Digital Rights Weekly | February 9 to 13
Team CommUNITY
team at digitalrights.community
Thu Feb 12 19:20:57 CET 2026
Hello Digital Rights Defenders!
Here is your weekly update on digital rights around the world for the
week of February 9 to 13. As a reminder, you can submit your news for
the newsletter here:
https://www.digitalrights.community/weekly-newsletter
___________________
What is in this issue:
TCU
Community News
NEW Job Opportunities
Community Resources
Digital Rights in the Wider World
Events Calendar
Grants, Fellowships, & Awards
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### TCU ###
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1. Themes for Global Gathering Announced
Join us on September 4 to 6 to connect with defenders from around the
world working at the intersection of rights and tech. The 2026 Global
Gathering themes include:
- Ecosystem Security, Sustainability, and Health
- Surveillance and Censorship
- Alternative Infrastructure and Digital Sovereignty
- Emerging and Urgent Tech Challenges: Disinformation, AI, Platform
Accountability, Internet Shutdowns, Etc.
- CIvil Society Reflections on Tech Regulation
To see these themes in detail, please visit the following site.
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=2026_Global_Gathering_Programming
We encourage you to apply soon, so we can can vet your application in a
timely manner and ensure the security and safety of the event.
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=Global_Gathering_2026
Please note that Equity Fund applications for the Global Gathering are
being processed on a rolling basis. If you encounter any issues, feel
free to reach out to us at gather at digitalrights.community.
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=Global_Gathering_2026
2. February 19 : Communicating Securely With Your Network: Secure
Communications Apps, Protocols, and Best Tips
During our next Digital Rights Social, we will be discussing secure
communications apps, and best tips to communicate securely with your
network. While the conversation will remain organic, and also include
space to connect with other participants, we will be inviting experts to
join the conversation as well!
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=February_19,_2026_Digital_Rights_Social
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### Community News ###
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1. Open Call for Proposals and Partners: Countering Mis and
Disinformation in Zambian Elections
The Digital Democracy Initiative (DDI) team is seeking civil society
organisation(s) in Zambia to lead the implementation of pre-, during and
limited post-election related interventions, which will last between
three to six months. Organization(s) selected will focus on broad topics
of countering mis- and disinformation around elections. This includes
using digital tools and approaches to supporting electoral integrity and
monitoring, advocacy, and mobilizing improved civic participation and
engagement in the electoral process, especially for women, girls,
youths, and other marginalized groups. Deadline is February 27, 2026
http://web.civicus.org/DDI-Zambia
2. Digital Spark Call: Eastern Europe and Central Asia Digital Democracy
The Digital Spark Call is a small-grants opportunity supporting civil
society actors advancing digital democracy across Eastern Europe and
Central Asia. Up to USD 4,500 is available for grassroots organizations,
informal groups, and individual activists working to strengthen
inclusive, resilient civic space through digital tools, advocacy, and
innovation. It is being implemented by the Metamorphosis Foundation and
TechSoup’s Digital Activism Program team, in partnership with Civicus.
Deadline is February 23, 2026
https://metamorphosis.org.mk/en/aktivnosti_arhiva/call-for-grants-digital-spark/
3. Nigeria’s Digital Rights Litigation Surgery Program: Open Application
Applications are now open for the 2026 Digital Rights Litigation Surgery
(DRLS) program, a professional development and capacity-building
programme designed to strengthen legal responses to digital rights
violations in Nigeria. The practice-oriented programme equips lawyers
with the legal, strategic, and advocacy skills required to advance
digital rights litigation, civic space protection, freedom of
expression, data protection, and technology-related human rights.
