Digital Rights Weekly | December 1 to 5

[Team CommUNITY]

Hello Digital Rights Defenders!

Here is your weekly update on digital rights around the world for the 
week of December 1 to 5 As a reminder, you can submit your news for the 
newsletter here:
https://www.digitalrights.community/weekly-newsletter

What is in this issue:

TCU News
Community News
NEW Job Opportunities
Community Resources
Digital Rights in the Wider World
Events Calendar
Grants, Fellowships, & Awards

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### TCU News ###
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1. Save the Date: Global Gathering 2026

Save the date for the 2026 Global Gathering, which will be held on 
September 4, 5 and 6 in Estoril, Portugal. The gathering brings together 
defenders from around the world working at the intersection of 
technology and rights, working on the most urgent technology-related 
challenges affecting human rights, social justice, civil society, and 
journalism at the local, regional and global levels. Applications will 
be available in mid-December.

https://www.digitalrights.community/blog/save-the-date-global-gathering-2026


2 Alternative Job Boards for Digital Rights Defenders

TCU staff work hard to ensure that our Digital Rights Board is a useful 
tool. However, given this year’s historic funding cuts, we know that 
many folks are still looking for work. As such, we have created an 
alternative job board list, highlighting job boards that cover the 
broader human rights, security and tech fields. You can access the list 
from the Digital Rights Job Board.

https://www.digitalrights.community/job-board.

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### Community News ###
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1. “Intellexa Leaks” Investigation Provides Further Evidence of Spyware 
Threats to Human Rights

A new joint investigation, “Intellexa Leaks”, exposes the internal 
operations of Intellexa,  – the Israeli company notorious for selling 
the highly invasive spyware Predator linked to human rights abuses in 
multiple countries. It remains one of the most prolific exploiters of 
zero-day vulnerabilities in the mobile ecosystem  (Zero-day exploits 
rely on previously unknown software or hardware flaws that attackers 
weaponize to install spyware, steal data, or cause system damage before 
developers have a chance to fix them.)

Jurre van Bergen, Technologist at Amnesty International’s Security Lab, 
noted, “This investigation provides one of the clearest and most damning 
views yet into Intellexa’s internal operations and technology. The 
investigation is led by Inside Story, Haaretz and WAV Research 
Collective with technical analysis provided by Amnesty International.

https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/global-intellexa-leaks-investigation-provides-further-evidence-of-spyware-threats-to-human-rights/

Additionally, check out the deeper technical coverage by the Google 
Threat Intelligence Group - they have delivered government-backed attack 
warnings to all known targeted accounts associated with Intellexa’s 
customers since 2023, and have added identified domains to Safe 
Browsing. They are urging mobile users to keep their devices fully 
up-to-date.

https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/threat-intelligence/intellexa-zero-day-exploits-continue


2. Proposals for the 2026 Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum are Open

The Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum (DRIF26) is a three-day, annual 
convening hosted by Paradigm Initiative (PIN). It serves as a platform 
for digital rights actors and individuals across the Global South to 
share experiences, present research outcomes, and collaborate to advance 
Internet freedom. They are currently accepting proposals for their 2026 
edition, which will take place on April 14-16 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. 
The 2026 theme is Building Inclusive and Resilient Digital Futures.

https://sessionize.com/digital-rights-and-inclusion-forum26/


3. European Commission Launches a €5 Million Regional Disinformation 
Program for Eastern Partnership

At the 2025 Eastern Partnership (EaP) Civil Society Summit, a new €5 
million regional programme aimed at detecting and countering foreign 
information manipulation, interference and disinformation in the Eastern 
Partnership region was launched.The programme will benefit civil society 
organisations and independent media in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, 
Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, as well as those operating in exile. 
Actions will include capacity building, research and analysis, 
cross-border resilience building and financial support.

https://enlargement.ec.europa.eu/news/new-eu5-million-regional-programme-against-disinformation-launched-2025-eastern-partnership-civil-2025-12-03_en


