Digital Rights Weekly | October 13 to 17
Team CommUNITY
team at digitalrights.community
Thu Oct 16 23:06:42 CEST 2025
Hello Digital Rights Defenders!
Here is your weekly update on digital rights around the world for the
week of October 13 to 17. As a reminder, you can submit your news for
the newsletter or signup 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
Events Calendar
Grants, Fellowships, & Awards
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### Team CommUNITY (TCU News) ###
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1. Amid Threats, Global Gathering Seeks to Reseed Digital Rights Ecosystem
Check out this piece by GG participant, Greta Byrun, in Tech Policy
Press. She states that participating in GG conversations reminded her of
Vanessa Machado de Oliveira’s book, Hospicing Modernity - a guide to
easing the collapse of Western modernity to ensure the emergence of a
healthier, cooperative global society in 25-30 years.
https://www.techpolicy.press/amid-threats-global-gathering-seeks-to-reseed-digital-rights-ecosystem/
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### Community News ###
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1. NLnet Accepting Proposals for Zero Commons Fund
The NLnet NGI Zero Commons Fund is currently accepting proposals in its
10ᵗʰ open call for projects aiming to reclaim the public nature of the
internet. The fund is part of the broader Next Generation Internet
initiative and supports the development, maturation, and scaling of
internet commons—that is, digital resources shared openly across
software, hardware, standards, open data, and more. Proposals can
request grants ranging between €5,000 and €50,000. Deadline: December 1
https://nlnet.nl/commonsfund/
Additionally, NLnet’s Fediversity Programme is also accepting proposals
from projects that create user-friendly, privacy-respecting hosted cloud
services with full portability and freedom built in Deadline: December 1
https://nlnet.nl/fediversity/
2. Open Call for Journalists Worldwide: John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship
The John S. Knight (JSK) Journalism Fellowships at Stanford University
provide an opportunity for journalists worldwide to advance their
leadership skills and innovate in the ever-evolving media landscape.
During the nine-month fellowship, participants receive financial
support, gain full access to Stanford’s intellectual and creative
ecosystem, and engage in a program designed specifically to meet the
needs of their class. Deadline: December 3
https://jsk.stanford.edu/become-a-fellow#why-apply
3. Grants for Journalists (Ukraine)
Chemonics is offering an opportunity for independent media outlets in
Ukraine to receive grants aimed at strengthening local information
ecosystems and community resilience. The program supports media content
that strengthens community resilience and cohesion, builds trust through
accurate and practical reporting, combats misinformation through
verification and transparency, incorporates GEDSI and contextual
sensitivity to ensure inclusive representation, and develops sustainable
editorial capacities that continue beyond the grant period. Deadline is
November 3, 2025
https://www2.fundsforngos.org/community-development/rfps-strengthening-local-information-ecosystems-ukraine/
4. Karima Publishes Its Investigation into the Colombian Digital ID
(Cédula Digital)
Read Fundacion Karisma’s investigation and technical analysis of
Colombia's new digital ID app (Cédula Digital), which officials hope
will enable interoperability between government digital services,
interconnection with financial services, and the receipt of official
notifications and documents. Among their many findings, they identified
that Cedula Digital is a local adaptation for Colombia of the generic
application called Mobile ID, developed by the company IDEMIA.
https://web.karisma.org.co/the-identity-of-colombian-digital-id-cedula-digital
5. New Report: How Disinformation Is Reshaping the Reality of
Palestinian Youth amid Genocide
7amleh has released a new position paper titled “A War Without Bullets:
How Disinformation Reshapes the Reality of Palestinian Youth on the
Backdrop of a Genocide?” The paper examines how disinformation has
become one of the central tools of Israel’s war on Gaza—not only to
justify genocide but also to reengineer the collective consciousness of
both Palestinians and the global public, particularly among youth.
https://7amleh.org/post/a-war-without-bullets-en
6. New Horizontal Lab Launched
Horizontal has launched a new lab which will serve as a tech consultancy
for anyone looking for safer and more ethical tech, with a full-service
team behind it. For the past six years, the organization has been
focused on tool development for the human rights community.
https://www.labs.wearehorizontal.org/
7. Next SplinterCon Edition in Paris and Funding Opportunity Open!
The next edition of SplitterCon will take place in Paris on December
8–10, 2025. The event will focus on examining government efforts at
digital sovereignty - some driven by a desire for censorship and
isolation, whilst others for resilience from big tech - while asking
what resilient, interconnected digital societies require today and in
the future.
https://splintercon.net/paris/
Additionally, Equalities has launched a €65,000 competitive funding
round for resilient communication technologies that address connectivity
in networks without access to the global internet. Three to four
projects will be awarded. Deadline to apply is October 31.
https://splintercon.net/breakout
8. October FabRiders Facilitation and Training Skills Course
On October 29 and 30 FabRiders will be hosting the online course "The
Session Design Lab: Strengthen Your Facilitation and Training Skills."
