Digital Rights Weekly | February 19 - 23

[Team CommUNITY]

Hello Digital Rights Defenders!

Here is your weekly update on digital rights around the world for the
week of February 19 - 23. As a reminder, you can submit your news for
the newsletter here:
https://www.digitalrights.community/weekly-newsletter

### Team CommUNITY (TCU) ###

1. Don't Wait! Apply to the Global Gathering! Doubled Size this Year!!

The 2024 Global Gathering (GG) will take place September 27, 28, and
29 in Estoril, Portugal. This year, we have increased capacity to
1,000 folks. We highly recommend that folks apply as soon as possible!
Deadline is April 15.

https://www.digitalrights.community/blog/2024-global-gathering-now-accepting-applications

Do you need a Visa to join? Review how we can support you:
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=Visa_and_Equity_Fund_Support


2. February 29: The Social Networking Glitter Meetup

Join us to share and connect to others! This is the BEST town hall of
the month! We want to know what you are up to!! Are you working on a
project? Did an event catch your attention? Or do you have questions
about a digital rights area? Join us!!!

https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=February_29_2024_GM


3. Join The Regional Meetups in March!

The Regional Meetups are virtual gatherings happening every two months
to support each other, and better understand what is happening in our
part of the world. Check out the five we are hosting in March!

March 12 | Asia Regional Meetup:
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=March_12_2024,_Asia_Meetup

March 14 | Digital rights in Francophone Africa and MENA Meetup:
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=March_14_2024,_Digital_Rights_in_Francophone_Africa_and_MENA_Meetup

March 20 | MENA Regional Meetup:
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=March_20_2024,_MENA_Meetup

March 20 | LATAM Regional Meetup:
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=20_de_Marzo,_2024_LATAM

March 21 | Africa Regional Meetup:
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=March_21_2024,_Africa_Meetup

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### Digital Rights in the Community ###


1. Two Funding Announcement from the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor

DRL is aiming to improve remedy, accountability, and deterrence for
the repressive misuse of spyware in Europe and Eurasia.

Deadline: April 15th, 2024
https://www.state.gov/drl-improving-remedy-accountability-and-deterrence-for-the-repressive-misuse-of-spyware-in-europe-and-eurasia/

DRL is also seeking proposals which focus on Ukraine and Moldova and
will support digital security capacity building to strengthen and
expand existing networks of trainers and providers of support to civil
society organizations, as well as capacity building and emergency
response support for targeted and at-risk civil society organizations.

Application Deadline: April 10th, 2024
https://www.state.gov/drl-strengthening-resilience-for-digital-security-providers-and-capacity-for-civil-society-in-ukraine-and-moldova/


2. EFF: Tell Your Representative to Not Fall for the Latest Changes to
the Dangerous Kids Online Safety Act

The authors of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) unveiled an amended
version this week KOSA is an unconstitutional censorship bill that
empowers state officials to target services and online content they do
not like. The Electronic Frontier Foundation is asking that folks
oppose the latest version and to demand that their representatives
oppose it—even if you have already done so.  Read more and take action
here:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/02/dont-fall-latest-changes-dangerous-kids-online-safety-act


3. Two Thai Activists Want to Know: How is your digital well-being?

In 2022, a pair of Thai activists embarked on a quest to explore what
they call “digital well-being” for their fellow activists. A shared
interest in understanding how activists navigate the digital world
brought the two together.

https://www.apc.org/en/blog/how-your-digital-well-being


4.Reports from Our Community!

a) Position Paper on AI Technologies Impact On Palestinian Lives & Narratives

7amleh published “Impacts of AI Technologies on Palestinian Lives and
Narratives” shedding light on the alarming lack of oversight and
regulatory frameworks surrounding AI deployment, emphasizing the dire
consequences for Palestinians and Palestinian human rights advocates.

https://7amleh.org/2024/02/21/7amleh-releases-position-paper-on-ai-technologies-impact-on-palestinian-lives-and-narratives


b) Report on the LGBTI Divide

The International LGBTI Association  launched Accessing Connection, a
pioneering research looking into the complex interplay between
disparities in digital access for individuals of diverse sexual
orientation, identities, expression and sex characteristics, mapping
out the complexities across perspectives of gender, race and migration
status, geographic regions, urban-rural contexts, indigeneity, and
disability — amongst others.

