Digital Rights Weekly | May 15 - 19

Mon May 22 15:06:04 CEST 2023

Hello Digital Rights Defenders!

Here is your weekly update on digital rights around the world for the
week of May 15 - 19. As a reminder, you can submit your news for the
newsletter here: https://www.digitalrights.community/weekly-newsletter

### Team CommUNITY (TCU) ###

1. Global Gathering Feira Applications

Given the number of people that are continuing to reach out to us
about applying for the Feira at the Global Gathering, we will be
accepting applications through June 15th, 2023. The extended deadline
will allow us to review our capacity and examine if we are able to
increase the event cap and will allow us to ensure we have more equal
participation reflecting the diversity of the digital rights
community.

Apply: https://www.digitalrights.community/blog/apply-feira-global-gathering

2.

2. RSVP Soon for our June Village: Digital Rights Perspectives from
the South - interactive discussions about Asia, Africa, LATAM and MENA

Are you interested in learning about how emerging issues in digital
rights uniquely show up in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle
East and North Africa? Do you want to hear about what digital rights
defenders in each region are experiencing, what challenges they are
facing, and what's on their mind?

Join us for our upcoming village, “Digital Rights Perspectives from
the South,” which will run from June 6 to 14. The Village will feature
five virtual interactive sessions led by TCU’s four Community Leads,
and will incorporate their learnings from the last 18 months doing
community building and research in their respective regions. Bring
your questions and comments!

Jun 6: Latin America with Úrsula Schüler
Jun 7: Middle East and North Africa (MENA) with Islam Al Khatib
Jun 8: Asia with Astha Rajvanshi
Jun 13: Africa with Mardiya Siba Yahaya
Jun 14:  Commonalities between regions and global trends with Danae
Tapia and Úrsula Schüler

Check the full descriptions and RSVP on this link:
https://www.digitalrights.community/blog/digital-rights-perspectives-from-the-south

3. Check our Toolkit: Mental Health Primer for Providers Serving
Digital Rights Defenders

We are happy to share the first ever educational toolkit designed for
psychosocial providers and/or mental health professionals serving or
wanting to serve digital rights defenders (DRDs). It gives insights
that can help reduce the barriers and gaps DRDs experience when
seeking psychosocial support and services, and help mental health
providers improve the care they offer.

https://www.digitalrights.community/blog/new-toolkit-for-psychosocial-providers-serving-digital-rights-defenders

4. Take a look at our April Digital Rights Regional Briefs!

Every month, 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!

For April,  learn about the Digital rights challenges in Ecuador and
Ola Bini's case: despite being declared innocent, the cybersecurity
expert still faces hard legal restrictions in the country. You will
also find out that new directives in Zambia are requiring users’
photographs to get a Sim Card and how advocacy and strategic
litigation groups are designing favorable Digital Justice spaces in
Africa as a response. From Asia, we covered how TikTok is impacting
elections in Southeast Asia, specifically in Thailand, Malaysia and
the Philippines. In addition, you will learn about the UN’s dangerous
Cybercrime Convention negotiations amid abuse of cybercrime laws in
Tunisia, how the country uses these laws to silence dissent, and the
impact in the MENA region.

https://www.digitalrights.community/blog/regionalbriefsapril2023

_________________________________________________

### Digital Rights in the Community ###

1. The Calyx Institute is Seeking an Interim Executive Director

The
Calyx Institute is seeking an experienced Interim Executive Director
to serve as a bridge to their future leadership structure. The Interim
Executive Director will have an active role in that planning process,
and will have the option of applying for the permanent Executive
Director position. Deadline: May 26, 2023.
https://calyxinstitute.org/about/jobs/interim-executive-director

2. Events in Our Larger Community

a) Last Chance to Register for the Palestine Digital Activism Forum 2023!

