Digital Rights Weekly | June 23 - 27

[Team CommUNITY]

Hello Digital Rights Defenders!

Here is your weekly update on digital rights around the world for the
week of June 23 - 27. As a reminder, you can submit your news for the
newsletter here:
https://www.digitalrights.community/weekly-newsletter

What is in this issue:

Team CommUNITY
Community News
NEW Job Opportunities
Community Resources
Digital Rights in the Wider World
Statements from Our Community
Events Calendar
Grants, Fellowships, & Awards

__________________________________________

### Team CommUNITY (TCU News) ###
__________________________________________

1. Upcoming Digital Rights Town Halls and Community Knowledge Shares:

July 3 | Tierra Común: challenges of being a tech cooperative in
Mexico working with free software and digital security
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=July_3_2025_GM

July 10 | The Social Networking Glitter Meetup
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=July_10_2025_GM

July 17 | Back To The Source: App Store Politics With F-Droid
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=July_17_2025_GM

July 24 | What is Happening in Digital Rights Around the World?
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=July_24_2025_GM

July 31 | The Power and Relevance of Humanizing Tech and Digital
Rights Through Storytelling
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=July_31_2025_GM

__________________________________________

### Community News ###
__________________________________________

1. RSVP: The Future of Hacking by Laura Scherling

Join All Tech Is Human’s next installment of their Responsible Tech
Author Series with author Dr. Laura S. Scherling on her timely and
thought-provoking book "The Future of Hacking: The Rise of Cybercrime
and the Fight to Keep Us Safe". The event will take place on Tuesday,
July 1, 2025 at 1:00 PM EDT   Scherling brings to light the stories of
ethical hackers, digital defenders, and the shifting terrain of
cybercrime, and challenges us to rethink our assumptions about who
hackers are and what they do.

https://events.zoom.us/ev/ApqL0SmpLii0p_rE4T80Ts5LUfgaZW5eNzI7CLXvrr_VggHcRp4g~AnEeAmz25SFzSOMLqC8j2B1Si-Abj88gMNkKtKsWrNumguzaSfeLGP1glA


2. New Research Study: "Surveilled at Home"

The Localization Lab is excited to launch a crucial new study
exploring the experiences of internet users who have navigated
government-imposed internet interruptions while also managing
surveillance from within their homes. Participation is completely
anonymous, and selected participants can receive up to US$100.
Interpreters are available. Learn more and get started by scanning the
QR code in the link below:

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7342966119348985857/


3. Fondo para los Derechos Digitales

Derechos Digitales pone a disposición dos fondos que apoyan el
financiamiento de actividades para un ecosistema digital libre y
abierto. El Fondo para los derechos digitales en América Latina (FDD)
para sensibilizar a las comunidades sobre sus derechos digitales y
promover un entorno digital libre, seguro y en favor del desarrollo
íntegro de las personas, y el Fondo de Respuesta Rápida (FRR) que
apoya a actividades en situaciones de suma urgencia. Para postular a
ambos fondos debes registrarte, utilizando la opción que aparece en el
recuadro a la derecha en el siguiente link. Fecha límite para postular
en este ciclo: 15 de julio de 2025.

https://fondos.derechosdigitales.org/home


4. AI Governance Efforts Centre on Human Rights

At the Internet Governance Forum 2025 in Lillestrøm, Norway, a key
session spotlighted the launch of the Freedom Online Coalition’s (FOC)
updated Joint Statement on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights.
Backed by 21 countries and counting, the statement outlines a vision
for human-centric AI governance rooted in international human rights
law.

https://dig.watch/updates/ai-governance-efforts-centre-on-human-rights


5. Spyware Accountability Demands Global South Leadership at IGF 2025

At the Internet Governance Forum 2025 in Lillestrøm, Norway, a
powerful roundtable titled ‘Spyware Accountability in the Global
South’ brought together experts, activists, and policymakers to
confront the growing threat of surveillance technologies in the
world’s most vulnerable regions.

https://dig.watch/updates/spyware-accountability-demands-global-south-leadership-at-igf-2025


6. Digital Ceasefire: The Path to Peace Goes Online

Access Now has brought together various experts involved in
peace-building, negotiation to discuss what a digital ceasefire should
look like - an agreement that regulates the cessation of all military
and paramilitary forces’ acts of violence against ICT infrastructure
or through cyber activities,

https://www.accessnow.org/digital-ceasefire-the-path-to-peace-goes-online/


7. Report From Our Community:

a) Lessons from Resisting Big Tech Power in Southeast Asia

Drawing from this comparative analysis of platform advocacy from
Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia, this article reflects upon: the
greater appeal of Global South demands that resonate with Western
priorities in platform governance, the importance of campaign
promotion by influential international allies, and the need to build
trust with marginalized targets of platform-mediated repression.