4. Private & Secure Messaging Survey

Air, a new private messenger designed to meet privacy and security needs 
of individuals in at-risk contexts, will be launched soon. The team 
would like to get feedback on what they are building, and are asking 
folks to take a survey:

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


5. La Escuela Virtual de Gobernanza de Internet (VSIG) Abre Su Próxima 
Convocatoria!

El programa de VSIG es gratuito y empieza el 20 de febrero de 2026. Está 
diseñado para fortalecer tus capacidades en temas clave como 
infraestructura, seguridad, actores del ecosistema, derechos humanos, 
tecnologías emergentes y mucho más. La convocatoria está abierta hasta 
el 8 de febrero de 2026. Si deseas participar, asegúrate de completar tu 
registro antes de la fecha límite. Los cupos son limitados.

https://www.virtualsig.org/2025/12/02/982/


6. Meta Geo-Blocked Viet Tan’s Facebook page, and 16 Other

Meta just announced that they’ve geo-blocked 17 Facebook pages, 
including Viet Tan’s, an organization that advocates for human rights, 
political reform, and nonviolent change in Vietnam. Check out Meta’s 
transparency report, as well as Viet Tan’s statement.

https://transparency.meta.com/reports/content-restrictions/case-studies/
https://x.com/viettan/status/1996805787466060196


7, Reports

a)  Biometric Digital-ID in Africa: Progress and Challenges to Date

A new report drawing on ten country studies—conducted by African 
researchers through the African Digital Rights Network in collaboration 
with Paradigm Initiative—provides one of the most comprehensive 
overviews to date of biometric digital-ID systems across the continent. 
The findings highlight how these systems often exclude vulnerable 
populations, lack robust legal and regulatory safeguards, and 
increasingly make access to fundamental rights and public services 
conditional on enrollment The case studies cover: Botswana, Côte 
d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Egypt, Ethiopia, 
Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Senegal, and Tunisia.

https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/articles/book/Biometric_Digital-ID_in_Africa_Progress_and_Challenges_to_Date_Ten_Country_Case_Studies/30773789b) 



b) How the EU’s Dual-Use Regime Falls Short on Tackling Spyware

CDT has published their first research report examining how regulation 
overseeing export controls is enforced in practice across four EU Member 
States, and whether it addresses the ongoing human rights concerns in 
relation to the export of spyware technologies. Findings how that the 
current system lacks sufficient enforcement and oversight to meet the 
scale or urgency needed.

https://cdt.org/insights/cdt-europe-report-eu-export-controls-are-failing-to-address-the-spread-of-spyware/


c) War Profiteers: Online Ads and the Machinery of Propaganda for War

Access Now’s latest report examines how propaganda for war and online 
ads intersect with the international human rights law, as well as the 
role of the private sector. The report examines the scope of Article 20 
(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), 
which prohibits any propaganda for war by law but remains surrounded by 
legal ambiguities and subject to much debate. Yet this does not absolve 
social media platforms from taking measures to address propaganda for 
war, given the significant human rights harms that can be caused by such 
content.

https://www.accessnow.org/press-release/propaganda-of-war-and-call-to-reprioritize-rights/


d) How China’s New AI Systems are Reshaping Human Rights

A new report by ASPI shows how the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) 
is transforming China’s state control system into a precision instrument 
for managing its population and targeting groups at home and abroad. It 
highlights new ways that the government is using large language models 
and other AI systems to automate censorship, enhance surveillance and 
pre‑emptively suppress dissent.

https://www.aspi.org.au/report/the-partys-ai-how-chinas-new-ai-systems-are-reshaping-human-rights/

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### NEW Job Opportunities  ###
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You can access these and other jobs by visiting our job board: 
https://www.digitalrights.community/job-board

