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…

Hanan Hamdan • 21 Aug 2024

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…

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%…

Salam Freihat • 31 Jul 2024

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…

Lucy Parseghian • 29 Jul 2024

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…

Afnan Abu Yahya • 27 Jul 2024

Beyond numbers: What does the “World Press Freedom Index” really indicate?

The 2024 “World Press Freedom Index” (WPF Index), issued by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on World Press Freedom Day on…