Digital Rights Weekly | March 16 to 20

[Team CommUNITY]

Hello Digital Rights Defenders!

Here is your weekly update on digital rights around the world for the 
week of March 16 to 20. 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!

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!

We will continue to accept proposals until June 30. Although, we will be 
approving proposals on a rolling basis, we encourage you to submit your 
proposal as soon as possible.

https://wiki.digitalrights.community/index.php?title=Global_Gathering_2026


2. Equity Fund Update

We have begun approving folks for the Equity Fund; however, some 
applicants are on the waitlist as we continue to fundraise to support 
the numerous EF requests we have received this year. As always, please 
reach out if you need any support for your visa or security plan — we 
have an entire team dedicated to that!!!

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### Community News ###
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1. Mozambique Grants: Open Call Applications Accepted until March 31, 2026

The International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) has an open call 
for proposals for small grants to support civil society organizations 
that advance civic freedoms and address threats to civil society’s work 
arising from existing and proposed legislation. The grants are open to a 
wide array of organizations from community-based and women’s rights 
organizations to youth groups and digital rights projects. Grants are 
available for up to 25,000. Activities funded by the grant must be 
completed by November 30, 2026. Applications will be accepted on a 
rolling basis until March 31, 2026, or until available funds are depleted.

https://www.icnl.org/wp-content/uploads/vf_Mozambique-Call-for-Proposals.pdf


2. Nepal Grants: Open Call Applications Accepted until April 15, 2026

ICNL also has a call out for proposals for small grants to support the 
defense and expansion of civil space in Nepal through advocacy for 
enabling reforms; bolstering civil society resilience; and engagement in 
multistakeholder mechanisms and processes. Women and members of the 
Dalit community are encouraged to apply. All project activities must be 
completed by December 31, 2026. Grants are up to $30,000. Applications 
will be reviewed on a rolling basis until April 15, 2026.

https://www.icnl.org/wp-content/uploads/Nepal-Call-for-Proposals_March-2026_final.pdf


3. Laboratory for Women’s Rights Online Initiative Accepting 
Applications until April 21, 2026

The Laboratory for Women’s Rights Online is a funding initiative 
launched by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs to 
support innovative, non-profit projects tackling online and 
technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV). Under this call, 
selected organizations can receive €50,000 each, with a total indicative 
budget of €250,000, to develop technical solutions or research-based 
responses focused on artificial intelligence and digital safety for 
women. Deadline is April 21, 2026

https://pops.expertisefrance.fr/sdm/ent2/gen/ficheCsl.action?PCSLID=CSL_2026_4sZQPjYqHf&ongletActif=2


4.  DRAPAC26 Deadline Extension for Session Proposal and Fellowship

Engage Media is extending the deadline for both DRAPAC26 programme 
proposals and fellowship applications to Sunday, March 29, 2026 at 
11.59pm (UTC+8). To check out this year’s themes, or to learn more about 
the fellowship, visit the following link. Questions? Email 
drapac26 at drapac.net or contact them via Signal at @drapac.26.

https://drap.ac/26/


5. The Matter of Facts: AI & Misinformation

On March 30 in Melbourne, Australia, the Kaleide Theatre, will feature a 
premiere screening of episode 3 of ABC’s The Matter of Facts, a 
three-part documentary series diving into the frontlines of the global 
information wars. It will be followed by a live panel discussion with 
co-founder of Digital Rights Watch Lizzie O’Shea,  lecturer in 
fact-checking and verification at RMIT Gordon Farrer, and deputy new 
director of The Age Cass Knowlton..

https://digitalrightswatch.org.au/2026/03/11/the-matter-of-facts-ai-misinformation/


6. Rise of Smart City Surveillance Tech Across Africa to Spy on Citizens

A massive expansion of AI-enabled surveillance of public spaces across 
Africa is violating citizens’ freedoms and the fundamental human right 
to privacy, warns a new report from the Institute of Development 
Studies. African governments are paying billions of dollars to Chinese 
companies for so-called ‘smart city’ products for public space 
surveillance – including AI-enabled CCTV and control centres – with at 
least US$2 billion spent to date by the 11 African countries studied in 
the report.

https://www.ids.ac.uk/news/smart-city-surveillance-tech-across-africa/


7. Collateral Freedom: 57% of Censored News Sites Mirrored by Reporters 
Without Borders are Blocked by Russia or China

Launched 11 years ago by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) to combat 
online censorship, Operation Collateral Freedom currently enables 177 
media outlets and press freedom websites that are blocked in 39 
countries to continue disseminating information online and keep reaching 
their public. More than half of them are blocked in Russia and China.

