is available in both
English and Spanish:

https://www.gp-digital.org/news/gpd-unveils-new-guide-to-fostering-inclusive-cyber-policymaking-processes/

2. Techtonic: New Podcast on the Human Impact of Big Tech & Social Media

ARTICLE 19 launched Techtonic, a brand new podcast series looking at
freedom of expression online and the human impact of Big Tech and
social media. The series will speak to experts around the world,
including former insiders at Big Tech companies, digital rights
activists, scholars and journalists at the sharp end of artificial
intelligence, deepfake technologies, and internet shutdowns.
https://www.article19.org/resources/techtonic-new-podcast-on-the-human-impact-of-big-tech-and-social-media/

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

1. Health Data breaches in India: the Alarming Risks & Consequences

The data leak included names, Aadhaar national IDs, mobile numbers,
voter IDs, passports and COVID vaccination status of millions of
individuals, and was one of the largest in India. The recent breaches
of health data are particularly concerning as they leave individuals
vulnerable to scams, harassment and discrimination without remedy in
the absence of a data protection law in the country.

https://english.alarabiya.net/features/2023/07/24/Health-data-breaches-in-India-The-alarming-risks-and-consequences

2. Preserving Privacy in the Surveillance Economy: A Conversation with
Andy Yen, CEO of Proton

Forbes sat down with Andy Yen, the Founder and CEO of Proton, a
privacy-focused company behind ProtonMail, to discuss the implications
of the surveillance society and the urgent need for safeguarding user
privacy.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/hessiejones/2023/07/24/preserving-privacy-in-the-surveillance-economy-a-conversation-with-andy-yen-ceo-of-proton/?sh=37358b506fe0

3. Human Rights Gateway or Gatekeeper: Digital IDs on Trial in Uganda

A legal challenge to Uganda’s national digital ID system may set an
important precedent for human rights enforcement in the era of digital
government.

https://www.openglobalrights.org/human-rights-gateway-gatekeeper-digital-ids-uganda/

4. Tunisia: Grave Step Backwards for Freedom of Expression & Access to
Information

On 25 July 25, 2021, Tunisia marked a pivotal moment in its history,
as President Kais Saied declared a state of emergency, accompanied by
the announcement of severe measures to shrink civic space. With the
concentration of power in the hands of the president, two years on,
the institutional mechanisms ensuring the protection of human rights
have been almost entirely dismantled.

https://www.article19.org/resources/tunisia-grave-step-backwards-for-freedom-of-expression-and-access-to-information/

5. Saudis Accused of Using Snapchat to Promote Crown Prince & Silence Critics

Critics say the app –partly owned by a Saudi investor– is promoting
the image of Mohammed bin Salman while critical voices are punished.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jul/18/snapchat-saudi-arabia-ties

6. Microsoft & Google May Have to Surrender People’s Data to Saudi
Arabia After Signing Huge Deals There

As tech firms rush to secure lucrative Saudi contracts, human rights
activists are warning that Saudi officials could use the vast stores
of digital information being stored in the kingdom to intensify its
brutal persecution of dissidents. They are warning tech giants like
Microsoft and Google that they could be forced to hand over private
citizen data to Saudi hitmen.
https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-google-hand-dissident-data-to-saudi-arabia-activists-say-2023-7

7. Abortion-Rights States Begin Shielding Digital Data Near Clinics

States positioning themselves as abortion safe havens are beginning to
shield location information that can be gleaned from mobile phones,
and to protect the privacy of other data that can show who is visiting
a health-care facility.

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/privacy-and-data-security/abortion-rights-states-begin-shielding-digital-data-near-clinics

8. Paris 2024 Olympics: Concern over French Plan for AI Surveillance

Real-time cameras will use artificial intelligence (AI) to detect
suspicious activity on the streets of Paris during next summer's
Olympics. But civil rights groups say the technology is a threat to
civil liberties.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66122743

9. From Napoleon to Macron: How France Learned to Love Big Brother

The 2024 Summer Olympics will spotlight a surveillance state which
Paris has spent 200 years building.

https://www.politico.eu/article/france-surveillance-cameras-privacy-security-big-brother-paris-olympics/

10. Turkey Bans Adverts on Twitter in Row Over Company Representative

Turkey has banned Turkish citizens and companies from placing ads on
Twitter, after the social media giant failed to obey a new law and
appoint an official representative.

https://balkaninsight.com/2023/07/21/turkey-bans-adverts-on-twitter-in-row-over-company-representative/

11. Can AI Replace Actors? Here’s How Digital Double Tech Works

Motion capture and detailed face scans allow TV and film production
teams to replicate a performer’s likeness. Generative AI is making the
process faster and easier, while some actors fear a possible future in
which studios will pressure them to sign away their likeness and their
digital double will take work away from them.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/can-ai-replace-actors-heres-how-digital-double-tech-works/

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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

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/

Social Justice & Tech Fellowship
The Oped Project
Deadline: August 1, 2023
https://www.theopedproject.org/pvf-technology-public-interest

#KeepItOn Advocacy Fellowship
Access Now
Deadline: August 4, 2023
https://accessnow.bamboohr.com/careers/190

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/

Karibu New Realities Grant
Karibu
August 16, 2023
https://www.karibu.no/karibu-new-realities-grant/apply/

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 ###

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

✎ Technology Manager | Thousand Currents
+  Remote
https://thousandcurrents.org/careers/

✎ Senior Software Engineer, Abstract Wikipedia | Wikimedia Foundation
+  Remote
https://grnh.se/68b875ec1us

✎ Climate Justice + Digital Rights Consultant | EDRi
+  Remote
https://edri.org/take-action/careers/edri-consultant-climate-justice-digital-rights-eu/

✎ Communications Lead | Bits of Freedom
+  Remote or Amsterdam, The Netherlands
https://www.bitsoffreedom.nl/2023/06/09/vacature-we-zoeken-een-veelzijdige-communicatie-lead/

✎ Managing Director | Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at
Harvard University
+  Cambridge, MA, USA
https://cyber.harvard.edu/story/2023-07/hiring-managing-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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### 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)))
 post your job opportunities, submit your opportunities to our Job Board.

--
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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To post your job opportunities, submit your opportunities to our Job Board.