Digital Rights Weekly | July 13 to July 17
Team CommUNITY
team at digitalrights.community
Mon Jul 20 14:49:57 CEST 2026
Hello Digital Rights Defenders!
Here is your weekly update on digital rights around the world for the
week of July 13 to July 17 As a reminder, you can submit your news for
the newsletter here:
https://www.digitalrights.community/weekly-newsletter
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What is in this issue:
TCU
Community News
NEW Job Opportunities
Digital Rights in the Wider World
Community Resources
Events Calendar
Grants, Fellowships, & Awards
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### TCU ###
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Please note that the Digital Rights Newsletter and Digital Rights
Socials will be on pause starting the week of August 3. The newsletter
will resume the week of September 15, and the Socials will resume in
October.
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### Community News ###
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1. HakiFedh: A Multilingual Privacy Knowledge Hub and Peer Mentorship
Network for Civil Society Across Africa
This new resource for civil society in Africa is based on the belief
that access to sound, censorship-resistant money is inseparable from
digital rights and civil liberties more broadly. In Africa, civil
society groups face financial censorship alongside surveillance and
digital repression: bank accounts frozen for supporting protests,
international donor funds blocked, and organisations denied formal
banking access altogether because their work or identity is
criminalised. The new resource is focused on equipping at-risk
communities with the practical knowledge to route around that control,
providing non-technical, step-by-step guides on Bitcoin self-custody,
encrypted communications, and operational security, written specifically
for African civil society contexts, along with free organisational
toolkits covering financial governance and crisis preparedness. The
resources is still at an early-stage, but growing.
https://hakifedha.org/
2. Call for Applications – Digital Rights Exchange Program
The Digital Rights Exchange Program is a CADE initiative designed to
address digital rights and digital governance challenges through a
focused, resourced, and practical Global North–Global South exchange
model. The program supports pairs of organisations to learn from each
other’s context and strategies, and jointly address a shared challenge
through joint policy-advocacy work. They currently have a call for
applications. The deadline is August 2.
https://www.forus-international.org/en/pdf/final-call-for-applications-cade-digital-rights-exchange-programme
3. RightsCon Continues | September 22
RightsCon Continues is a series of initiatives that will take place
throughout the remainder of 2026. It will include a 24 hour global
online event on Rightscon’s Summit Platform that will include activities
such as dialogues, workshops, and roundtables. The RightsCon team is
currently reviewing the original schedule to curate a compact program.
However, not all 2026 sessions will be able to transition to the online
event. In addition, the RightsCon team plans to participate in t partner
events, including the Global Gathering.
https://www.rightscon.org/rc26-continues/
4. Webinar: Africa’s Position in Global AI Governance Debates | July 30
Digital Action will host a webinar on July 30th 2pm CAT on Africa’s
position in Global AI Governance. The webinar will bring together
practitioners, researchers, and civil society advocates to examine how
African voices are engaging, contesting, and seeking to reshape the
global AI governance landscape. It will also explore key global AI
governance debates and Africa's positions within them, with a focus on
three thematic areas: digital sovereignty and governance; inclusion and
safety; and balancing development imperatives with governance
principles. Registration is required.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/KY573AjpR1SNnyNx4-sdGg
5. Webinar | Brobots vs. The People: Tech Money in Politics | July 30th
and Several Dates After
This six part webinar series by Media Justice will explore how Big Tech,
AI, and political influence are converging ahead of the US midterms.
This webinar serves as a political education series, and will explore
how BroBots are spiraling towards Big Tech’s dystopian future.
Registration is required. Dates are Jul 30, Aug 20, Sep 10,Oct 1, Oct
22, and Nov 12.
https://mediajustice.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_EELeLqLfQ2apKEzHi8dwgA#/registration
6. Digital Security Lab Ukraine Investigation into Phishing Campaign
Targeting Civil Network OPORA
Check out a recent investigation into a July phishing campaign targeting
Ukrainian think tank Civil Network OPORA. The attackers impersonated a
Ukrainian media outlet and used a fake Google Drive page and malicious
OAuth application to gain access to Gmail accounts without stealing
passwords. The report explains how the campaign worked, its possible
links to similar attacks against Armenian civil society, and steps
organizations can take to protect their accounts.
