Digital Rights Weekly | November 10 to 14

Mon Nov 17 15:34:08 CET 2025

Hello Digital Rights Defenders!

Here is your weekly update on digital rights around the world for the 
week of November 10 to 14. As a reminder, you can submit your news for 
the newsletter here:
https://www.digitalrights.community/weekly-newsletter

What is in this issue:

Community News
NEW Job Opportunities
Community Resources
Digital Rights in the Wider World
Events Calendar
Grants, Fellowships, & Awards
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### Community News ###
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1. Open Call for Berkman Fellowship

The Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society is accepting fellowship 
applications for the 2026 and the 2-26-2027 academic year. The center 
welcomes an interdisciplinary and diverse community of academics and 
practitioners working on the challenges and opportunities for 
cyberspace. The deadline is December 5.

https://cyber.harvard.edu/getinvolved/fellowships

2. Activists to Sue Thai Government Over Pegasus Spyware Use

Activists in Thailand are suing the government for using the spyware 
Pegasus to hack into the mobile phones of at least 30 activists and 
lawyers from 2020 to 2021. The lawsuit is being prepared by the legal 
non-profit iLaw, with the hope that it will help raise awareness and 
better protect citizens who are subject to increasing surveillance.

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/thai-activists-to-sue-government-over-pegasus-spyware-use

3. Mental Health Workshop Series Taboo Talks: Caring for Those Who Care

Human rights defenders and trauma-informed mental health professionals, 
Thaise Bagdeve and Nadia Sacoor, are hosting a mental health workshop 
series for caretakers including community organizers, activists, 
frontline workers, and other types of caregivers. The series “Caring for 
Those Who Care: Pause the Autopilot “ will consist of three sessions -, 
lasting two hours and 15 minutes each, and will be held in  English - 
and will be held on January 8, 15 and 22. Scholarships are available. 
Register by November 26.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeNEPM242m3lsaPfpKxDbm9hunE72pJ1ZSoDbO7q_ApIDXDrg/viewform

4. Early Bird Registration Open for Rightscon

Rightscon early bird registration is now open! The 2026 event will take 
place in Lusaka, Zambia from May 5 to 8th. RightsCon convenes business 
leaders, policymakers, general counsels, government representatives, 
technologists, academics, journalists, and human rights advocates to 
tackle pressing issues at the intersection of human rights and technology.

https://www.rightscon.org/registration/

5. Nicaragua: Digital Security Keys to Face Telcor’s New Gag Law

On November 6, a new telecommunications law took effect in Nicaragua, 
endangering citizens’ privacy by granting the government sweeping 
authority to monitor phone and internet communications in real 
time—without consent or judicial oversight. Digital rights defender Alex 
Zamora offers insights into the current situation and discusses her 
newly published study analyzing the law.

https://confidencial.digital/en/nation/digital-security-keys-to-face-telcors-new-gag-law/

6.  EFF: License Plate Surveillance Logs Reveal Racist Policing Against 
Romani in the US

According to audit logs obtained and analyzed by the Electronic Frontier 
Foundation, more than 80 law enforcement agencies across the United 
States have used language perpetuating harmful stereotypes against 
Romani people when searching the nationwide Flock Safety automated 
license plate reader (ALPR) network.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/11/license-plate-surveillance-logs-reveal-racist-policing-against-romani-people

7. Surveillance Watch: Watching the Watchers

Digital rights activist Esra'a Al Shafei found FinFisher spyware on her 
device more than a decade ago. Now she's made it her mission to surveil 
the companies providing surveillanceware, their customers, and their 
funders. Last year she started Surveillance Watch - an interactive map 
that documents the growing number of surveillance software providers

https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/08/mozilla_fellow_al_shafei/

8. Ser Valiente en Red Presenta Guía para Educación Sexual Integral Digital

La organización Peruviana SVRED ha presentado la Guía de Educación 
Sexual Integral Digital - una herramienta práctica y accesible que busca 
fortalecer la protección de adolescentes frente a las violencias que 
ocurren en internet, como el grooming, ciberbullying, sextorsión y 
doxing. La guía ofrece estrategias pedagógicas para incorporar la 
Educación Sexual Integral (ESI) tanto en espacios educativos 
presenciales como virtuales.  Además, incluye rutas de ayuda y denuncia, 
y herramientas para prevenir y responder ante casos de violencia digital 
en las comunidades educativas. Estará disponible desde el 19 de noviembre

https://servalienteenred.org/

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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 Digital and Information Security Specialist, Kamara
+ Remote

✎ Deputy Project Director, IREX
+  Global - Headquarters in Washington D.C.

✎ Deputy Director of Campaigns, Emily’s List
+ Washington D.C.

