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Escalating crackdown on free speech in the Gulf
Escalating crackdown on free speech in the Gulf On May 29, Saudi Arabia’s Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) sentenced Professor Asaad Al-Ghamdi…
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…
Bribery, bureaucracy, and e-signatures: Lebanon jolts toward digital transformation
On February 10, 2024, the Lebanese Council of Ministers approved the Decree on Electronic Official Documents and Electronic Signatures, a…
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…
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%…
Jordan: When is it illegal for authorities to check your phone?
Arrests of pro-Palestine activists in Jordan have increased amid the escalation of the Israeli war on Gaza. During the detention…
Lebanese authorities punish and humiliate Google reviewers
To document his bad experience at a dental clinic, Adel (a pseudonym) posted a review on Google. Despite adhering to…