The course will help participants establish a strong foundation in
designing participatory and interactive sessions for both online and
face-to-face formats.
https://www.fabriders.net/session-design-lab/
9. DDI October Events: Support Mechanisms for HRDs and GBV
DDI is hosting two events this month. On October 30th, they will be
hosting Digital Attacks on Human Rights Defenders, and sharing the
results of a recently concluded report mapping the support mechanisms
for HRDs that exist. Register here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_PAbT9mOhS06jeYTi9pixCg#/registration
On November 6, together with Fundo de Mujeres del Sur, they will host
Feminist Perspective on the Fight Against Gender Based Violence,
discussing insights into key challenges and strategies for resistance:
Register here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Gj6-N_OoRCu2bfbV_rDMKQ#/registration
Horizontal Launches New Lab
10 Event: Psychosocial Support & Digital Safety
On November 4, join The Engine Room, Fundación Acceso and Digital
Society of Africa to discuss what psychosocial support looks like in the
face of spyware attacks and digital threats. This event is for people
that provide digital support accompaniments, and want to integrate
psychosocial practices in their work.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/eaCfH8zYRd6vdiGJG4Pwow
11. Thailand Digital Rights Learning Circle: Connecting Local Struggles
to Regional Movement
On October 30, Engage Media will be hosting an online event that will
bring together Thai civil society organizations following the DRAPAC
national meeting in Bangkok this past may. Participants will reconnect
and share how issues such as disinformation, digital labor, and legal
challenges have evolved.
https://engagemedia.org/2025/drapac-series-thailand-digital-rights-learning-circle/
__________________________________________
### NEW Job Opportunities ###
__________________________________________
You can access the following jobs by visiting our job board:
https://www.digitalrights.community/job-board
✎ Technical System Administrator, APC
+ Remote
✎ Associate for Resilient Tech, The Engine Room
+ Remote
✎ Advocacy Director, Glitch
+ Remote
✎ Open Source Community Manager, Chayn
+ Remote
✎ Digital Protection Coordinator- MENA, Front Line Defenders
+ North Africa or Middle East
✎ Communications and Operations Coordinator, ASL19
+ Toronto, Canada
✎ Android Board Support Packages (BSP) Engineer, The Calyx Insitute
+ Remote in the United States
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### Community Resources ###
______________________________________
1. NEW Guide: Digital Care Practices to Exercise Our Sexual and
Reproductive Rights.
Digital Defenders presents its new guide with resources for
understanding, preventing and responding to digital attacks by
anti-rights groups. Available in Spanish.
https://resistir.digitaldefenders.org
2. The Curious, Intertwined History of Climate and Digital Rights Activism
The parallels between climate activism and tech activism are many. In
both cases, the foundational challenge is getting people to care about
the looming catastrophic effects of bad policies. In both cases, those
policies and their effects are highly abstract and technical, and are
downstream of a huge, weird, cross-cutting set of contingencies and
circumstances, which makes it hard for anyone to truly take their
measure. Additionally, both groups have to show people this crisis stems
from systemic dysfunctions, not individual consumption choices.
https://doctorow.medium.com/https-pluralistic-net-2025-10-11-cyber-rights-now-better-late-than-never-79a28945da5b
3. The People Rescuing Forgotten Knowledge Trapped on Old Floppy Disks
The Cambridge University Library project Future Nostalgia is archiving
information forgotten on floppy disks, and reflecting a larger trend in
the information flooding into archives and libraries around the world.
However, legacy data storage devices like floppy disks present serious
complications for archivists.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20251009-rescuing-knowledge-trapped-on-old-floppy-disks
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### Digital Rights in the Wider World ###
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1. First Wap, a Discreet Cyber-Surveillance Firm Tracking Journalists,
Public Figures and Corporate Executives
First Wap, a long-standing player in the surveillance industry has been
selling phone-tracking technology for more than 20 years, including to
authoritarian regimes. Among its targets: a journalist investigating the
Vatican, an Airbus employee, and Hollywood actor Jared Leto
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/pixels/article/2025/10/14/first-wap-a-discreet-cyber-surveillance-firm-tracking-journalists-public-figures-and-corporate-executives_6746433_13.html
2. Brazil Passes Landmark Law to Protect Children Online
Under the new Brazilian law, called the ECA Digital after its Portuguese
initials, technology companies with services likely to be used by
children would be compelled to design products with young users’ best
interests in mind and provide them with the highest levels of privacy
and safety by default. For many, this is considered a milestone for
platform regulation in Latin America.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/09/17/brazil-passes-landmark-law-to-protect-children-online
3. Ukraine: Important Draft Laws and a an Updated Civil Code
Between September 15 and 28, forty bills were registered in Ukraine
which included a new version of the Civil Code that introduced digital
rights and provisions on the ‘right to be forgotten,’ However, some
provisions have drawn sharp criticism from journalists, human rights
advocates, and legal experts.