https://ilga.org/LGBTI-digital-divide-research-ilga-world

c) Digital Rights Southern Africa

Check out the second issue from Digital Rights Southern Africa! This
edition spotlights how privacy and data protections remain and will
continue to remain areas that regional civil societies have to be
seized with going forward. The same with access to internet and
telecommunication services.

https://www.apc.org/sites/default/files/digital_rights_southern_africa_ed2.pdf

d) Digital Grassroots Annual Report

Digital Grassroots released their 2023 Annual Report, which provides
valuable insights into the organization's impact and efforts in
advancing digital rights and fostering a more inclusive digital
society. https://digitalgrassroots.org/blog/year-of-empowerment-and-progress-2023-digital-grassroots-annual-report.html

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

1. New Satellites Have Far Reaching Privacy Implications

New satellites that orbit the Earth at very low altitudes may result
in a world where nothing is really off limits. “We’re acutely aware of
the privacy implications,” Topher Haddad, head of Albedo Space, the
company making the new satellites, said in an interview. His company’s
technology will image people but not be able to identify them, he
said. Albedo, Mr. Haddad added, was nonetheless taking administrative
steps to address a wide range of privacy concerns.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/20/science/satellites-albedo-privacy.html


2. Pakistani Digital Rights Activists Call Nationwide Disruption of X
‘Blatant Violation’ of Civil Liberties

Digital rights activists and cybersecurity experts called the shutdown
of social media platform X in Pakistan a “blatant violation” of civil
liberties, saying it would trigger further disinformation in the South
Asian nation. Shutdowns began amid protests by former prime minister
Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and other parties against
alleged rigging of Feb. 8 national election in the country. Access to
the platform was temporarily restored on Sunday morning before it was
blocked again.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2462016/pakistan


3. Iran Regime Disrupts VPNs Amid Crackdown On Activists

Iran's continued suppression of dissent has seen more disruptions to
virtual private network (VPN) services amid an ongoing surge in
internet crackdowns to silence opposition voices. The latest bans come
amid a broader crackdown on internet freedom activists, with reports
indicating the detention of several individuals engaged in advocating
for unrestricted access to online content.

https://www.iranintl.com/en/202402192348


4. More Ways Where the U.S.& China are Interdependent

China’s tech firms were caught off guard by breakthroughs in
generative artificial intelligence. Beijing’s regulations and a
sagging economy aren’t helping. Its rush to dominate A.I. comes with a
twist: it depends on U.S. technology

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/21/technology/china-united-states-artificial-intelligence.html

Same goes for its censorship. China's vast domestic censorship system
is spreading abroad, helped in part by U.S. companies, in a way that
is affecting the global information environment and posing major
challenges to U.S. interests.

https://www.newsweek.com/china-censorship-us-xi-jinping-communist-party-ccp-1871479

This is based on a report written for the U.S. China Economic and
Security Review commission.

https://www.uscc.gov/research/censorship-practices-peoples-republic-china


5. EU: Landmark Digital Services Act must be Robustly Enforced to
Protect Human Rights

The Digital Services Act (DSA) that comes into full force across the
European Union (EU) today and places obligations on online platforms
and search engines to ensure respect for human rights. Amnesty
International said that this is a historic landmark for tech
accountability. “Today must mark the end of the era of unregulated Big
Tech, and for that to happen, the DSA must be robustly enforced to
avoid it becoming a paper tiger.”

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/02/eu-landmark-digital-services-act-must-be-robustly-enforced-to-protect-human-rights/

This week, the European Commission is investigating TikTok for
violating Europe’s DSA through its alleged addictive design, lack of
age verification, privacy shortcomings and other potential violations.
Investigators will examine whether the app failed to protect minors,
creating advertising policies that lacked transparency, failing to
give researchers access to data and inadequately addressing risks
posed by its product design and “harmful content.”

https://therecord.media/tiktok-investigation-dsa-european-commission


6. Can Democracy Survive Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)?

2023 was the year of AI, as new products brought recent advances in
the field to universal attention, and the world’s most powerful tech
companies declared their ambitions to achieve ‘Artificial General
Intelligence’ (AGI). If we, the affected public, do not shape this
techno-quest now, we may miss the chance to do so at all. We face a
fundamental question: is the very pursuit of AGI the kind of aim
democracies should allow?