https://www.techpolicy.press/lessons-from-resisting-big-tech-power-in-southeast-asia/

b) Unpacking RightsCon 2025: The Key Issues Shaping Digital Rights Today

The second part of RightsCon's Outcomes Report is now live. This
installment is the most in-depth yet, mapping out the pressing themes,
strategies, and outcomes that emerged from RightsCon 2025 (Taipei and
online). From more than 500 sessions across four days, they identified
some of the key conversations that are shaping the future of digital
rights. Learn more about them on the following link:

https://www.rightscon.org/rc25-outcomes-report/#outcomes

__________________________________________

### NEW Job Opportunities  ###
__________________________________________

✎ User Support, Engagement and Partnerships Specialist (Iran,
Part-Time) | Lantern (Brave New Software Project, Inc)
+ Remote
http://lantern.io/careers/user-support-partnerships-specialist

✎ Consultant | Amnesty International
+ Flexible
https://careers.amnesty.org/jobs/vacancy/consultant--ban-the-scan-4139/4167/description/

✎ Several Positions | Digital Commons
+ Remote in the UK
https://digitalcommons.coop/we-are-recruiting/

✎ AI Governance Manager | AIG
+ Not Specified
https://aig.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/aig/job/AI-Regulatory-Manager_JR2502340

✎ Postdoctoral Fellow - Normativity Lab | Johns Hopkins University
+ Baltimore, MD, USA
https://apply.interfolio.com/168130

______________________________________

### Community Resources  ###
______________________________________

1. Responsible Tech Summer Reading List 2025

This year’s curated list has themes around power, human agency, the
folly of techno-solutionism, and understanding how history affects our
present and future.

https://alltechishuman.org/all-tech-is-human-blog/responsible-tech-summer-reading-list-2025


2. Legal and Policy Responses to Spyware: A Primer

On May 6, a federal jury in California determined that NSO Group,
developer of the notorious Pegasus spyware, must pay Meta’s WhatsApp a
total of $167,696,000 in punitive and compensatory damages for its use
of WhatsApp systems while infecting targets’ devices. Reviewing the
range of legal and policy avenues for combating spyware is helpful, as
the battle against surreptitious surveillance software is far from
over.

https://www.techpolicy.press/legal-and-policy-responses-to-spyware-a-primer/

______________________________________

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

1. Iran’s Internet Blackout Adds New Dangers for Civilians Amid Israeli Bombings

Iran is limiting internet connectivity for citizens amid Israeli
airstrikes—pushing people towards domestic apps, which may not be
secure, and limiting their ability to access vital information. Last
Tuesday, a near total internet blackout was implemented.

https://www.wired.com/story/iran-internet-shutdown-israel/

Here is an explanation of what tools are being used to censor:

https://www.dw.com/en/iran-israel-war-what-tools-are-used-to-censor-reporting/a-73005078


2. Social Media Scans for Student Visas: The Platforms US Wants to
Monitor, and What They're Looking For

Starting June 25, 2025, the US State Department requires student visa
applicants (F, M, and J types) to disclose social media handles from
the past five years, setting profiles to the public. Consular officers
will review online activity for security risks, including hostility
towards the U.S. and support for terrorism.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/study/social-media-scans-for-student-visas-the-platforms-us-wants-to-monitor-and-what-theyre-looking-for/articleshow/122043646.cms


3. WhatsApp Ads Are Here – But Can You Trust That Your Messages Will
Stay Private?

On Monday, June 16, 2025, WhatsApp announced new ad features are set
to land in the updates tab. In 2023, Meta denied claims that WhatsApp
was planning to add in-feed ads on the platform. Meta's new decision
to bring ads to WhatsApp has raised concerns from privacy experts.

https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/your-messages-may-not-stay-as-private-as-you-think-privacy-experts-slam-whatsapp-ads


4. European Parliament Commission Offers ‘Hollow’ Spyware Response
Amid Fresh Abuses and Broad MEP Backlash

A long-awaited European Parliament plenary debate on spyware delivered
scant insight into how, if at all, the European Commission plans to
act on Parliament’s PEGA findings or fresh abuses in Italy and beyond.

https://www.euractiv.com/section/tech/news/commission-offers-hollow-spyware-response-amid-fresh-abuses-and-broad-mep-backlash/


5. Q&A: Kenya's Digital Crackdown Having 'Chilling' Effect on Rights

One year after Kenya's Gen Z protests against a tax-heavy finance
bill, digital rights activists say authorities are increasingly
cracking down on online criticism, with one prominent blogger recently
killed in police custody.

https://www.context.news/digital-rights/q-and-a-kenyas-digital-crackdown-having-chilling-effect-on-rights

______________________________________

### Statements from Our Community ###
______________________________________

1. #KeepItOn: Israel Must Stop Cutting Gaza Off From the World

The undersigned civil society organizations and members of the
#KeepItOn coalition — a global network of over 345 human rights
organizations from 105 countries working to end internet shutdowns —
urgently calls on Israeli authorities and all relevant actors to
restore full access to internet and communication services in the Gaza
Strip.

