Digital Rights Weekly | March 9 to 13
Team CommUNITY
team at digitalrights.community
Sat Mar 14 14:47:11 CET 2026
Hello Digital Rights Defenders!
Here is your weekly update on digital rights around the world for the
week of March 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
Digital Rights in the Wider World
Community Resources
Events Calendar
Grants, Fellowships, & Awards
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### TCU ###
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1. March 19: Open Call for Global Gathering Proposals Starts Next Week!
The open call for Global Gathering program proposals starts on March 19.
Check out this year’s themes, and what we are looking for by visiting
the main GG hub. Note that only participants whose applications to join
the GG have been approved can submit a proposal. To avoid delays, make
sure you request for a ticket soon!
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=Global_Gathering_2026
2. Also on March 19: Digital Rights Social on Autonomous Tech Infrastructure
On March 19, we will also be hosting our next Digital Rights Social on
our Mattermost. The topic will be exploring tips and advice on building
autonomous tech infrastructure. This may be a good time as well to ask
questions about GG programming :) Many TCU staff will be present.
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=Community_Updates
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### Community News ###
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1. Technology Researchers Challenge US Policy Threatening Deportation
for Work on Social Media Platforms and Online Harms
The Coalition for Independent Technology Research filed a lawsuit on
March 9 challenging the constitutionality of a new U.S. immigration
policy that targets noncitizen researchers, advocates, fact-checkers,
and trust and safety workers for visa denials, revocations, detention,
and deportation based on their work researching and reporting on social
media platforms. The group alleges that the policy violates the First
Amendment and chills independent research about social media and other
internet platforms.
https://knightcolumbia.org/content/technology-researchers-challenge-trump-policy-threatening-deportation-for-work-on-social-media-platforms-and-online-harms
2. Grants for Latin American Organizations to Enhance Digital and
Holistic Protection
The Sustainable Protection Fund (SPF) 2026 offers grants of up to
€19,000 to human rights organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean
to enhance digital and holistic protection capacities. Funding supports
digital infrastructure, security training, physical protection measures,
and psychosocial support to mitigate digital threats. The deadline is
March 16, 2026.
https://apply.grants.digitaldefenders.org/
3. Pakistan: EU Grant for Media Freedom, Freedom of Expression, and
Journalist Protection
The European Commission is inviting civil society organisations to apply
for grants supporting media freedom, freedom of expression, and
journalist protection in Pakistan. Funding ranges from EUR 400,000 to
EUR 650,000. Activities covered range in focus, and include awareness
campaigns and media literacy initiatives targeting disinformation,
polarization and hate speech; advocacy for policy reform; legal and
psychosocial support for journalists and defenders, and capacity
building for journalists, among others. The deadline is April 21, 2026.
https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/prospect-details/186121PROSPECTSEN
5. Do You Have a Site that is Abandoned or Difficult to Maintain?
Many websites are left without maintenance for a host of reasons leaving
them vulnerable. Sutty is recovering those websites and turning them
into preserved sites, without exposed databases and panels, reducing the
risks of attacks and maintenance work. Check out the service they are
offering and find out if its an option for your website(s).
English: https://sutty.coop.ar/en/services/preservation
Spanish: https://sutty.coop.ar/servicios/preservacion
6. From Awareness to Action: Using Open Data to Track Surveillance
Practices | March 18
The Coalition on Surveillance and Spyware Accountability, in
collaboration with PolicyLab Africa, is hosting a virtual session on
March 18. Participants will learn how to use open data tools and
collaborative approaches to track surveillance trends, strengthen
transparency, and promote accountability. Register soon:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1erTfUVj_197wyWsiS6Ismnl19wQxRmNhw1puJyJIp-8/viewform
7. The Session Design Lab | March 24 to 25
Fabriders is hosting a virtual Session Design Lab on March 24 to 25.
Participants will learn how to establish a strong foundation in
designing participatory and interactive sessions for both online and
face-to-face formats. There is a no-cost ticket option for activists and
community members with little to no organisational funding.
https://www.fabriders.net/session-design-lab/
8. Experiences of Black Brazilian Women Resisting Technology-Facilitated
Gender-Based Violence
Instituto Minas Programam, along with the Feminist Internet Research
Network, has just published a new report exploring the impacts of
technology-facilitated gender based violence on the experiences of Black
Brazilian women. The report “..show that despite mainstream digital
technologies being often laden with racism, sexism and misogynoir, Black
Brazilian women have been carving out their/our own online spaces,
building strategies for resistance, connection and possibility.”
https://firn.genderit.org/research/carving-out-our-spaces-experiences-black-brazilian-women-resisting-technology-facilitated
9. Singapore Enforcing Digital Censorship Against Activist Han Hui Hui
The Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet) and regional
civil society partners express grave concern regarding reports that
Singaporean Woman Human Rights Defender (WHRD) Han Hui Hui is being
pressured to delete social media content as a condition for access to
her children. SAFEnet asserts that using parental bonds to compel
digital censorship is a violation of the UN Convention on the Rights of
the Child (UNCRC).
https://safenet.or.id/2026/03/stop-weaponizing-child-access-to-enforce-digital-censorship-against-activist-han-hui-hui/
10. Experts Find Holes in Planned Changes to EU Landmark Online Privacy Law
A recent report by noyb, an Austria-based digital rights organization,
asked 500 data protection officers and professionals working on the
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) about compliance.