✎ Senior Accounting Coordinator, The Calyx Institute
+ United States

✎ Assistant Editor, Tech Policy Press
+ Remote, US

✎ Administration and Travel Management Specialist , ISOC
+ Remote, US

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### Community Resources  ###
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1, How Women are Fighting Digital Violence in Mexico and Bolivia

Digital violence against women is exploding across Latin America. For 
women in public life—politicians, journalists, activists, human rights 
defenders—online abuse isn't just a nuisance. It's a weapon. And it 
doesn't stay online. Across the region, survivors are reshaping laws, 
demanding accountability, and redefining what it means to participate in 
public life in the digital age.

https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/feature-story/2025/12/from-survivors-to-changemakers-how-women-are-fighting-digital-violence-in-mexico-and-bolivia


2. How Censorship is Limiting Digital Development in Nigeria

What began as a Facebook Live video speaking against police brutality 
spiralled into an ordeal of surveillance and intimidation for Nigerian 
nurse and activist Abiodun Olamide Thomas. Thomas stated that police 
then targeted her relatives.

https://globalvoices.org/2025/11/27/how-censorship-is-limiting-digital-development-in-nigeria/

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### Digital Rights in the Wider World  ###
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1.. US State Department to Deny Visas to Fact Checkers and Others, 
Citing 'Censorship

The State Department is instructing its staff to reject visa 
applications from people who worked on fact-checking, content moderation 
or other activities the US administration considers "censorship" of 
Americans' speech. The new rules apply to both applicants renewing their 
H-1B visa, and accompanying family members.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/12/4/us-will-expand-social-media-work-history-vetting-for-h-1b-visas


2. India Revokes Order to Force Smartphone Makers to Install Government App

India has revoked an order to smartphone manufacturers to install a 
government-owned cybersecurity application on all new mobile devices 
following massive backlash amid digital rights concerns. According to an 
official notification issued by the Department of Telecommunications on 
November 28, all leading smartphone makers, including Apple and Samsung, 
were given 90 days to add the government’s Sanchar Saathi application to 
all newly manufactured devices.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/12/3/why-did-india-order-smartphone-makers-to-install-a-government-app


3. Azerbaijan Deletes Plan for Detailed Surveillance System Minutes 
After Publication

Azerbaijan’s presidential website briefly published, then quietly 
removed, a detailed regulation outlining how the State Security Service 
would collect and access personal data on citizens and residents through 
a new centralized system. It detailed the technical architecture, data 
sources, and access protocols for the system.

https://oc-media.org/azerbaijan-deletes-plan-for-detailed-surveillance-system-minutes-after-publication/


4. Microsoft Faces Complaint in EU Over Israeli Surveillance Data

Microsoft is facing a complaint in the European Union filed by the 
non-profit organisation EKO, alleging the company  illegally stored data 
on Palestinians used for Israeli military surveillance. The Irish Data 
Protection Commission (DPC) confirmed it had received the complaint, 
saying it was "currently under assessment". (Microsoft's European 
headquarters are located in Ireland) Microsoft cut the Israeli army's 
access to certain cloud services in September following a report in The 
Guardian which revealed that the Israeli Defense Forces used Microsoft's 
cloud service Azure "for the storage of data files of phone calls 
obtained through broad or mass surveillance of civilians in Gaza and the 
West Bank"

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20251204-microsoft-faces-complaint-in-eu-over-israeli-surveillance-data


5. Greece a Testing Ground for Smart Surveillance Technologies

Europe is rapidly building an AI-ready smart-border regime, and Greece 
has become the test bed, according to a new investigation by Solomon, 
Die Tageszeitung (Germany), SWI Swissinfo (Switzerland) and Inkstick 
Media (US). The findings are based on interviews with more than two 
dozen officials, and a review of hundreds of pages of public and 
internal documents, including freedom-of-information requests, request 
responses, technical documentation, and procurement records.  Much of it 
is unfolding under the radar, with vague data rules and thin public 
oversight.

https://wearesolomon.com/mag/format/investigation/greece-a-testing-ground-for-smart-surveillance-technologies/


6. Roskomnadzor Threatens to Block Whatsapp Over Alleged Legal Violations

Russia’s state media regulator said it was imposing new restrictions on 
WhatsApp for what it called repeated violations of Russian law, and 
warned the messaging service could be blocked entirely if it fails to 
comply.

