Digital Rights Weekly | July 22 - 26

[Team CommUNITY]

Hello Digital Rights Defenders!

Here is your weekly update on digital rights around the world for the
week of July 22 - 26. 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) ###

Digital Rights Weekly Town Halls Break In August - They Will Come Back
in September!

The Digital Rights Weekly Town Halls on Mattermost, also known as
Glitter Meetups, will have a break during August, and will resume in
September. We want to take the opportunity to thank all our featured
guests, who have made Glitter Meetups amazing, magical spaces for our
community!

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### Digital Rights in the Community ###

1. Call for Papers | Critical Studies in Media Communication FORUM

This Critical Studies in Media Communication (CSMC) Forum, titled a “A
Century of Propaganda Studies: From Pen and Sword to Surveillant
Smartphone”, is calling for papers related to understanding
propaganda, including contemporary propaganda and its global contexts
that have seen rapid transformation this past century. This CSMC Forum
considers what we have learned from this century of propaganda’s
scholarship and practice, and what we still need to learn. Deadline:
December 13, 2024.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRE24SaTlY8by45oJ1ahKM-FdWbn9TeREFFLe-GtgH7IjhJOR0av7mSv8V2OZ8kqOb5CScWrvc_i8tw/pub


2. Position Paper | EU AI Act Increases Threats to Palestinian Human Rights

7amleh - The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media issued a
position paper on the European Union's AI Act and its impact on the
digital rights of Palestinians. The paper outlines the relationship
between the Palestinian-Israeli context and EU legislation, with a
particular focus on the extraterritorial effects of these laws on
Palestinian human rights. It documents how this law conflicts with the
fundamental human rights of Palestinians and highlights the dangers of
employing AI in the Palestinian-Israeli context.

https://7amleh.org/2024/07/23/paper-on-the-eu-s-ai-act-and-its-implications-en


3. Queer Resistance to Digital Oppression in the MENA

Over 5,000 LGBTQI+ people in 8 countries across the Middle East and
North Africa (MENA) tell ARTICLE 19 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://www.article19.org/queer-resistance-to-digital-oppression/#reports


4. Civil Society Joint Brief on UN Global Digital Compact

A number of civil society organizations and individuals, those active
in the United National Global Digital Compact (GDC) process, outlined
their concerns about the state of the GDC in a brief. This brief
highlights the points of greatest concern, including human rights and
gender, inclusive approaches to internet governance, consistency in
terminology, and decentralization of power.

https://www.accessnow.org/press-release/civil-society-joint-statement-on-un-global-digital-compact/


5. AccessNow’s Co-Founder & Executive Director Reflects on 15 years
Working in Digital Rights

Brett Solomon, AccessNow Co-founder and Executive Director is leaving
the organization, and he took this moment to reflect on his personal
learnings and observations on the evolving fight to defend and extend
human rights in the digital age for people and communities most at
risk. He is sharing these reflections in the hopes that they will be
helpful for people at all levels in the movement, as we collectively
confront the challenges of the digital revolution.

https://www.accessnow.org/a-pathway-forward-for-digital-rights/

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### Community Resources ###

1. Phishing Prevention and Email Hygiene Guide

Prepare yourself with Freedom of the Press Foundation's guide on how
to mitigate or avoid phishing attacks. Phishing is a
social-engineering attack where an adversary crafts an email (or text
or app message) in such a way as to trick you into divulging
information that could be used against you or your network; gain
access to and ultimately commandeer your account; or introduce malware
and/or viruses to your machine.

https://freedom.press/training/email-security-tips/


2. Dangerzone - Take potentially dangerous PDFs or Images and Convert
them to Safe PDFs

Be wary of downloading or opening unexpected file attachments in
emails. Some file types, like those ending in .exe and .pdf, are
especially common for delivering malware. If you receive a suspicious
PDF, you could use Dangerzone to convert it into a safe file.

https://dangerzone.rocks/

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

1. #KeepItOn: Bangladesh’s Government Must Restore Internet Access &
Ensure Connectivity During Student Protests

Mass protests in Bangladesh started on July 1 in response to the
reinstatement of a 30% quota in government jobs for the children of
freedom fighters, which the protesters say favor supporters of the
ruling party. Amid these protests, people in Bangladesh are suffering
a nationwide internet shutdown since July 18, 2024. Access to mobile
internet was temporarily restricted across the country, and access to
social media platforms was blocked in certain areas this past week.
Government agencies have a duty to ensure that people can access open,
secure, and unrestricted internet when they need it the most:

https://www.accessnow.org/press-release/keepiton-restore-internet-during-student-protests-bangladesh/

