Tech and media companies are exploiting free, popular apps to increase their access to personal data; and WhatsApp has just followed suit. The app has been sending notifications about an odd update to its privacy policy. The latest policy grants Whatsapp permission to share users’ data with its parent company,[...]
On September 23, Zoom cancelled a virtual event featuring the Palestinian Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine’s (PFLP) veteran Leila Khaled. The virtual event was organized by the Arab and Muslim Ethnicity and Diasporas Studies (AMED Studies) at San Francisco State University (SFSU). After the event was announced on[...]
On Sunday afternoon, Lebanese internet users reported an internet disruption that made it almost impossible to access platforms like Twitter. Users were under the impression the disruption was due to a telecommunication outage because of the recent fuel and electricity crisis, or some new repressive action by the government. But[...]
Egyptian authorities are arresting an increasing number of women on different charges related to their social media activity; in some cases, female TikTok users are receiving prison sentences and forced to pay hefty fines. The most recent case, which asserts that the accused women’s videos on TikTok stand in “violation[...]
Report any telecommunications outage that happens in Lebanon by filling out this form. We will use this information to update the map. Lebanon is experiencing a financial crisis that is damaging all sectors in society, including telecommunications. In addition to an increase in power cuts across the country, SMEX has[...]
Jawaker, a mobile application that witnessed an increase in popularity during the COVID-19 crisis period, has many privacy and security issues. Based out of the United Arab Emirates, Jawaker provides popular card games, like 400, Leekha, and Tarneeb. It also provides many in-game chat features between users, and gives them[...]
As the Covid-19 virus continues to spread across the world, governments are adopting surveillance measures to track patients, raising privacy concerns. Lebanon, like many other countries, has launched digital tools to help diagnose and monitor the spread of the outbreak. The tools launched by the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health[...]
With more countries announcing a state of emergency in response to the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, organizations have begun adopting “work from home” policies. The number of organizations taking this approach will likely increase going forward and users and organizations must pay attention to their digital safety while working from[...]
From November 15 to 17, more than 250 participants gathered for Bread&Net 2019 in the heart of Beirut. With the ongoing Lebanese revolution, this was a special year for our regional digital rights unconference. The political situation was a major focus, from a topic of discussion during various panels to[...]
It was recently revealed that Careem, the Emirati-based ride hailing company, recently purchased by Uber, routinely shares riders’ full names and phone numbers with drivers, or “captains” as the company refers to them. This policy has resulted in drivers sending unsolicited Facebook friend requests to riders, violating their privacy and[...]