Do not miss the last opportunity to register and join for the largest
event for Palestinian digital rights. Check out the program and make
sure to register for the online policy sessions and in-person training
workshops, which are held in different cities extending from Nazareth,
Haifa, and Jenin in the north, to Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Bethlehem,
as well as Hebron and Gaza in the south. Happening from 23 to 25 May
2023. Register here:

https://form.typeform.com/to/UGTE3E9H

b) DataFest Africa: No Gender Equality without Data Equality

DataFest Africa is an annual event that ultimately celebrates data
science and its ever-evolving impact on the African continent. Join an
event that brings together data enthusiasts, researchers, academia,
feminists, and governments in Africa to address gender data and
artificial intelligence (AI) bias and promote gender equality in data.
Happening in Kampala on 29 June and in Nairobi on 12 and 13 July.

https://datafest.africa/

c) Attend The Engine Room’s AMA

The Engine Room’s “Ask Us Anything” session is happening on Thursday,
June 1, starting 5pm CET. Their team members – experienced and
committed activists, researchers and technologists – will be available
to answer your questions about responsible data. Responsible data
refers to our collective duty to prioritize and respond to the
ethical, legal, social and privacy-related challenges that come from
using data in advocacy and social justice work.

https://www.theengineroom.org/come-to-our-ama-ask-me-anything-responsible-data-and-social-justice-edition/

3. Calls for Proposals & Participation

a) Submit Request for Participation to Bug Resilience Project
Partners interested in implementing Sovereign Tech Fund’s
#BugResilienceProject, submit your Request For Participation by 25 May
2023.

https://twitter.com/tarakiyee/status/1656603567820615681

b) Fondo para el Fortalecimiento de Internet en América Latina y el
Caribe (FRIDA)

El Fondo para el Fortalecimiento de Internet en América Latina y el
Caribe (FRIDA) se encontrará abierto hasta el miércoles 31 de mayo
para financiar proyectos, iniciativas y soluciones que contribuyan a
la consolidación de una Internet global, abierta, estable y segura.
Centrada en tres categorías temáticas: Estabilidad y Seguridad de
Internet; Conectividad y Acceso a Internet; e Internet Abierta y
Libre.

https://programafrida.net/

c) UNESCO’s 2023 Silk Roads Youth Research Grant

UNESCO calls on young women and men under the age of 35 to apply for
the 2023 Silk Roads Youth Research Grant. The grant aims to mobilize
young researchers for further study of the Silk Roads shared heritage.
Twelve grants of USD10,000 will be awarded per research project.
Deadline: 31 May 2023.
https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/content/unesco-calls-proposals-2023-silk-roads-youth-research-grant

d) WEDO’s Key Trends Advancing & Hindering Feminist Economic Justice
for People & Planet

The Action Nexus seeks to publish a snapshot of trends, case studies,
and brief analysis of the major elements of our feminist vision for
economic and climate justice. Deadline: 24 May 2023.

 https://wedo.bamboohr.com/jobs/view.php?id=52&source=bamboohr

4. New Report from EFF on Holding ISPs to Account in Latin American

EFF has just published a new report building on eight years of
research of their  partners within the project ¿Quién defiende tus
datos?, which evaluates ISPs' commitments to user privacy in nine
Latin American countries and Spain. The comparative report shows
telecom companies have made important advances in their privacy
policies and practices, but persistent gaps and worrying trends still
pose potential risks for internet and mobile phone users.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/05/eight-years-holding-isps-account-latin-america-comparative-outlook-victories-and

5. ARTICLE19 Tells the European Court of Human Rights: Dangerous
Decision for Free Speech Online

This week, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights
found that prosecuting a local councilor for failure to delete
comments posted by third parties on his Facebook wall did not violate
his right to freedom of expression. ARTICLE 19 is gravely concerned
about the impact of this decision on freedom of expression online. The
judgment de facto approves imposing a number of content moderation
obligations on prominent individuals in relation to their social media
accounts.

https://www.article19.org/resources/european-court-of-human-rights-dangerous-decision-for-free-speech-online/

6. The STOP CSAM Act: EFF states that it has Improved but it is still
problematic

Last month, EFF expressed concerns about how the STOP CSAM Act
threatens encrypted communications and free speech online. New
amendments to the bill have some improvements, but their concerns
remain.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/05/stop-csam-act-improved-still-problematic

 _________________________________________________

### Digital Rights Resources ###

1. How Deep Fakes May Shape the Future

This visualization explains how AI-generated synthetic images, text
and video have the power to change what we say, what we do and how we
look, and how they might shape our memories and even our after lives.

https://www.theglassroom.org/en/misinformation-edition/exhibits/how-deepfake-may-shape-the-future/