Specifically, which parts of the law affect their workload the most,
what aspects of the law they see as most important for data protection,
and what could be updated. They found that there is an enormous gap
between the needs of real people working on compliance every day, and
the problems pushed by the ‘Brussels lobby bubble.’
https://euobserver.com/205752/experts-find-holes-in-planned-changes-to-eu-landmark-online-privacy-law/
11. Paradigm to Empower Millions of African Students with New Digital
Rights Board Game
The Digital Rights and Inclusion Board Learning Experience (DRIBLE) is a
game developed by Paradigm Initiative to provide young folks with an
engaging entry point into digital rights and inclusion conversations,
training sessions and storytelling tools. It is currently being piloted
in three universities: University of Lagos, the Catholic University of
Eastern Africa, and the Dakar American University of Science and Technology.
https://www.msn.com/en-xl/africa/nigeria/pin-to-empower-20-million-youths-with-new-digital-rights-board-game/ar-AA1IK3l6
12. ‘Invasive’ AI-led Mass Surveillance in Africa Violating Freedoms
The rapid expansion of AI-powered mass-surveillance systems across
Africa is violating citizens’ right to privacy and having a chilling
effect on society, according to experts on human rights and emerging
technologies. At least $2bn (£1.5bn) has been spent by 11 African
governments on Chinese-built surveillance technology that recognises
faces and monitors movements, according to a new report by the Institute
of Development Studies, which warns that national security is being used
to justify implementing these systems with little regulation.
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/mar/12/invasive-ai-led-mass-surveillance-in-africa-violating-freedoms-warn-expert
13. Ukraine Adapts Platform Regulation and Legal Safeguards Against
Disinfo, Foreign Interference
The European Audiovisual Observatory, part of the Council of Europe in
Strasbourg, has published a new legal report, Platform regulation,
disinformation and FIMI in Ukraine, offering a comprehensive analysis of
Ukraine’s evolving media landscape under the extraordinary pressures of
war and digital transformation. The report is an in-depth analysis of
foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) in Ukraine and
also marks the accession of Ukraine as a member state of the European
Audiovisual Observatory in June 2025.
https://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/ukraine-adapts-platform-regulation-and-legal-safeguards-against-disinformation-and-foreign-interference
14. Security Audit of BitChat Identified a Cache Poisoning Vulnerability
A security audit of BitChat has identified an exploit chain that results
in a cache poisoning attack that can result in a host of risks and
issues. Ultimately, however, it undermines its effectiveness as an
offline messaging application during scenarios where peer to peer
communications is required.
https://barghest.asia/blog/bitchat-cache-poisoning/
_________________________________________
### 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
+ Data Analyst – network measurement and platform security, Equalitie
- Remote, Global
+ Android developer for the dWeb, Equalitie
- Remote, Global
+ DigiCap Expert, Estonian Refugee Council
- Remote/Global
+ Digital Security Advisor (Program Lead)
- Remote, US with Wash DC Preferred
+ Digital Communications, DigiDems, Zinc Collection
- Various States in the US
+ Product Manager, Cloudflare
- Austin, New York, Lisbon
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### Digital Rights in the Wider World ###
______________________________________
1. Rights Groups Call for End to Digital Shutdown in Iran
Last Friday, the internet shutdown in Iran entered its sixth day. Human
rights groups have called on Iran’s leaders to restore digital access.
Multiple internet access monitors tracked a nationwide blackout starting
on February 28 following air strikes across the country. Internet
traffic in Iran dropped by 98% the monitors said.
https://therecord.media/iran-internet-outage-israel-war
Iranian authorities are warning citizens that sharing photos of bombed
locations or even trying to access the global internet could get you
prosecuted for “collaborating with the enemy”. Against this backdrop,
using a search engine or VPN is no longer innocent – it can be seen as a
threat.
https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2026/03/offline-by-decree-irans-war-on-the-internet/
2. Unexplained Moscow Internet Blackouts Spark Fears of Web Censorship Plan
Users in central Moscow and St Petersburg first reported difficulties
accessing mobile internet about a week ago. Human rights activists said
the shutdown could be linked to Moscow testing a new so-called
“whitelist” system, under which only a limited number of
government-approved websites and essential online services would remain
accessible to Russians. Observers say the system would dramatically
censor Russians’ access to the wider web.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/12/russia-internet-blackouts-walkie-talkies-moscow
3. Italian Prosecutors Say Israeli Spyware Used to Hack Journalist
Italian public prosecutors have confirmed that spyware made by Paragon
was used to hack the phones of two activists and a local investigative
journalist. According to forensic investigations, all three devices were
hacked simultaneously on the night of December 14, 2024, in what
prosecutors described as a single operation.