https://rsf.org/en/collateral-freedom-57-censored-news-sites-mirrored-rsf-are-blocked-russia-or-china


8. Five Years After Coup, Myanmar’s Digital Authoritarianism Enters New 
Phase

Five years after the coup, Myanmar’s junta continues to systematically 
oppress its own people, carrying out mass arbitrary arrests and 
killings, imposing internet shutdowns, expanding mass surveillance, 
enforcing forced conscription, and imposing severe restrictions on both 
online and offline civic space. Despite these numerous human rights 
violations, the junta is now seeking legitimacy through 
military-controlled elections.

https://www.techpolicy.press/five-years-after-coup-myanmars-digital-authoritarianism-enters-new-phase/

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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

+ Associate for Resilient Tech, The Engine Room
- Remote

+ Digital Rights and Innovation Manager, World Athletics
- Monaco

+ Research Associates, Digispace Africa
- Remote

+ Network Engagement Coordinator (3-Month Contract), OpenMedia
- Remote/Canada

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### Digital Rights in the Wider World ###
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1. Russia: A Superpower Goes Offline

In September, Russia banned advertising for VPN services. Numerous 
social media apps are already blocked or have limited access, such as 
Signal and WhatsApp. Last month, Putin signed a law requiring telecom 
operators to block cellular and fixed internet access. In April, 
authorities were expected to block Telegram — one of Russia’s most 
popular messaging platforms — and may have done so two weeks early. 
Telegram's founder called restrictions against Telegram “an attempt to 
force citizens to switch to a state-controlled app built for 
surveillance and political censorship.” The question remains, what comes 
next?

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/14/russias-self-inflicted-communication-crisis-00827197

https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/03/17/russia-was-expected-to-block-telegram-in-april-it-appears-to-have-done-it-two-weeks-early

Also, a relatively new Russia-linked hacker group has launched a 
cyber-espionage campaign targeting Ukrainian organizations using spyware 
disguised within documents about Starlink satellite internet terminals 
and a well-known Ukrainian charity, researchers have found.  The 
campaign, observed in February, deployed a backdoor dubbed DrillApp that 
allows attackers to upload and download files from infected computers, 
record audio through a microphone and capture images from a webcam, 
according to a report by cybersecurity firm Lab52.

https://therecord.media/russia-ukraine-cyber-espionage-group


2. China: Cybercrime Bill Entrenches Censorship, Surveillance

China’s Ministry of Public Security on January 31, 2026, published a 
68-article Draft Law on Cybercrime Prevention and Control. If enacted, 
the bill would bring together rules that govern China’s 
telecommunication, internet, and banking systems under a single 
framework, strengthening authorities’ ability to trace user activity 
across platforms. The bill also expands police and other authorities’ 
ability to suspend access to financial accounts and communication 
services and bar people from leaving the country in cybercrime-related 
cases without meaningful oversight or redress provisions. Notably, the 
draft law has problematic extraterritorial reach.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/03/17/china-cybercrime-bill-entrenches-censorship-surveillance


3. Convicted Spyware Dealer Links Greek Government to Surveillance Scandal

Weeks after being sentenced to more than 126 years in prison for his 
role in a massive domestic wiretapping scandal, Tal Dilian, the founder 
of the commercial spyware company Intellexa has stated that his firm 
provides its surveillance technology exclusively to authorized 
government agencies. Dilian's statement immediately reignited political 
outrage in Athens, where opposition leaders seized on his words as proof 
that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his administration were 
directly behind the surveillance.

https://www.occrp.org/en/news/convicted-spyware-dealer-links-greek-government-to-surveillance-scandal


4. Internet Blackout Hits Congo During Presidential Election

A nationwide internet outage struck the Republic of Congo this past 
Sunday as the country held presidential elections widely expected to 
extend the decades-long rule of President Denis Sassou Nguesso. The 
disruption appears technically consistent with the internet shutdown 
imposed during Congo’s previous presidential election in 2021, when 
authorities also restricted digital communications.

https://www.assahifa.com/english/africa/internet-blackout-hits-congo-during-presidential-election-expected-to-extend-sassous-rule/


5. As Women March for Rights, Gender Becomes a Digital Weapon

On March 8, women across the Western Balkans and Turkey took to the 
streets to demand their rights, drawing attention to persistent 
inequalities, discrimination and widespread gender-based and sexual 
violence, including in the digital sphere. They also raised their voices 
against war, abuse and oppression.  In response, however, they faced 
waves of sexist attacks and gendered disinformation online, symptomatic 
of the rising anti-gender movement in the region.

https://balkaninsight.com/2026/03/11/as-women-march-for-rights-gender-becomes-a-digital-weapon/bi/