https://dslua.org/publications/phishing-campaign-against-civil-network-opora-gmail-account-takeover-via-oauth/
7. Kenya: Cybercrimes Act Ruling Paves Way for Stronger Digital Rights
ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa welcomed the Kenya High Court’s ruling that
Section 6(1)(ja) and Section 27(1)(b) of the Computer Misuse and
Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act 2025 are unconstitutional. The judgment
reaffirms an important principle: that restrictions on expression must
be clear, narrowly defined, and subject to judicial – not administrative
– oversight. While this is a welcome development for digital rights in
Kenya, the ruling is partial, and other provisions of the Act remain in
force. They encourage the public, civil society, human rights advocates,
lawmakers, legal experts, and all stakeholders to continue engagement
with parliament and relevant institutions to ensure the law is fully
aligned with constitutional and international human rights standards.
https://www.article19.org/resources/kenya-cybercrimes-act-ruling-paves-way-for-stronger-digital-rights/
8. EFF and ARTICLE 19 Submission to the European Commission on the DSA
Trusted Flagger Guidelines
EFF and ARTICLE 19 have submitted joint comments to the European
Commission on draft guidelines for the Digital Services Act’s trusted
flagger mechanism. Having long advocated for a DSA that protects freedom
of expression while preserving intermediary liability protections and
the prohibition on general monitoring, they welcomed the Commission's
effort to provide practical guidance on how the trusted flagger system
should operate.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/07/eff-and-article-19-submission-european-commission-dsa-trusted-flagger-guidelines
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### NEW Job Opportunities ###
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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
+ CyberSecurity Technologist, SMEX
- Beirut
+ Director, Open State Foundation
- Amsterdam
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### Digital Rights in the Wider World ###
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1. Moroccan Intelligence Insider Reveals Widespread Use of Pegasus
Hacking Software
A former member of Morocco’s domestic intelligence service, Direction
Générale de la Surveillance du Territoire (DGST), has helped to provide
an unprecedented insight into how Morocco has used hacking software
since 2017 – including Pegasus spyware – to target journalists, human
rights defenders, French politicians and Spanish cabinet ministers and
police officers. Testimony from the source, forms the basis of a
multiyear investigation by the Moroccan journalist Hicham Mansouri,
which has led to a collaborative investigation between several media
groups, with technical support from Amnesty International’s Security Lab.
The consortium, which was coordinated by Forbidden Stories and comprises
14 media organisations – including Le Monde, Haaretz, El Confidencial,
Die Zeit and the Guardian – has also analysed material detailing
Morocco’s surveillance practices, from leaked emails to targeting
records relating to Pegasus and other spyware, and from victims’
testimony to internal training material. Two other former Moroccan
intelligence agents also provided information and corroborated facts.
The whistleblower’s testimony is corroborated by leaked material,
including the Pegasus project dataset, which has been forensically
analysed by Amnesty International’s Security Lab.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/jul/16/morocco-intelligence-insider-reveals-widespread-use-hacking-software-pegasus
2. Co-Founder of NSO Group Had Israeli Diplomatic Passport, Formal Links
to Israeli Government
NSO Group has long maintained that it does not operate the spyware tool
on behalf of its clients, has no access to target data, and operates
independently of the Israeli government. While the Israeli Defense
Ministry must approve sales of Pegasus to foreign governments, NSO Group
and Israeli officials have denied the existence of any formal links
between the state and NSO Group. Now, however, an investigation by
OCCRP, Código Morse, and Shomrim can reveal that NSO Group co-founder
Shalev Hulio travelled to Panama in 2013 on an Israeli diplomatic
passport and told Panamanian immigration he would be staying at the
Israeli embassy.
https://www.occrp.org/en/project/the-pegasus-project/co-founder-of-controversial-spyware-firm-had-israeli-diplomatic-passport
3. While France Was Considering Buying Pegasus
For months, France considered acquiring the world’s most infamous
spyware. New documents reviewed by Forbidden Stories detail the internal
plans, drawn up at the very same time Morocco appears to have been
secretly targeting members of the government with Pegasus. The Élysée
Palace ultimately vetoed the purchase in a sudden reversal of course.