Deadline: February 25, 2026
https://digicivic.org/call-for-applications-to-the-digital-rights-litigation-surgery-drls/
4. World Press Freedom Day in May in Zambia
The UNESCO World Press Freedom Day 2026 Global Conference will be held
on May 4–5, 2026, in Lusaka, Zambia. Co-hosted with the Government of
Zambia, the event, themed “Shaping a Future at Peace,” will focus on
freedom of expression, digital rights, and the impact of technology on
journalism.
https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/world-press-freedom-day-2026-global-conference-shaping-future-peace
5. April 10 to 12 | Cables of Resistance Event
The Cables of Resistance event, taking place in Berlin on April 10 to
12, will bring together diverse individuals practicing forms of
resistance against big tech. The goal of the event is to deepen
understanding of the problem, exchange ideas about necessary forms of
action, and develop strategies to advance resistance. Sessions will be
hosted in English or German, with select simultaneous interpretation for
larger sessions.
https://cableresist.de/
6. Rights Groups Are Pressuring Switzerland to Drop a Privacy-Invading Law
Nineteen human rights and digital rights organizations have called upon
Switzerland to abandon its controversial proposed legislation that would
require services such as VPNs, social media apps, and messaging apps to
retain customer usage data.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/open-letter-switzerland-data-retention-law/
7. Nepal Government Needs to Check Misinformation/Disinformation Aimed
at Influencing Election
Twenty non-governmental organisations, including Digital Rights Nepal
have issued a press release calling on the Election Commission and other
stakeholders to prevent disinformation and misinformation aimed at
influencing the House of Representatives elections scheduled for March 5.
https://thehimalayantimes.com/ampArticle/1036598
8. Civil Society Pushes for Rights-Based Digital Future in ASEAN
Civil society organizations are strengthening collaboration to promote
and defend digital rights across the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN). A briefing paper titled “Rights at the Core – Towards a
Rights-Respecting Digital Ecosystem in ASEAN” was launched at an event
organized by Access Now, EngageMedia, FORUM-ASIA, Oxfam, and the
Wikimedia Foundation, outlining movement-driven recommendations
addressing challenges in the digital economy, cybersecurity, and
artificial intelligence (AI).
https://tribune.net.ph/2026/02/06/civil-society-groups-urge-rights-based-digital-policies-across-asean
9. Join Digital Independence Day Every Month!
Digital Independence Day, or DI.DAY (in Deutsche) for short, is a
monthly movement that encourages people to ditch Big Tech services and
switch to privacy-respecting alternatives. The initiative was launched
at the 39th Chaos Communication Congress (39C3) by Save Social and the
Chaos Computer Club late last year. What makes DI.DAY different from
other digital rights campaigns is its recurring nature. Instead of being
a one-off event, it happens every first Sunday of the month.
https://itsfoss.com/news/di-day-celebration/
_________________________________________
### NEW Job Opportunities ###
__________________________________________
These are new jobs we have received in the past week. You can access
these and other jobs by visiting our job board:
https://www.digitalrights.community/job-board
+Senior Consultant on Digital Rights and Civic Space Advocacy, Civicus
- Remote
+Research and Communications Officer, Civicus
- Remote
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### Community Resources ###
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1. Estonia is Home to the World’s First Major Cyber-Attack on Civil
Society. Now, Its Leading in Cyber Defense
In April 2007, Estonia woke up to one of the world’s first major
cyber-attacks on civil society carried out by a state. A series of
massive “distributed denial of service” assaults – floods of fake
traffic from networked computers – targeted government websites, banks,
media outlets and online services for weeks, slowing or shutting them
down. Estonia has since transformed itself, in part through voluntary
initiatives such as the Cyber Defence Unit (a network of private-sector
IT experts), into a leader in this field.
https://youtu.be/oB_Gcc9tzPo?si=2NiL1F6SK-75VGnq
https://theconversation.com/which-countries-are-best-placed-to-see-off-state-supported-cyber-attacks-a-government-advisor-explains-275447
2. Six Steps to Protect Researchers’ Digital Security
The Free to Think 2025 report by the Scholars at Risk network described
a “global crisis for academic freedom”, documenting 395 attacks on
scholars and academic institutions in 49 countries between 1 July 2024
and 30 June 2025. Here are six steps to stay safe.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00086-x
3. Closing the Cyber Equity Gap: How Collective Investment Can Secure
the Internet for Everyone
Nonprofits operate across borders, provide shared defence tools and
build trust among stakeholders that might otherwise remain siloed.
