Digital Rights Weekly | July 15 - 19

Thu Jul 18 15:08:50 CEST 2024

Hello Digital Rights Defenders!

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

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### Team CommUNITY (TCU) ###

1. Upcoming Regional Digital Rights Meetups:

Latin America Regional Meetup | July 24
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=24_de_Julio,_2024_LATAM

MENA Regional Meetup | July 24
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=July_24_2024,_MENA_Meetup

Africa Regional Meetup | July 25
ttps://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=July_25_2024,_Africa_Meetup

2. Join the Digital Rights Weekly Town Halls on Mattermost, also known
as Glitter Meetups.

July 25: Butter Box - Life Without Internet Made Smoother
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=July_25_2024_GM

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### Digital Rights in the Community ###

1. 4D European Conference | Democratic Digitisation & Digital Rights

Check out the 4D European Conferences on 9 October, 2024 in Barcelona.
This event is open to any individual or institution interested in
learning about democratic digitalisation, with the spotlight on
people’ digital sovereignty. It will include talks about digital
rights and their violations, and how to apply changes and solutions to
avoid them.  For registration and more information:

https://4d.cat/en/conference/

2. Tell Social Media Companies: Improve Your Content Moderation
Practices for SRHR Content

SMEX is calling on social media companies to enforce all necessary
measures to ensure Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)
content is protected online. Social media platforms must increase
transparency regarding their moderation practices for SRHR-related
content in Arabic.

Read more and sign the petition here:
https://lnkd.in/eEsvnezs

Read more about faulty moderation practices on SRHR content in their
recently published report:
https://smex.org/from-sharing-to-silence-assessing-social-media-suppression-of-srhr-content-in-wana/

3. Arabic Violence Indicator

7amleh launched the "Arabic Violence Indicator", a linguistic model
that uses artificial intelligence technology to automatically and
immediately monitor the spread of hate speech and violence on social
media platforms in the Arabic language. This tool also includes the
Violence Indicator for Hebrew content, launched in November 2023.
Check out the findings here:
https://7or.7amleh.org/violence-indicator

4. Queer Digital Resistance in the MENA

ARTICLE 19, in collaboration with The De|Center and local experts,
launched a report series revealing the scale of tech-enabled
oppression faced by LGBTQ communities in MENA.  Over 5,000 LGBTQI+
people in 8 countries across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
spoke about how police are weaponizing dating, messaging, and social
media apps to persecute them – and what tech companies can do to keep
them safe. Tech companies must do more to keep marginalized
communities safe. This research tells them how.

https://lnkd.in/g3i5iWBE

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### Community Resources ###

1. Digital Safety for LGBTQ+ Activists

AccessNow created a guide to help LGBTQ+ activists across the African
continent stay safe, which includes mapping out and mitigating digital
threats. In addition, given the increased targeting of LGBTQ+ events
around the world, the Electronic Frontier Foundation published tips
for in-person events and protests.

https://www.accessnow.org/guide/africa-digital-safety-guide/

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/07/beyond-pride-month-protections-lgbtq-people-all-year-round

2. Opinion: Will the Far-Right Threaten Europe’s Digital Future?

The European elections last month cemented the far-right progression
within political institutions. A shift to the right poses a grave
threat to fundamental rights, including a free, fair, and open digital
environment in Europe. This may push a rise in the market dominance of
large tech corporations and the implementation of draconian state
surveillance practices.

https://www.euronews.com/next/2024/07/11/will-the-far-right-threaten-europes-digital-future

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

1. Apple's VPN Ban - And how it Restricts Internet Freedom

Check out this DW video that covers Apple’s ban of VPN apps from its
Russian App Store, while exploring how VPN access in general is being
restricted in several countries

https://www.dw.com/en/apples-vpn-ban-and-how-it-restricts-internet-freedom/video-69637259

2. The EU Is Coming for X’s Paid Blue Checks

The European Union said that Elon Musk’s paid blue-check system on X
deceives users and can be abused by malicious actors, adding that it
breaches the EU’s Digital Services Act because it “negatively affects
users’ ability to make free and informed decisions about the
authenticity of the accounts.”

https://www.wired.com/story/eu-elon-musk-x-blue-checks/

Musk responded to the EU’s announcement with “We look forward to a
very public battle in court”.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/jul/12/eu-regulators-warns-x-may-face-fines-for-deceptive-blue-tick-system

3. Data Mishandling in Nigeria’s National Identity Management Commission

There have been reports about websites in Nigeria commercializing
personal data. Five of the websites alleged to be involved in this
illegal practice have been flagged by the National Identity Management
Commission (NIMC) including Anyverify.com, a site accused by digital
rights advocacy organization Paradigm Initiative of selling sensitive
data.