https://forbiddenstories.org/while-france-was-considering-buying-pegasus-morocco-was-spying-on-its-ministers/
4. Conservative Coalition Urges US Congress to Protect Internet Freedoms
in Iran
The group sent a letter to Senate leadership and the bipartisan heads of
the upper chamber’s Armed Services Committee advocating for legislation
helping Iranians bypass internet censorship. The coalition, which
includes foreign policy experts, Iran hawks, and digital freedom
advocates, argues that helping Iranians communicate with each other and
the outside world is the best way to foster opposition to the Islamic
Republic and document human rights abuses. They are putting their
support behind a pair of bills – the Iran Human Rights, Internet
Freedom, and Accountability Act (S.3900), and the Feasibility Review of
Emerging Equipment for Digital Open Media (FREEDOM) Act – and asking for
their inclusion in the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act.
https://thehill.com/newsletters/defense-national-security/5963509-conservative-coalition-urges-congress-to-protect-internet-freedoms-in-iran/
5. VPN Firms and Digital Rights Groups Join Forces to Urge the UK
Government to Leave VPNs Alone
The UK government's ongoing debate around tightening online safety rules
to protect kids has drawn fierce pushback from the global cybersecurity
sector. On July 9, a coalition of 24 major digital rights organizations
and top VPN providers, including Amnesty International, ExpressVPN,
NordVPN, Surfshark, and Mozilla, issued a stark warning to the UK
government: leave VPNs alone. They warn that forcing age checks on
privacy tools will put millions of citizens at risk.
https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/vpn-firms-and-digital-rights-groups-join-forces-to-urge-the-uk-government-to-leave-vpns-alone
6. Nigeria: Digital Rights Group Drags National Electoral Commission to
Court Over Missing Website Privacy Policy
The Incorporated Trustees of the Digital Rights Lawyers Initiative
(DRLI) have dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
before the Federal High Court in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, over the
commission’s alleged failure to publish a privacy policy on its official
website. In the suit, they challenge the absence of a privacy policy on
INEC’s official website, wp1.inecnigeria.org, arguing that the
commission has failed to disclose how the personal data of website
users, voters and other data subjects is collected, processed, stored,
shared and protected.
https://guardian.ng/news/digital-rights-group-drags-inec-to-court-over-missing-website-privacy-policy/
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### Community Resources ###
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1. Russian Key Developments
Amnezia’s recent digest covers the key developments related to internet
censorship and restrictions in Russia, arguing that these previously
fragmented measures are gradually evolving into a systematic model of
state control over the Russian internet. Key developments include new
website blocks, legislative initiatives, and mobile internet shutdowns
across various regions. They also cover the growing state control over
the digital environment, including VPN restrictions, new user
authorization requirements, plans for a state-run VPN, and the expansion
of traffic filtering technologies.
https://amnezia.org/blog/amnezia-shutdown-digest-june-2026-russia
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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
Additionally, we maintain a calendar of events in our wiki:
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=Calendar_of_Events
Webinar: Africa’s Position in Global AI Governance Debates
July 30
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/KY573AjpR1SNnyNx4-sdGg
Webinar | Brobots vs. The People: Tech Money in Politics
July 30th and Several Dates After
https://mediajustice.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_EELeLqLfQ2apKEzHi8dwgA#/registration
Global Gathering
September 4 to 6, 2026
Portugal
https://www.digitalrights.community/blog/applications/global-gathering-2026-applications-open
RightsCon
September 22
https://www.rightscon.org/rc26-continues/
Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica)
September 28 to October 1
Mauritius
https://internetfreedom.africa
Trust and Safety Research Conference 2026
October 1–2, 2026
Currently accepting proposals here:
https://cyber.fsi.stanford.edu/trust-and-safety-research-conference
Circuit Breaker 26
October 17-18
New York
https://techworkerscoalition.org/circuit-breakers/
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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Cross-Border Collaborative Investigations on the Impact of AI
July 22
https://www.freepressunlimited.org/en/current/grants-cross-border-collaborative-investigations-impact-ai
Digital Rights Exchange Program
August 2
https://www.forus-international.org/en/pdf/final-call-for-applications-cade-digital-rights-exchange-programme
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Hugs & light <3
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Team CommUNITY at ARTICLE 19
www.digitalrights.community
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