2. Misunderstanding Misinformation

An obsession with gauging accuracy of individual posts is misguided.
To strengthen information ecosystems, focus on narratives and why
people share what they do.
https://issues.org/misunderstanding-misinformation-wardle/

3. The Hidden Caste Codes of Silicon Valley

US Dalit civil rights group received more than 250 claims of caste
discrimination from workers at numerous  tech companies. But what is
it? How does it affect workers with Dalit heritage? And why do some
people say legislating against caste discrimination in the US would be
'Hinduphobic'?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct5fbq

_________________________________________________

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

1. The Mission to Preserve Sorani Kurdish by Getting It Onto Google Translate

A community came together to ensure its language would be represented
in the digital world. For some languages, particularly those with
fewer living speakers, it can be a challenge to mobilize enough people
to ensure that the service is translating long, complex sentences with
consistent accuracy. But that community was already in place for
Sorani.

https://restofworld.org/2023/google-translate-sorani-kurdish-volunteers/

2. EU Parliament Sends a Global Message to Protect Human Rights from AI

Last week, the relevant committees of the European Parliament voted to
put people first in the AI Act.Work on the EU AI Act started in 2020,
and EDRi’s network and partners have been pushing for a people-first,
fundamental rights-based approach from the beginning.

https://edri.org/our-work/eu-parliament-committee-vote-strong-message-protecting-fundamental-rights-from-ai-systems/

The Advocacy Advisor at Amnesty International said that “the European
Parliament sent a strong signal that human rights must be at the
forefront of this landmark legislation, by voting to ban several
AI-based practices which are incompatible with human rights.”

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/05/eu-ban-on-most-harmful-use-of-ai-moves-a-step-closer/

3. Ghost in the Network: The Swiss Tech Expert who Runs a Global
Phone surveillance system

Lighthouse Reports on how a Swiss tech expert runs a global phone
surveillance system. Their investigation shows how Fink has built a
surveillance apparatus that he has put at the disposal of governments
and companies around the world – including Israel’s Rayzone Group, a
top-tier cyber intelligence company.

https://www.lighthousereports.com/investigation/ghost-in-the-network/

4. Companies will have to invest billions to meet with Data Privacy
Laws requirements
Without access to browsing history, past purchases, shopping-cart
contents, and other detailed data, the median digital advertiser would
have to spend 37 percent more to gain new customers.

https://www.chicagobooth.edu/review/data-privacy-laws-may-cost-companies-billions

5. Pakistan Shut Down the Internet - But That Didn’t Stop the Protests

The battle between Imran Khan's supporters and the Pakistani military
has this week been raging on two fronts - on the streets and on social
media. And on one battlefield, the former prime minister seems to have
the upper hand. Within hours of Imran Khan's arrest on Tuesday,
Pakistan's government had clamped down on the country's internet, in a
move to quell resistance.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-65541769

6. Some Updates from Twitter’s Policies

A high-profile capitulation to the Turkish government and new CEO
sparked a ton of chatter over the weekend. Meanwhile, a troubled
introduction of encrypted messaging on the site has raised questions
over when, if ever, the product can be said to be truly secure.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/16/23725247/twitter-encrypted-dm-security-vulnerabilities-linda-yaccarino

7. The UK’s Secretive Web Surveillance Program is Ramping Up

A government effort to collect people’s internet records is moving
beyond its test phase, but many details remain hidden from public
view.

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/internet-connection-records-uk-surveillance

8. Homeland Security Uses AI Tool to Analyze Social Media of U.S.
Citizens and Refugees

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is using a tool called Babel X
that can link a person's Social Security number to their social media
posts and location data.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7bge3/dhs-uses-ai-tool-babel-x-babel-street-social-media-citizens-refugees
_________________________________________________

### 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

Sustainable Protection Fund for the Francophone Africa
Digital Defenders Partnership
Deadline: May 20, 2023
https://www.digitaldefenders.org/fr/le-fonds-de-protection-durable-appel-a-candidature-ouvert-pour-la-region-dafrique-francophone/

Fondo para el Fortalecimiento de Internet en América Latina y el Caribe (FRIDA)
Deadline: May 31, 2023
https://programafrida.net/

Strategic Litigation to Advance Digital Rights in Europe Support
Digital Freedom Fund
Deadline: July 20, 2023
https://digitalfreedomfund.org/grants/