In the face of these reports, the NIMC has come out strongly to
absolve itself of any possible blame. The digital identity authority
says it has not issued any licenses to any of these data-harvesting
websites to collect, verify or manage personal data.

https://www.biometricupdate.com/202407/digital-rights-advocates-say-nigerias-nimc-has-work-to-do-on-data-mishandling

4. In Bangladesh, Meta Accuses Ruling Party & Think Tank of
Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior

On May 29, Meta published its Quarterly Adversarial Threat Report
2024, acknowledging that it removed 50 Facebook accounts and 98 pages
from Bangladesh due to allegations of “coordinated inauthentic
behavior” and spreading coordinated misleading information about an
opposition party, even though they boycotted the election.

https://globalvoices.org/2024/07/11/bangladesh-meta-accuses-ruling-party-and-think-tank-of-coordinated-inauthentic-behavior/

5. Guessing Game: Facebook’s Unpredictable Algorithm Removes Content
on Srebrenica Genocide

Media have reported that the Facebook has been removing their content
related to the 1995 Srebrenica genocide for breaking community
standards – and some experts see the reason in Meta's algorithm.

https://balkaninsight.com/2024/07/12/guessing-game-facebooks-unpredictable-algorithm-removes-content-on-srebrenica-genocide/

6. Targeted Countries Should Demand Accountability from the Pentagon &
Platforms for COVID Disinformation

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. military launched a
secret anti-vaccination campaign to counter what it perceived as
China’s growing influence in the Philippines, a nation hit hard by the
virus.  It aimed to sow doubt about the safety and efficacy of
vaccines and other life-saving aid that was being supplied by China, a
Reuters investigation found.

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-covid-propaganda/

A month after its publication, the Pentagon responded to the report
with indifference, and did not confirm or deny the specific operations
discussed.

https://www.techpolicy.press/targeted-countries-should-demand-accountability-from-the-pentagon-and-platforms-for-covid-disinformation/

7. LGBT Pride & Euro 2024 Become Focus for Online Hate Speech

Check out Balkans Insight;s roundup of digital rights violations for
June. Included is how LGBT Pride marches attracted online insults and
threats, while nationalists used the Euro 2024 football tournament to
voice ethnic slurs on social media.

https://balkaninsight.com/2024/07/15/lgbt-prides-and-european-championship-hit-by-waves-of-digital-rights-violations/

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

Paradigm Initiative
Digital Rights & Inclusion Learning Lab (DRILL)
Deadline: July 19, 2024
https://paradigmhq.org/drill-call-for-applications/

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

Open Tech Fund
Deadline: Rolling
https://apply.opentech.fund

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

Apoyos de Respuesta Rápida
Fondo Acción Urgente
Deadline: Rolling
https://fondoaccionurgente.org.co/es/que-hacemos/apoyos-de-respuesta-rapida/

Open Briefing’s Responsive Assistance
Deadline: Rolling Basis
https://www.openbriefing.org/support/referral/

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### Events Calendar ###

Digital Rights MENA Meetup
Team CommUNITY
July 24, 2024
10am EDT / 2pm UTC
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=July_24_2024,_MENA_Meetup

Digital Rights LATAM Meetup
Team CommUNITY
July 24, 2024
5:30pm EDT / 9:30pm UTC
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=24_de_Julio,_2024_LATAM

Butter Box - Life Without Internet Made Smoother (Glitter Meetup)
Team CommUNITY
July 25, 2024
9am EDT / 1pm UTC
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=July_25_2024_GM

Digital Rights Africa Meetup
Team CommUNITY
July 25, 2024
11am EDT / 3pm UTC
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=July_25_2024,_Africa_Meetup

Escuela Virtual de Gobernanza de Internet (Español)
2 de agosto - 25 de septiembre, 2024
Fecha límite para postular: 28 de julio, 2024
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdK-10SQo99_xoTX_dAKe1kyw-wbSmVj5ol02SuHxi6YigH1Q/viewform

Digital Rights in the Asia-Pacific Assembly
EngageMedia
August 18 & 19, 2024
Taipei, Taiwan
Deadline to apply: June 15, 2024
https://engagemedia.org/2024/drapac24-taipei/

2024 Digital Rights Summer School
August 25 - 31, 2024
Perast, Montenegro
https://www.sharefoundation.info/en/apply-for-the-2024-digital-rights-summer-school/

FIFAfrica24
September 25-27, 2024
Dakar, Senegal
https://internetfreedom.africa/now-open-call-for-session-proposals-and-travel-support-applications/

4D European Conference
Fundacio Cat & XNet
October 9th, 2024
Barcelona, Spain
https://4d.cat/en/conference/

13th Edition of RightsCon
Access Now
February 2025
East Asia and online
Deadline to apply: June 2, 2024
https://www.rightscon.org/program/

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

✎ Algorithm Policy Consultancy | IA Ciudadana
+ Remote
https://iaciudadana.org/2024/07/15/terms-of-reference-state-of-the-art-and-policy-recommendations-on-how-to-design-implement-and-evaluate-an-algorithm-register/

✎ Digital & Information Security Consultants | Open Briefing
+ Remote
https://www.openbriefing.org/blog/were-hiring-digital-and-information-security-consultants-2/

✎ DevOps Engineer | GlobaLeaks
+ Remote
https://www.globaleaks.org/get-involved/work-with-us/

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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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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