Expecting them to perform these functions without systemic support is
shortsighted and dangerous. Those most at risk lie below what experts
call the “security poverty line.” Survey data from the World Economic
Forum’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026 shows that cyber capacity
remains deeply uneven across regions, sectors and organization sizes,
creating systemic risk that extends beyond individual entities.
https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/02/closing-the-cyber-equity-gap-how-collective-investment-can-secure-the-internet-for-everyone/
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### Digital Rights in the Wider World ###
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1. Chinese Technology Underpins Iran’s Internet Control, Report Finds
Iran’s architecture of internet control is built on technologies from
China, according to an analysis published by Article19. The technologies
include facial recognition tools used on Uyghurs in western China and a
Chinese alternative to the US-based GPS system, BeiDou.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/09/china-iran-technology-internet-control
“For some reason, they did not go through their own playbook that has
been refined for many years, and they did not execute the shutdown in a
way where the NIN domestic network would continue to operate. They
basically crippled everything. We don’t know why it was done this way,
but from our vantage point looking at the graphs and the connectivity
readings, it looked like there was a panic.”
https://www.wired.com/story/irans-digital-surveillance-machine-is-almost-complete/
2. One Month After Jan. 3, Censorship in Venezuela Shows No Sign of Easing
One month after Jan. 3, Venezuela’s information space shows no signs of
recovery. What has unfolded since then is a sequence of events that
confirms the persistence of an environment hostile to the practice of
journalism, marked by direct controls, administrative sanctions, public
warnings and the repeated use of state force as a mechanism to deter the
flow of information.
https://latamjournalismreview.org/news/one-month-after-jan-3-censorship-in-venezuela-shows-no-sign-of-easing/
3. Pro-Russian Hackers Target Olympics Infrastructure, Italian Prime
Minister
Pro-Russian hackers escalated political pressure on Italy by targeting
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani online, while claiming responsibility
for cyberattacks linked to Italian diplomatic and Olympic-related
infrastructure. This includes websites connected to the Olympic
committees of Spain, Lithuania, and Poland, and the Milan Malpensa
International Airport.
https://decode39.com/13438/russian-hackers-target-tajani-as-italys-foreign-ministry-strengthens-its-cybersecurity-core/
4. EU Rejects 'Nonsense' Censorship Charge from Trump Allies
In response to a scathing US congressional report that accused the
European Commission of trying to 'censor the global internet,' EU
digital affairs spokesman Thomas Regnier issued a strong rebuke: 'Pure
nonsense.'
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2026/02/03/eu-rejects-nonsense-censorship-charge-from-trump-allies_6750111_4.html
5. How a Casual Online Booking Can Link you to Repression in the Uyghur
Region
Third-party booking platforms are actively earning revenue from tourism
and business travel to the Uyghur homeland, a region under international
scrutiny as the site of atrocity crimes. To meet commitments to respect
human rights and avoid direct connection to abuses, platforms like
Booking.com and Expedia should immediately remove all hotel listings
located in the Uyghur Region. At the same time, governments should
investigate whether third-party booking platforms are at risk of
violating sanctions by listing hotels located on XPCC territory.
https://www.openglobalrights.org/how-a-casual-online-booking-can-link-you-to-repression-in-the-uyghur-region/
6. Inside the AI Surveillance State
Check out this segment with a senior investigative researcher at EFF,
Co-founder of 404 Media, and an immigration lawyer, as they discuss how
AI is making it easier for companies to gather, store and share
information about citizens faster than ever.
https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2026/02/03/inside-the-ai-surveillance-state
7. UN in ‘Survival Mode’
The UN human rights chief said his agency was “in survival mode” due to
funding shortfalls, as he launched a $400 million appeal to tackle
global rights crises in 2026. Volker Turk warned countries that at a
time when global human rights are under significant assault, his office
was facing dire funding shortages hampering its increasingly important
and life-saving work.