Lacuna Fund
Deadline: Multiple Depending on Topic
https://lacunafund.org/apply/

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 ###

Welcome to Digital Rights Village
Team CommUNITY
May 16 - 25, 2023
Online
https://digitalrights.formstack.com/forms/welcometodigitalrights

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

LATAM Monthly Meetup
Team CommUNITY
6:30pm EDT / 10:30pm UTC
May 24, 2023
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=24_de_Mayo,_2023_LATAM

Can Large Language Models Analyze Non-Englihs Content?
Center for Democracy & Technology
10:00am ET
May 24, 2023
Online
https://cdt.org/event/mind-the-gap-can-large-language-models-analyze-non-english-content/

Glitter Meetup: 'Takweer' - Localizing Queer Arab Narratives & Digital Cultures
Team CommUNITY
9am EDT / 1pm UTC
May 25, 2023
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=May_25_2023_GM

Glitter Meetup: 'Sparkable' - Alternative Models to the Destructive
Digital Media Attention Economy
Team CommUNITY
9am EDT / 1pm UTC
June 1, 2023
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=June_1_2023_GM

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

Digital Rights Perspectives from the South Village
Team CommUNITY
June 6 - 14, 2023
Online
https://digitalrights.formstack.com/forms/perspectivesfromthesouth

North American School of Internet Governance
June 10 - 11, 2023
Washington DC, USA
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdST3GSV-nNF-8j7H9hO9ZDCaWMHJylM-oo9Z1VSpzUORhoig/viewform

Glitter Meetup: The Internet Standards Almanac by ARTICLE 19
Team CommUNITY
9am EDT / 1pm UTC
June 1, 2023
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=June_29_2023_GM

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

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

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

✎ IT Engineer | Freedom of the Press Foundation
+ Brooklyn, New York, USA
https://grnh.se/da4f73065us

✎  Senior Institute Associate | Georgetown Law Institute for
Technology Law and Policy
+ Washington DC, USA
https://georgetown.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/Georgetown_Admin_Careers/job/Law-Center/Senior-Institute-Associate--Institute-for-Technology-Law-and-Policy--Tech-Institute----Georgetown-University-Law-Center_JR15526

✎  Development Officer (part-time) | Digital Freedom Fund
+ Remote or Berlin, Germany
https://digitalfreedomfund.freshteam.com/jobs/zQ9twEC2cNeM/development-officer-part-time-remote

✎  Android developer (Ceno Browser) | eQualitie
+ Remote or Montreal, Canada
https://equalit.ie/job-post/android-developer-for-the-decentralized-web/

✎ Strategic Consultant | WEDO
+Remote
https://wedo.bamboohr.com/jobs/view.php?id=53&source=bamboohr

✎ Creative Associate, Online Fundraising (Contract) | Wikimedia Foundation
+ Remote
https://grnh.se/1e39640a1us

✎ Senior Site Reliability Engineer - Wikimedia Enterprise | Wikimedia Foundation
+ Remote
https://grnh.se/9863062b1us

✎ Policy Director, Luminate Strategic Initiatives | Luminate
+ Berlin, Brussels, or London
https://app.beapplied.com/apply/k3rsqhqrou

✎ Summer Intern | Global Network Initiative
+ Remote or Washington DC, USA
https://globalnetworkinitiative.org/summer-internship-opportunity-at-gni/

✎ Finance Officer | Digital Freedom Fund
+ Remote or Germany
https://digitalfreedomfund.freshteam.com/jobs/mtXI7tPfU3Xc/finance-officer-remote

✎ Android Developer for Decentralized Web | eQualitie
+ Remote
https://equalit.ie/job-post/android-developer-for-the-decentralized-web/

✎ Interim Executive Director | The Calyx Institute
+ Remote or New York City, NY, USA
https://calyxinstitute.org/about/jobs/interim-executive-director

✎ Information Systems Officer (Technology Analyst), P3 | Office of the
High Commissioner for Human Rights
+ Geneva
https://careers.un.org/lbw/jobdetail.aspx?id=207071&Lang=en-US

✎ Program Officer, Indo-Pacific Digital Authoritarianism Project |
Freedom House (Asia Program)
+ Taipei, Taiwan
https://www.104.com.tw/job/7zlaz?jobsource=checkc

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)))

--
Team CommUNITY at ARTICLE 19
www.digitalrights.community
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