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/11/28/roskomnadzor-threatens-to-block-whatsapp-over-alleged-legal-violations-a91276


7. Flock Uses Overseas Gig Workers to Build its Surveillance AI

Flock, the automatic license plate reader (ALPR) and AI-powered camera 
company, uses overseas workers from Upwork to train its machine learning 
algorithms, with training material telling workers how to review and 
categorize footage including images people and vehicles in the U.S., 
according to material reviewed by 404 Media that was accidentally 
exposed by the company.

https://www.404media.co/flock-uses-overseas-gig-workers-to-build-its-surveillance-ai/


8. Publisher Launches Foundation to Combat Censorship

Interlink Publishing has announced the launch of the Interlink 
Foundation, which will focus on promoting discourse on issues of global 
significance by amplifying banned, suppressed, and censored voices 
through mentorship, events and funding for translated literature. 
Internlink is the only Palestinian-American owned indie publisher in the 
US.

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/99207-interlink-launches-nonprofit-to-amplify-suppressed-voices.html

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### Events Calendar ###
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Did you know you could submit your events for inclusion in our 
newsletter? It takes a few minutes to submit: 
https://www.digitalrights.community/weekly-newsletter

Online Course: Threat Sharing and Digital Forensics from a Feminist and 
Human Rights Perspective
Digital Defenders Partnership
September - December, 2025
https://www.digitaldefenders.org/online-course-threat-sharing-and-digital-forensics-from-a-feminist-and-human-rights-perspective/

SplinterCon 2025
December 8–10, 2025
Paris, France
https://splintercon.net/paris/
Webinar: Centering Rights and CSO Participation at India-AI Summit 2026
December 10, 2025
https://engagemedia.org/2025/drapac-series-centering-rights-cso-participation-at-india-ai-summit-2026/

Online Workshop: The Session Design Lab
December 10 and 11
https://www.fabriders.net/session-design-lab/
Palestine Digital Activism Forum (PDAF) 2026
March 30 to 31, 2026
https://pdaf.net/about-theme

PolicyLab Africa: Co-Creation Workshops
1st workshop: 10th December, 2025
https://forms.gle/6zMusiFhVPUEw5Av8

Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum
April 14-16
Abidjan, Ivory Coast
https://sessionize.com/digital-rights-and-inclusion-forum26/

RightCon 2026
May 5-8
Lusaka, Zambia
https://www.rightscon.org/

Global Gathering
September 4 to 6, 2026
Portugal
www.digitalrights.community

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### Grants, Fellowships, & Awards ###
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Berkman Fellowship
Deadline: December 5.
https://cyber.harvard.edu/getinvolved/fellowships

AI Reporting Grant Program
December 31, 2025
https://pulitzercenter.org/grants-fellowships/opportunities-journalists/ai-reporting-grants

Dr Goodluck Jonathan Freedom of Information Awards 2026
Deadline: January 31, 2026.
https://mediarightsagenda.org/media-rights-agenda-invites-entries-from-journalists-for-goodluck-jonathan-foi-awards-2026/

La Escuela Virtual de Gobernanza de Internet
Deadline: February 8, 2026
https://www.virtualsig.org/2025/12/02/982/

Digital Freedom Fund
Deadline: February 17
https://digitalfreedomfund.org/grants/

InDiCo-Global. Deadline
Deadline: June 30, 2026
https://indico-global-grants.eu/indico-global-third-open-call

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Team CommUNITY at ARTICLE 19
www.digitalrights.community
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