The country’s Supreme Court scrapped most quotas on government jobs
after these nationwide actions, but some organizers said the protests
would continue.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/bangladesh-extends-curfew-ahead-court-hearing-controversial-job-quotas-2024-07-21/


2. Switzerland Now Requires All Government Software to be Open Source

Switzerland's new legislation, "Federal Law on the Use of Electronic
Means for the Fulfillment of Government Tasks" (EMBAG), mandates using
open-source software (OSS) in the public sector. This new law requires
all public bodies to disclose the source code of software developed by
or for them unless third-party rights or security concerns prevent it.
This "public money, public code" approach aims to enhance government
operations' transparency, security, and efficiency.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/switzerland-now-requires-all-government-software-to-be-open-source/


3. Google’s Plan to Turn Off Third-party Cookies in Chrome is Dying

Google is putting the brakes on a change that would have made it more
difficult to track users across different websites to serve them
targeted ads. After years of testing, planning, and delays, Google has
scrapped a plan to turn off third-party cookie tracking by default
like Safari and Firefox already do.

https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/22/24203893/google-cookie-tracking-prompt-ad-targeting-privacy-sandbox


4. China Deploys Censors to Create “Socialist AI”

Chinese government officials are testing artificial intelligence
companies’ large language models to ensure their systems “embody core
socialist values”.

https://www.ft.com/content/10975044-f194-4513-857b-e17491d2a9e9


5. Despite Sanctions, North Koreans Continue to Use Foreign Technology

A new report shows that North Koreans continue to use foreign
technology to access the internet despite heavy sanctions imposed on
them. This includes Apple, Samsung, and Huawei devices, in addition to
social media platforms. A significant finding is the increased use of
services like VPNs and proxies to circumvent censorship and
surveillance.

https://www.recordedfuture.com/research/north-koreans-continue-to-use-foreign-technology


6. Airlines, Businesses, Border Crossings Hit by Global Tech Disruption

Businesses and governments worldwide experienced hours-long
disruptions last week due to  a widespread technology outage. Flights
were grounded and numerous hospitals, small businesses and government
offices were disrupted. The massive disruption was a result of
CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm that provides software to scores of
companies worldwide, deploying a faulty update to computers running
Microsoft Windows, noting that the issue behind the outage was not a
security incident or cyberattack.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/2024/07/19/internet-outage-latest/581445e4-45b5-11ef-83d0-9eaefdc988e8_story.html

The repercussions of this outage will be felt for weeks, if not months.

https://www.axios.com/2024/07/19/global-tech-outage-crowdstrike-impact-airlines

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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

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 ###

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

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### 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

✎ Social Media Officer | Social Media Exchange (SMEX)
+ Beirut, Lebanon (Hybrid, Remote)
http://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeYN1dJA9nC0D6V_IgfYjHlqy-VuGGnulxQfaNUCPCv0QgRbA/viewform

✎ Staff Software Security Engineer | Wikimedia Foundation
+ Remote
https://grnh.se/4457f2f61us

✎ Senior Software Engineer, Future Audiences | Wikimedia Foundation
+ Remote
https://grnh.se/980ca4901us

✎ MERL Consultant | Freedom of the Press Foundation
+ Remote
https://grnh.se/7e980a715us

✎ Senior Analyst | HR&A Advisors
+ Los Angeles, California
https://hraadvisors.applytojob.com/apply/oTYC6QZK2c/Senior-Analyst

✎ Product Manager (Delivery-Based Contract) | NetFreedom Pioneers
+ Remote
http://www.netfreedompioneers.org/product-manager-contract/

✎ Program Coordinator, East Asia Programs | NetFreedom Pioneers
+ South Korea (remote)
https://www.netfreedompioneers.org/program-coordinator-east-asia-programs-2/

✎ Policy and Advocacy Lead Positions | Global Partners Digital
+ United Kingdom - Remote
https://apply.workable.com/global-partners-digital/j/258A14C9D6/

✎ Android Developer (TorVPN and LEAP VPN) | LEAP Encryption Access Project
+ Remote
https://leap.se/blog/android-dev-wanted/

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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