Metehan Durmaz • 23 Aug 2024

Why did Türkiye ban Instagram for nine days?

In early August 2024, Turkey made headlines by imposing a sudden and controversial ban on Instagram, one of the country’s…

SMEX • 12 Aug 2024

Tech at the Service of Occupation

A recent investigation by Israeli media confirmed that the occupation has been relying on tech giants’ cloud services to store…

SMEX • 08 Aug 2024

Digital Safety Helpdesk: Meta Suspends More Lebanese WhatsApp Accounts

Last June, the Digital Safety Helpdesk at SMEX handled a surge in account suspensions and activity restrictions, which comprised 38%…

SMEX • 16 Jul 2024

Digital Safety Helpdesk Statistics: Rising Electronic Repression in the Region

In May, SMEX’s Digital Safety Helpdesk addressed 133 digital threats spanning account suspensions, cyber violence, sexual blackmail, content moderation, and…

Abed Kataya • 10 Jul 2024

Do eSIMs Work in Lebanon?

“Are you interested in connecting to the internet without a physical SIM card?” A video circulating in Lebanon discusses how…

Zeinab Ismail • 01 Jul 2024

Artificial intelligence during Hajj: How safe is pilgrims’ data?

Muslims’ pilgrimage season (Hajj) was marked by the extensive use of 32 modern technologies by Saudi authorities to facilitate the…

SMEX • 27 Jun 2024

Meta gives vague, inadequate response to the Oversight Board’s “shaheed” policy recommendations 

Following the Oversight Board’s Policy Advisory Opinion (PAO) on the use of the term “shaheed,” Meta published its response to…