✎ Digital Fundraising Coordinator, Emily’s List
+ Washington D.C.
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### Community Resources  ###
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1. The Tech Company Bringing Surveillance Dystopia to Your Town
A recent case in Texas US, illustrates how Flock, and other similar 
surveillance technology, is expanding the capacity to meld personal 
obsessions and the state’s interest at a systematic level.

https://newrepublic.com/article/202565/flock-safety-police-surveillance-dystopia

2. The Protest Will Not Be Televised—It will be Decentralised

Modern protests are often invisible to mainstream media and operate 
through mesh, encrypted networks that governments find difficult to 
control or shut down.  Around the world, activists are creating 
communication networks that can survive government censorship and 
shutdowns. When authorities cut off the internet, the outcome 
increasingly depends on who controls these networks—and today, 
governments are no longer the only actors in control.

https://www.newsweek.com/the-protest-will-not-be-televised-it-will-be-decentralised-10895070

3. Why A Lot of People Are Getting Hacked with Government Spyware

For more than a decade, makers of government spyware have defended 
themselves from criticism by saying that their surveillance technology 
is intended to be used only against serious criminals and terrorists, 
and only in limited cases. However, evidence from hundreds of documented 
cases worldwide proves otherwise. Journalists, human rights defenders, 
and political figures have repeatedly been targeted, both in repressive 
regimes and in democratic states.

https://techcrunch.com/2025/11/10/why-a-lot-of-people-are-getting-hacked-with-government-spyware/

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### Digital Rights in the Wider World  ###
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1. Former US Ambassador to Israel Has Been Named NSO Group Executive 
Chairman

David Friedman is the new Group Executive Chairman to NSO - the company 
behind the spyware Pegasus, which was recently acquired by new owners. 
Friedman

, who was ambassador to Israel in Trump’s first administration, has been 
appointed to the role of executive chairman of NSO Group, which is now 
reportedly owned by a group of outside investors led by Hollywood 
producer Robert Simonds.

https://therecord.media/former-trump-official-named-nso-group-chairman

2. Russia Imposes First Permanent Mobile Internet Blackout

Mobile internet access has been permanently restricted in the Ulyanovsk 
region, or until the end of Russia’s “special military operation.” 
Restrictions apply not only in the city of Ulyanovsk but across Russia 
in areas located near special-purpose facilities. This mark’s Russia’s 
first permanent Internet blackout.

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/11/11/8006829/

3. Russia to Empower Roskomnadzor to Block Websites and Isolate Internet 
from March 2026

The Russian government has adopted a decision that, starting March 1, 
2026, authorizes Roskomnadzor to block any websites and disconnect the 
Russian segment of the Internet from the global network, including in 
cases of disseminating prohibited content - without a court decision.

https://mezha.net/eng/bukvy/russia-to-empower-roskomnadzor-to-block-websites-and-isolate-internet-from-march-2026/amp/

4. Newly Identified Android Spyware Appears to Be from a Commercial Vendor

Security researchers have discovered “commercial grade” spyware used in 
a 9-month-long hacking campaign aimed at Samsung Galaxy phones likely 
concentrated in the Middle East. The Android spyware, dubbed LANDFALL, 
exploited a zero-day, or previously undocumented, vulnerability in 
Galaxy phones’ image processing libraries. The spyware was likely sent 
via the WhatsApp messaging platform to exfiltrate data and snoop on 
targets.

https://therecord.media/landfall-spyware-middle-east-appears-commercial-grade

Meanwhile, Apple and WhatsApp say they will keep warning users if their 
phones are targeted by governments using hacking software against them

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/nov/10/apple-whatsapp-spyware-paragon

5. Ortega and Murillo Intensify Internet Censorship in Nicaragua

Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo have extended the censorship imposed 
by their co-presidential regime to the internet. This effectively closes 
off the last remaining bastion of freedom of expression and of the press 
in Nicaragua for dissenting voices. With the enactment of the new 
General Law of Convergent Telecommunications, the two-headed 
administration is not only imposing a technical change in how networks, 
antennas, and the internet are organized in the Central American 
country, but is also consolidating a system of total censorship in the 
last remaining space for expressing dissent.

https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-11-11/ortega-and-murillo-intensify-internet-censorship-the-last-bastion-of-freedom-of-expression-in-nicaragua.html

6. In Niger, 3 Journalists Jailed on Cybercrime Charges for Allegedly 
Sharing an Invitation

Three journalists were initially arrested on October 30 and are accused 
of sending an invitation to a government news conference to an exile who 
worked for ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.

https://cpj.org/2025/11/in-niger-3-journalists-jailed-on-cybercrime-charges-for-allegedly-sharing-an-invitation

7. EU Plans A Hub to Tackle Disinformation Threat from Russia and Others

The EU executive plans to create a Centre for Democratic Resilience to 
counter disinformation from Russia and other authoritarian regimes, 
according to a leaked paper. The centre will together expertise across 
the EU and from countries seeking to join the bloc to fight foreign 
information manipulation and interference.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/07/eu-plans-centre-for-democratic-resilience-to-fight-online-disinformation