6. The UK is Buying Spyware Developed and Tested on Palestinians

Despite its public criticism of both Palantir and former UK ambassador 
to the US, Peter Mandelson, the UK government has entered into extensive 
contracts with the US tech giant, most recently signing a defence 
contract worth 240 million pounds in January. Check out this article, 
which is part of Al Jazeera’s Blood Tech Series, looking into how 
governments around the world are still using technology it has tested on 
Palestinians.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/17/blood-tech-the-uk-ambassador-the-sex-offender-palantir-and-gaza


7. Human Rights Group Urges Hospitals Not to Use Palantir Software

US firm Palantir signed a £330m contract with NHS England in 2023 to 
provide the federated data platform (FDP). but there has been increasing 
concern about the firm’s provision of surveillance software to 
government agencies and law enforcement including the US Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement (ICE). Medact’s report, ‘Briefing: Concerns 
regarding Palantir Technologies and NHS data systems‘, published on 12 
March, cautions that health data from the FDP could potentially be used 
for US-style immigration raids.

https://www.digitalhealth.net/2026/03/human-rights-groups-urge-hospitals-not-to-use-palantir-software/


8. British Universities Bow to Chinese Censorship; Mega Chinese Embassy 
Approved Despite National Security Fears

Last year, Sheffield Hallam University ordered Laura Murphy, a professor 
of human rights and contemporary slavery, to stop her research on supply 
chains and forced labor in China. Others note that this is not an 
isolated case, with students having staged protests over the Chinese 
pressure on universities. Meanwhile, the government has approved the 
construction of a new Chinese embassy in London — which will be the 
biggest embassy in Europe — that critics say could be used for spying at 
other security risks.

https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/72191

https://www.politico.eu/article/heres-how-londoners-will-try-to-stop-chinas-massive-embassy/


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### Community Resources ###
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1. Support for Journalists to Secure Resilient Cloud Infrastructure

The Journalism Cloud Alliance (JCA), convened by the Global Forum for 
Media Development (GFMD) and the Organized Crime and Corruption 
Reporting Project (OCCRP), supports investigative journalism and 
public-interest initiatives in accessing affordable, secure, and 
resilient cloud infrastructure and services.

https://eu.jotform.com/form/252582843235359


2. Digital Rights amid a Regional War: Threats and Responses

Israel has displaced more than half a million Lebanese residents from 
South Lebanon, Beirut, and the Beqaa in yet another round of 
indiscriminate bombings in the country, provoking another severe 
humanitarian crisis.  Meanwhile, the impact of the U.S.–Israeli war on 
Iran reverberates across the Gulf, where multiple U.S. military bases in 
capital cities were directly hit by Iranian missiles. This time around, 
a crisis has hit the entirety of the region, posing new digital threats 
to residents of the affected countries.

https://smex.org/digital-rights-amid-a-regional-war-threats-and-responses/


3. The Market for Spyware is Growing. It’s Used Differently Against Women

Digital tech is being used to intimidate women activists beyond national 
borders. It’s called gender-based digital transnational repression. If a 
government wanted to spy on a woman in the 20th century, it would have 
had to fork out a salary to an agent hired to take photos of her. Today, 
a state can buy software to hack her phone or computer for as little as $70.

https://www.fullerproject.org/editions/revolutions/spyware-women-activists-palantir-pegasus-transnational-repression/


4. Truth Dies When You Tire the Fact-checkers

Since Trump’s return to power, mis- and disinformation researchers have 
been in his firing line. These researchers have battled federal funding 
cuts, a surge in abuse, even death threats. Plans are afoot for 
non-citizens working in the space to have their visas revoked or denied 
and face detention and deportation. Last week, the Knight First 
Amendment Institute and Protect Democracy filed a lawsuit on behalf of 
the Coalition for Independent Technology Research (CITR), challenging 
the constitutionality of the new immigration policy. The claimants argue 
that it violates their First Amendment rights and is intended to chill 
independent research about social media and other internet platforms.

https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2026/03/truth-dies-when-you-fire-the-fact-checkers/

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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

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 ###
__________________________________________


Mozambique Grants
Deadline: March 31, 2026
https://www.icnl.org/wp-content/uploads/vf_Mozambique-Call-for-Proposals.pdf

Nepal Grants
Deadline: Rolling basis until April 15, 2026.
https://www.icnl.org/wp-content/uploads/Nepal-Call-for-Proposals_March-2026_final.pdf

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

Laboratory for Women’s Rights Online Initiative
Deadline: April 21, 2026
https://pops.expertisefrance.fr/sdm/ent2/gen/ficheCsl.action?PCSLID=CSL_2026_4sZQPjYqHf&ongletActif=2

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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