https://voxukraine.org/en/important-draft-laws-issue-53-updated-civil-code-investment-screening-and-oversight-of-local-authorities-decisions
4. The UK is Considering India’s ID System as a Model
Keir Starmer is considering Aadhaar as a model for the UK, as it looks
to introduce mandatory ID cards for all citizens. Digital rights groups,
activists and humanitarian groups paint a less rosy picture of Aadhaar
and implication for Indian society.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/14/india-id-system-divide-opinion
5. The Discord Hack is Every User’s Worst Nightmare
A catastrophic breach has impacted Discord user data including selfies
and identity documents uploaded as part of the app’s verification
process, email addresses, phone numbers, approximately where the user
lives, and much more. The hack shows the risk of tech companies
collecting users’ identity documents.
https://www.404media.co/the-discord-hack-is-every-users-worst-nightmare/
6. NSO, Maker of Pegasus, Acquired by U.S. Investors
A group of American investors led by Hollywood producer Robert Simonds
has agreed to acquire the controversial spyware developer in a deal
valued at several tens of millions of dollars. John Scott-Railton, a
senior researcher at the Citizen Lab who has helped investigate abuses
of NSO’s spyware for a decade, told TechCrunch he is concerned about the
acquisition.
https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/10/spyware-maker-nso-group-confirms-acquisition-by-us-investors/
7. Texas Woman Was Surveilled for Abortion, Contradicting Police
Narrative that It Was For “Safety”
New documents and court records obtained by EFF show that Texas deputies
queried Flock Safety's surveillance data in an abortion investigation,
contradicting the narrative promoted by the company and the Johnson
County Sheriff that she was “being searched for as a missing person,”
and that “it was about her safety.” Last May, 404 Media obtained data
revealing the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office conducted a nationwide
search of more than 83,000 Flock ALPR cameras, giving the reason in the
search log: “had an abortion, search for female.” Both the Sheriff's
Office and Flock Safety have attempted to downplay the search as akin to
a search for a missing person, claiming deputies were only looking for
the woman to “check on her welfare”
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/10/flock-safety-and-texas-sheriff-claimed-license-plate-search-was-missing-person-it
______________________________________
### 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/
4D European Conference, Democratic Digitalisation and Digital Rights
October 28th, 2025
Barcelona
https://4d.cat/en/conference/
Reproducible Builds Summit
October 28-30
Vienna, Austria
https://reproducible-builds.org/events/vienna2025/
Bread&Net
SMEX
October 29 - 31
Beirut, Lebanon
https://breadandnet.org/
Dash Chat: Secure Chat with or Without Internet
October 29
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdmESNJukuw32YO3TaitAvCx8aH6Sx2Yjy_Lqg0NoEPvFPSFA/viewform?usp=dialog
The Session Design Lab: Strengthen Your Facilitation and Training Skills
October 29 to 30
https://www.fabriders.net/session-design-lab/
Digital Attacks on Human Rights Defenders
October 30
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_PAbT9mOhS06jeYTi9pixCg#/registration
Thailand Digital Rights Learning Circle: Connecting Local Struggles to
Regional Movement
October 30
https://engagemedia.org/2025/drapac-series-thailand-digital-rights-learning-circle/
Psychosocial Support & Digital Safety
November 4
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/eaCfH8zYRd6vdiGJG4Pwow
Feminist Perspective on the Fight Against Gender Based Violence,
On November 6
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Gj6-N_OoRCu2bfbV_rDMKQ#/registration
Mozilla Festival 2025
November 7 - 9, 2025
In Barcelona, Spain
https://www.mozillafestival.org/en/
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 ###
__________________________________________
UN Women
Deadline October 15, 2025
https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/act
Civic Innovation Fund
Deadline October 20
https://app.guestoo.de/public/event/fd6abb4e-3e9e-4eb5-87ac-3a1319151dfe?lang=EN
Breakout Fund
Deadline: October 31
https://splintercon.net/breakout
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
WSA Young Innovators Award 2025
Deadline: October 31, 2025
https://wsa-global.org/wsa_categories/wsa-young-innovators/
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: 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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Team CommUNITY at ARTICLE 19
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