8. Controversial Foreign Media Bill Clear First Reading in Israel’s 
Parliament

Israeli lawmakers have approved the first reading of a bill that would 
allow the Israeli government to shut down foreign media outlets without 
a court order. Reporters Without Borders has called the bill ““a nail in 
the coffin of editorial independence.” The bill is sponsored by the 
Communications Minister but is opposed by the Attorney General and the 
Union of Journalists in Israel.

https://rsf.org/en/first-reading-israels-audiovisual-media-bill-nail-coffin-editorial-independence

9. Chinese Censors Order Gay Dating Apps Be Pulled from Stores, Apple Says

The full versions of apps Blued and Finka, which share a Hong Kong-based 
owner, have disappeared from the Apple and Android stores. Apple 
spokesperson has shared that it was based on an order from China’s 
Cyberspace Administration.

https://hongkongfp.com/2025/11/11/chinese-censors-order-gay-dating-apps-be-pulled-from-stores-apple-says/

10. Disinformation Rife Ahead of Climate Summit in Brazil

This year's pivotal UN climate summit in Brazil faces a tidal wave of 
fake news and disinformation that aims to deflate any unified front on a 
rapid energy transition away from fossil fuels. Between July and 
September there has been a 267% surge, or more than 14,000 examples, of 
COP-related disinformation, according to a report published by the 
Coalition Against Climate Disinformation (CAAD), a global climate 
watchdog, and the Observatory for Information Integrity (OII), a 
research organization focusing on the environment and democracy.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/push-counter-disinformation-cop30-climate-113500300.html

11. European Commission Moves to Loosen GDPR for AI and Cookie Tracking

The European Commission is preparing sweeping revisions to the General 
Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that could redefine how enterprises 
handle personal data — from cookie tracking to AI model training — in 
what privacy advocates warn could weaken the EU’s privacy framework.

https://www.computerworld.com/article/4087347/european-commission-moves-to-loosen-gdpr-for-ai-and-cookie-tracking.html

12. The UK is Implementing New Cyber Laws to Protect Key Services

The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill is meant to modernise UKs cyber 
laws and close vulnerabilities across public services and critical 
industries - hospitals, power networks, and water companies will be 
required to meet stricter cybersecurity standards.

https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/the-uk-is-implementing-new-cyber-laws-to-protect-key-services/201182

13. Denmark’s Government Aims to Ban Access to Social Media for Children 
Under 15

Denmark’s government announced an agreement to ban access to social 
media for anyone under 15, ratcheting up pressure on Big Tech platforms 
as concerns grow that kids are getting too swept up in a digitized world 
of harmful content and commercial interests.

https://apnews.com/article/denmark-social-media-ban-children-7862d2a8cc590b4969c8931a01adc7f4

14. Australian Spy Chief says Chinese Hackers Probing Telecoms, Key 
Facilities

Australia's spy chief said on Wednesday hackers working for China's 
government and military had probed the country's telecoms network and 
key infrastructure, warning against the risk of economic disruption from 
sabotage.

https://www.reuters.com/world/china/australia-spy-chief-says-chinese-hackers-probing-telecommunications-critical-2025-11-12

15. Meta and X Questioned by US Lawmakers Over Lack of Rules Against 
AI-Generated Political Deepfakes

Two Democratic members of the US Congress have sent a letter  to Meta 
CEO Mark Zuckerberg and X CEO Linda Yaccarino expressing “serious 
concerns” about the emergence of AI-generated political ads on their 
platforms and asking each to explain any rules they’re crafting to curb 
the harms to free and fair elections.

https://apnews.com/article/election-deepfakes-ai-x-twitter-facebook-meta-instagram-d52e8703a9e47936061bf2c8bbc94bb5

_____________________________________

### Events Calendar ###
______________________________________

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/

European Young Innovators Festival
November 26 to 28
https://wsa-global.org/events/european-young-innovators-festival/

SplinterCon 2025
December 8–10, 2025
Paris, France
https://splintercon.net/paris/

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

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### Grants, Fellowships, & Awards ###
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CIPESA Africa Digital Rights Funding
Deadline: November 17
https://cipesa.org/2025/10/applications-are-open-for-a-new-round-of-africa-digital-rights-funding

Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation
November 18th, 2025.
https://grants.mfa.no/#call/4421/main

ACLS Digital Justice Grants
November 20, 2025
https://www.acls.org/programs/acls-digital-justice-grants

NLnet Zero Commons Fund
Deadline: December 1
https://nlnet.nl/commonsfund/

NLnet Fediversity Programme
Deadline: December 1
https://nlnet.nl/fediversity/

John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship
Deadline: December 3
https://jsk.stanford.edu/become-a-fellow#why-apply

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

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

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

__________________________________________

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