https://www.techpolicy.press/can-democracy-survive-artificial-general-intelligence/

_________________________________________________

### 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://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=Fundraising_Opportunities

RIPE Fellowship
RIPE
February 25, 2024
https://www.ripe.net/community/ripe-fellowship/

Datafication and Democracy Fund
Data Privacy Brasil, the Paradigm Initiative and the Aapti Institute
Deadline: February 29, 2024
https://conteudos.dataprivacy.com.br/datification-and-democracy-fund-ddf

Grant On Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence
The U.S. State Department's Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues
Deadline: March 5, 2024
https://grants.gov/search-results-detail/351666

Postdoctoral Fellowship - Center on Digital Culture and Society
University of Pennsylvania
Deadline: March 15, 2024
https://www.asc.upenn.edu/news-events/news/call-applications-postdoctoral-fellowship-center-digital-culture-and-society

U.S. State Department Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
Spyware misuse in Europe and Eurasia
Deadline: April 15, 2024
https://www.state.gov/drl-improving-remedy-accountability-and-deterrence-for-the-repressive-misuse-of-spyware-in-europe-and-eurasia/
Supporting Digital Security in Ukraine and Moldova
Deadline: April 10, 2024
https://www.state.gov/drl-strengthening-resilience-for-digital-security-providers-and-capacity-for-civil-society-in-ukraine-and-moldova/

Female EdTech Fellowship Europe
Deadline: July 22, 2024
https://www.edtech-fellowship.eu/

Digital Rights Fund for WANA Region
Deadline: Rolling
SMEX
https://smex.org/digital-rights-fund/

FOSS United
Deadline: Rolling
https://fossunited.org/grants

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 ###

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

The Social Networking Glitter Meetup
Team CommUNITY
February 29, 2024
9am EST / 2pm UTC
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=February_29_2024_GM

What Is Happening in Digital Rights Around the World? (Glitter Meetup)
Team CommUNITY
March 7, 2024
9am EST / 2pm UTC
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=March_7_2024_GM

Asia Meetup
Team CommUNITY
March 12, 2024
8am EDT / 12pm UTC
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=March_12_2024,_Asia_Meetup

Open Data and Civic Tech to Circumvent Government Censorship and
Disinformation in Latin America (Glitter Meetup)
Team CommUNITY
March 14, 2024
9am EDT/ 1pm UTC
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=March_14_2024_GM

Digital Rights in Francophone Africa and MENA Meetup
Team CommUNITY
March 14, 2024
9am EDT/ 1pm UTC
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=March_14_2024,_Digital_Rights_in_Francophone_Africa_and_MENA_Meetup

MENA Meetup
Team CommUNITY
March 20, 2024
10am EDT / 2pm UTC
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=March_20_2024,_MENA_Meetup

LATAM Meetup
Team CommUNITY
March 20, 2024
5:30pm EDT / 9:30pm UTC
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=20_de_Marzo,_2024_LATAM

Africa Meetup
Team CommUNITY
March 21, 2024
11am EDT / 3pm UTC
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=March_21_2024,_Africa_Meetup

The Social Networking Glitter Meetup
Team CommUNITY
March 28, 2024
9am EDT/ 1pm UTC
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=March_28_2024_GM

Check out a list of our virtual events here:
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=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

✎ Senior Programme Officer - Digital and Freedom of Expression | Article 19
+  Dakar, Senegal
https://article.peoplehr.net/Pages/JobBoard/Opening.aspx?v=69069263-814e-483d-b94e-d2d9291bfc77

✎ Executive Director | Global Voices
+  Remote
https://globalvoices.org/2024/02/20/global-voices-seeks-an-executive-director/

✎ Director of Employee Experience and Human Resources | Astraea Foundation
+  Remote in USA
https://www.astraeafoundation.org/job_posts/director-of-employee-experience-and-human-resources/

✎ Technologist | Sovereign Tech Fund
+  Remote or Berlin, Germany
https://www.sovereigntechfund.de/jobs/technologist

✎ Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Specialist | Videre Est Credere
+  Hybrid in London, UK
https://videre.breezy.hr/p/a03b6b0223a101-monitoring-evaluation-and-learning-mel-specialist

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)))
--
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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