https://www.accessnow.org/press-release/keepiton-israel-must-stop-cutting-gaza-off/
______________________________________

### Events Calendar ###
______________________________________

South-to-South AI Accountability CoLab
The Pulitzer Center
June - July, 2025
https://pulitzercenter.org/south-south-ai-accountability-colabs-peer-learning-circle

Tierra Común: challenges of being a tech cooperative in Mexico working
with free software and digital security (Glitter Meetup)
Team CommUNITY
July 3, 2025
9am EDT /1pm UTC
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=July_3_2025_GM

The Social Networking Glitter Meetup
Team CommUNITY
July 10, 2025
9am EDT /1pm UTC
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=July_10_2025_GM

Back To The Source: App Store Politics With F-Droid (Glitter Meetup)
Team CommUNITY
July 17, 2025
9am EDT /1pm UTC
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=July_17_2025_GM

What is Happening in Digital Rights Around the World? (Glitter Meetup)
Team CommUNITY
July 24, 2025
9am EDT /1pm UTC
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=July_24_2025_GM

2025 Oxford Media Policy Summer Institute
Jesus College, Oxford
July 28 - August 8, 2025
https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/oxford-media-policy-summer-institute

The Power and Relevance of Humanizing Tech and Digital Rights Through
Storytelling (Glitter Meetup)
Team CommUNITY
July 31, 2025
9am EDT /1pm UTC
Online
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=July_31_2025_GM

HOPE_16
August 15 - 17, 2025
St. John's University in Queens, New York City, and online
https://hope.net/

The Digital Rights Asia-Pacific Assembly (DRAPAC)
August 26 - 27, 2025
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
https://drapac.net/25/

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/

Global Gathering 2025
Team CommUNITY
September 8 - 10, 2025
Estoril, Portugal
https://www.digitalrights.community/blog/2025-global-gathering-application

MyData 2025 Conference
Helsinki
September 24 - 26, 2025
https://conference.mydata.org/2025

Hold Before You Send It
Digihub Africa 2025
October 8 - 9, 2025
Johannesburg, South Africa
https://www.digihubafrica.org/events/

SEEDIG Youth School 2025
October 10 - 11, 2025
Athens, Greece
https://seedig.net/youth-school/

Bread&Net
SMEX
October 29 - 31
Beirut, Lebanon
https://www.breadandnet.org/en/

Mozilla Festival 2025
November 7 - 9, 2025
In Barcelona, Spain
https://www.mozillafestival.org/en/

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

__________________________________________

### 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

New York Times's News Safety Fellow
https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/thenewyorktimes/jobs/4559864005

Call for Proposals Responsive Fund
Deadline: June 27, 2025
https://www.ukhih.org/news/call-for-proposals-now-open-responsive-fund-general/

Digital Public Infrastructure Research Grant
Deadline to submit expression of interest: June 30, 2025
https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/research/global-dpi-insights-community/

SA Tech Challenge 2025, Innovation Bridge
Deadline: June 30, 2025
https://innovationbridge.info/ibportal/g20/tech-challenge

Grants for Investigative Stories
Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN)
Deadline: June 30, 2025
https://birn.eu.com/news-and-events/birn-invites-journalists-to-apply-for-grants-for-investigative-stories/

2025-26 Foundry Fellowship for African Entrepreneurs
Deadline: July 6, 2025
https://app.babele.co/application-definition/401

OGP’s Helen Darbishire Fund for Civil Society 2025-27
Deadline: July 6, 2025
https://www.opengovpartnership.org/ogps-helen-darbishire-fund-for-civil-society-2025-27/

Research Fellowships on Digital Sentience
Deadline: July 9, 2025
https://www.longview.org/digital-sentience-consortium/research-fellowships-on-digital-sentience/

Fondo para los Derechos Digitales
Fecha límite: 15 de julio de 2025
https://fondos.derechosdigitales.org/home

Digital Freedom Fund Open Call
Deadline: July 15, 2025
https://digitalfreedomfund.org/grants/

Connecting the Unconnected Funding Program
Internet Society
Deadline 2nd window: from 15 July to 27 August, 2025
https://www.internetsociety.org/funding-areas/connecting-the-unconnected

Digital Democracy Centre x TrygFonden Fellowship Program
Deadline: September 15, 2025
https://www.sdu.dk/en/forskning/forskningsenheder/samf/digitaldemocracycentre/ddcxtrygfonden-fellowship-call-2026

Are you looking for grants, fellowships and funds open on a rolling
basis? We curate a long list of opportunities on our wiki:
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=Fundraising_Opportunities

__________________________________________

### 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
PGP: 2E1D CC33 A362 0BD6 236E  540A F60A 89AD 6FF9 7A2F

You can now submit your news for the Digital Rights weekly directly.
To post your job opportunities, submit your opportunities to our Job Board.

Keep up with the latest news and opportunities on our other platforms:

TCU BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/teamcommunity.bsky.social
TCU LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/teamcommunity
TCU Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/digitalrightscommunity