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/security-aviation/2026-03-09/ty-article/.premium/despite-meloni-denials-prosecutors-say-israeli-spyware-used-to-hack-journalist/0000019c-cebb-d8f8-a9de-ffbbd8260000
4. Dutch Court Upholds Ruling Forcing Meta to Offer Chronological Feeds
in Netherlands
A Dutch appeals court has just upheld an October ruling requiring Meta
Platforms to let Facebook and Instagram users in the Netherlands view
posts chronologically, rather than via profiling-based feeds. Bits of
Freedom, which brought the case, had argued in the run-up to a national
election that public debate is harmed when users can't be sure which
posts they are seeing and why.
https://m.economictimes.com/tech/internet/dutch-court-upholds-ruling-forcing-meta-to-offer-chronological-feeds-in-netherlands/amp_articleshow/129400116.cms
5. Rights Groups: Don’t Give Stephen Miller What He Wants on Mass
Surveillance
More than 90 civil society groups are urging congressional Democrats to
“stand firm against White House efforts to extend government
surveillance powers” by renewing “without new safeguards” a highly
controversial surveillance authorization historically abused by federal
agencies. Free Press Action and Demand Progress are leading the call to
senior Democratic lawmakers to not reauthorize Section 702 of the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)—a controversial law that
has been abused hundreds of thousands of times—without first enacting
privacy reforms.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/section-702-renewal
Meanwhile, new U.S laws designed for online child safety are pulling
millions of adult Americans into mandatory age-verification gates that
often use AI technology. Roughly half of U.S. states have enacted or are
advancing laws requiring platforms to block underage users. Large
volumes of sensitive identity data can become targets for government
demands and hackers. But at a more fundamental level, the surveillance
strikes at the foundation of the free and open internet, say civil
liberties advocates, and last week a court decision in Virginia citing
the First Amendment agreed.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/08/social-media-child-safety-internet-ai-surveillance.html
______________________________________
### Community Resources ###
______________________________________
1. Privacy's Defender: My Thirty-Year Fight Against Digital Surveillance
EFF’s executive director, Cindy Cohn, has published a new book that
weaves her own personal story with her role as a leading legal voice
representing the rights and interests of technology users, innovators,
whistleblowers, and researchers since the crypto wars of the 1990s. A
national book tour kicks off in San Francisco on March 10. All proceeds
from the sale of hard copies of Privacy’s Defender are being donated to EFF.
https://www.eff.org/Privacys-Defender
2. It Took Me Just 2 Hours to Vibe Code a Mass Surveillance Site With
OpenAI's Codex
"With zero coding skills, and in a disturbingly short time, I was able
to assemble camera feeds from around the world into a single view.
Here's how I did it, and why it's both promising and terrifying for all
of us."
https://www.pcmag.com/articles/vibe-code-mass-surveillance-site-with-openais-codex
3. Spyware Cases in Europe and Africa Spotlight Privacy and Accountability
February brought a flurry of surveillance news from Poland, Greece,
Angola, and the U.S., highlighting issues of privacy and accountability.
As concerns coalesce over access to data from devices infected with
spyware and cases of targeting continue to emerge, U.S. lawmakers have
raised questions about the removal of individuals from a sanctions list
aimed at curbing such abuses.
https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/carr-ryan/our-work/carr-ryan-commentary/spyware-cases-europe-and-africa-spotlight-privacy
_____________________________________
### 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
From Awareness to Action: Using Open Data to Track Surveillance Practices
March 18
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1erTfUVj_197wyWsiS6Ismnl19wQxRmNhw1puJyJIp-8/viewform
Digital Rights Social / Focus: Building Autonomous Infrastructure
March 19, 2026 @ 14 UTC
TCU's Mattermost
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=Community_Updates
The Session Design Lab
March 24 to 25
https://www.fabriders.net/session-design-lab/
Palestine Digital Activism Forum (PDAF) 2026
March 30 to 31, 2026
https://pdaf.net/about-theme
Cables of Resistance Event
April 10 to 12
https://cableresist.de/
Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum
April 14-16
Abidjan, Ivory Coast
https://sessionize.com/digital-rights-and-inclusion-forum26/
International Journalism Festival (IJF)
April 15 to 18, 2026
Perugia, Italy
https://www.journalismfestival.com/
Digital Rights Social / Focus: Spyware Protection and Transnational
Repression
April 16, 2026 @ 14 UTC
TCU's Mattermost
https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=Community_Updates
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 ###
__________________________________________
Sustainable Protection Fund (SPF) 2026 for Latin America
Deadline: March 16, 2026.
https://apply.grants.digitaldefenders.org/
EU Grant for Media Freedom, Freedom of Expression, and Journalist
Protection in Pakistan
deadline is April 21, 2026.
https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/prospect-details/186121PROSPECTSEN
2026 Oxford AI and Media Policy Summer Institute July 20 to 31
Deadline: Early decision March 14; Final deadline April 21
https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/oxford-ai-and-media-policy-summer-institute/2026-oxford-ai-and-media-policy-summer-institute
InDiCo-Global. Deadline
Deadline: June 30, 2026
https://indico-global-grants.eu/indico-global-third-open-call
__________________________________________
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(((Hugs & light)))
--
Team CommUNITY at ARTICLE 19
www.digitalrights.community
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