https://www.digitaljournal.com/world/un-human-rights-agency-in-survival-mode-chief/article
8. Cyber Security Trends Charities Should Watch Out for in 2026
The nonprofit sector ranks as the second most targeted industry for
cyber attacks. Among common issues, like phishing, in 2026 charities are
now also facing AI cyber security threats. This includes AI data
poisoning – where the training data of an organization’s AI model is
subtly altered to either change the AI’s behavior, reduce accuracy or
create backdrops. There has also been an increase of adversaries
inputting malicious data into an AI system to deceive it and cause
incorrect or unintended behavior.
https://charitydigital.org.uk/topics/cyber-security-trends-to-watch-out-for-in-2026-12492
_____________________________________
### 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
Additionally, we maintain a calendar of events in our wiki:
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=Calendar_of_Events
Communicating Securely With Your Network: Secure Communications Apps,
Protocols, and Best Tips
Digital Rights Social
February 19, 2026 @ 14 UTC
TCU's Mattermost
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=Community_Updates
Building Autonomous Infrastructure
Digital Rights Social
March 19, 2026 @ 14 UTC
TCU's Mattermost
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=Community_Update
Palestine Digital Activism Forum (PDAF) 2026
March 30 to 31, 2026
https://pdaf.net/about-theme
Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum
April 14-16
Abidjan, Ivory Coast
https://sessionize.com/digital-rights-and-inclusion-forum26/
Cables of Resistance Event
April 10 to 12
https://cableresist.de/
International Journalism Festival (IJF)
April 15 to 18, 2026
Perugia, Italy
https://www.journalismfestival.com/
Spyware Protection and Transnational Repression
Digital Rights Social
April 16, 2026 @ 14 UTC
TCU's Mattermost
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=Community_Updates
Cables of Resistance Event
April 10 to 12
Berlin
https://cableresist.de/
UNESCO World Press Freedom Day 2026 Global Conference
May 4–5, 2026
Lusaka, Zambia
https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/world-press-freedom-day-2026-global-conference-shaping-future-peace
RightsCon 2026
May 5-8
Lusaka, Zambia
https://www.rightscon.org/
Digital Rights Social / Focus: Regional Updates
May 21, 2026 @ 14 UTC
TCU's Mattermost
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=Community_Updates
Digital Rights Asia-Pacific Assembly (DRAPAC)
June 8 to 10
Manila, Philippines
https://engagemedia.org/2025/drapac26-manila/
Global Media Forum
June 23 and 24, 2026
Bonn Germany
https://corporate.dw.com/en/gmf-2026-your-ideas-deserve-the-spotlight/a-75222151
All Things in Moderation 2026: Call for Contributions
June 25 to 26
Online and on demand
https://www.allthingsinmoderation.org/call-for-contributions
Free and Open Communications on the Internet (FOCI)
July 20, 2026
Hybrid, co-located with PETS in Calgary, Canada
https://foci.community/
Global Gathering
September 4 to 6, 2026
Portugal
https://www.digitalrights.community/blog/applications/global-gathering-2026-applications-open
Digital Commons:Infrastructures, Design, and the Ethics of Autonomy
October 8 to 10
Athens, Greece
www.digicommons.org
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### Grants, Fellowships, & Awards ###
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Digital Freedom Fund
Deadline: February 17
https://digitalfreedomfund.org/grants/
- Carr-Ryan Center Fellowship
- Global LGBTQI+ Human Rights Fellowship
- Racial Justice Fellowship
- Technology and Human Rights Fellowship.
Deadline: February 22, 2026
https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/carr-ryan/opportunities/fellowship-opportunities/technology-and-human-rights-fellowship
Digital Spark Call: Eastern Europe and Central Asia Digital Democracy
Deadline is February 23, 2026
https://metamorphosis.org.mk/en/aktivnosti_arhiva/call-for-grants-digital-spark/
Nigeria’s Digital Rights Litigation Surgery Program
February 25, 2026
https://digicivic.org/call-for-applications-to-the-digital-rights-litigation-surgery-drls/
Countering Mis and Disinformation in Zambian Elections
Deadline: February 27, 2026
http://web.civicus.org/DDI-Zambia
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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